Flexible PCB sources
2011-05-29 by M W
Hey all. A (very frugal) friend wants me to make a replacement flex PC board for a device he has where a flex connector was destroyed; I don't know where to get 1-side or 2-side clad DuPont "Pyralux" or the like Kapton / polyimides in one-off quantities any more, last time I worked with that sort of thing we had some guys who handled plating blank flex boards (including vias), they're not around any more. Very nice for keypads etc. I guess if I have to I can plate copper on there. Is there a better source then directly from DuPont? [I've had very good luck with the old school Toner Fusing method of PC boards, there are some "gotchas", I've learned to always use ~8mil holes (to act as a center punched starter for drilling), and very oddly I've found that I can break very few bits by using a pin vise and spinning Carbide PCB bits with my fingers, "Mototool" drilling will often blow the pad off the back side of a PC board for me, annoying that. I've used the CirCAD demo for "forever" at home, isn't OrCAD / PADS PCB but it's free; Eagle = UI Hell IMO, LOL.] Mark