Pivotable Wing Bending Device for Semi-Flex PCBs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bending devices for semiflex printed circuit boards impose significant mechanical stress and tensile forces during the bending process, leading to damage and low signal density due to the need for thinning the flex area, which restricts copper layer thickness and electrical conductivity, especially in applications like HIL simulations.
Innovation Solution
A bending device with pivotable wings and adjustable fixing devices that change position based on the pivoting angle, eliminating the need for a bending gauge and allowing the flex area to remain constant in length, thereby reducing tensile stresses and enabling thicker copper layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the flex area is thinned to enable bending, then the board can be bent without damage, but the signal density and electrical conductivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing devices are made movable along the wings instead of being fixed, allowing their position to be dynamically adjusted during the bending process. This enables the fixing devices to adapt to the changing geometry of the board as it bends, maintaining proper support and clamping without requiring the flex area to be thinned, thus preserving copper layer thickness and electrical conductivity
Solution Approach 2:
The position parameter of the fixing devices is changed during the bending process based on the pivoting angle. As the wing pivots, the fixing devices automatically adjust their position along the wing to maintain optimal clamping, allowing the board to be bent with sufficient copper layer thickness for high signal density and electrical conductivity
2Ease of manufacture
If a bending gauge is used to support the flex area, then bending can be performed, but significant mechanical stress and tensile forces are imposed on the board
Solution Approach 1:
The bending gauge is completely removed from the system. Instead of using a separate bending gauge to support the flex area, the invention uses the wings themselves with movable fixing devices that adapt to the bending geometry, eliminating the source of harmful mechanical stress and tensile forces on the board
Solution Approach 2:
The movable fixing devices act as intermediaries between the wing and the rigid areas of the board. They provide adaptive support and clamping during bending without imposing the harmful stresses that a fixed bending gauge would create, as they can move to accommodate the changing board geometry
3Device complexity
If the fixing devices are fixed on the wings, then the structure is simple, but the flex area length changes during bending causing additional stress
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing devices are designed to move dynamically along the wings during the bending process. Their position is not fixed but adjusts automatically based on the wing's pivoting angle, maintaining constant flex area length and preventing additional stress while adding only minimal structural complexity through guide mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces material stress and damage during bending, allowing for thicker copper layers and higher signal density in the flex area, with a rejection rate of less than 2% properly prepared printed circuit boards.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the two wings being pivotable about a pivot axis
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a bending device for bending a semi-flexible printed circuit board (1) having at least one flexible area (4) to which a rigid area (2, 3) adjoins on two opposite sides, with two wings (25) and a first fixing device (20) mounted on the first wing (25) for fixing a first rigid area (2) of the printed circuit board (1) and a second fixing device (21) mounted on the second wing (25) for fixing a second rigid area (3) of the printed circuit board (1), wherein at least one of the two wings (25) is pivotable about a pivot axis and wherein the position of at least one of the two fixing devices (20, 21) on the respective wing, in particular the distance from the pivot axis, is variable depending on the pivot angle of the at least one pivotable wing (25). The invention further relates to a method for bending a printed circuit board with such a device.