Precautions When Handling and Storing Flexible PCB

Flexible printed circuit boards are manufactured using very sensitive components. Therefore, if the flexible PCB is handled carelessly, the circuit board will be damaged. Applying pressure on any small part of the flexible PCB can cause serious damage, and a small amount of static electricity may completely damage the circuit board. To prevent such damage, you need to keep the generated static electricity to a minimum, discharge the accumulated static electricity, and handle the flexible printed circuit board carefully.

The following are some important precautions that need to be taken when handling and storing flexible printed circuit boards:

1. Correct Grounding

Before handling the flexible printed circuit board, it is recommended that you wear rubber-soled shoes to help yourself grounding. This will help prevent static electricity from accumulating, which can severely damage the circuit board.

Whenever you handle circuit board components, you should also wear a grounded wrist strap.

2.Touch a Piece of Metal

It is recommended that you touch the metal piece for at least two seconds to help you release any remaining power that may remain in your body.

3.Maintain High Humidity

You should create and maintain high humidity at the workstation. This will limit the accumulation of static electricity that is more common in dry atmospheres.

4. Stay Away from Materials that Generate Static Electricity

Unless absolutely necessary (and most likely never), any static electricity generating material should be removed from the immediate vicinity of the flexible PCB. Materials such as plastic, fabric, vinyl and polystyrene foam tend to accumulate static electricity.

5. Put on Gloves

Wear gloves when handling flexible circuit boards during unpacking. When taking out the circuit board from the anti-static bag, it is necessary to make at least one of the edges of the circuit board touch the anti-static bag. You should place the flexible circuit board directly on the bag and leave it there until you are ready to install the circuit board.

6. Correct Installation

You need to use the required pressure (do not apply excessive pressure) to install the flexible circuit board into the correct module of the product or device to fix it in the correct position. Do not forcefully fix the components in place.

7. Check Protection

The designated workstations and storage areas of flexible circuit boards should be checked regularly to ensure that they can safely protect flexible PCBs. The main areas of concern are the static dissipation of the work surface, the correct grounding method, the operation of the ion blower and the ion air gun, and the static dissipation of the floor surface.

8. Use a Shielding Bag or Box

Since the flexible circuit board is very sensitive, it should be enclosed in a shielding bag or box when it is not being operated. These are three types of electrostatic discharge (ESD) protective housing materials. They include:

a.) Anti-static: This material provides an anti-static buffer for electronic components.

b.) Electrostatic shielding: This material can prevent static electricity from penetrating the packaging.

c.) Static electricity dissipation: This material has sufficient conductivity to help dissipate static electricity accumulation.

9. Use Special Lotion

Do not use lotions and hand creams that contain silicone, as they may cause epoxy adhesion and solderability problems. Make sure to use a specially formulated emulsion to prevent contamination of the flexible PCB.

As a professional FPC soft board manufacturer, XPCB Limited is so honored to have worked together with many of you. At XPCB Limited we are always more than ready to assist our new customers in any way we can.  Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have any question.