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ELCO
In the 1970’s, Flat Flexible Cables (FFC) were
adopted as a standard interface to jumper between
printed circuit boards. While these cables provided
design engineers significant packaging flexibility, the
termination technology was limited to only two
methods:
Direct Solder: permanent connection for low cost
applications.
Crimped Contacts: separable connection for high
end plugability.
Seeing the need for a cost effective termination
solution, Elco developed the first card edge style
connector in 1986 which would mate directly to the
FFC. This Low Insertion Force (LIF) type connector
provided simple and reliable mating and unmating of
the cable to the printed circuit board. Elco’s 8370
Series quickly became an industry standard for cost
effective FFC terminations. In 1987, Elco introduced
the first Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) connector, Series
6200, which provided increased mating and unmating
(durability) cycles.
Since that time, Elco has continued to lead the
industry with state-of-the-art products. Today we
offer over 45 different product series for flex circuits
ranging between 1.25mm and 0.30mm pitch.
FFC/FPC COMPOSITION
FFC
Flat Flexible Cable (FFC) is made up of thin
rectangular copper conductors laminated between
two layers of polyester insulation. These copper
conductors are left uncovered on each end and then
tin plated to make electrical contact with the
connector. A stiffener is bonded to the cable end
which provides mechanical stability for the exposed
copper conductors during mating and unmating. This
type of cable is used when a straight one-to-one
connection is required.
FPC
Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) are similar in con-
struction to the FFC except that copper film is chemi-
cally etched to produce a specific pattern. While
these circuits are custom made for each application,
various shapes and geometrics can solve the tough-
est packaging problems.
CARBON PASTE
Screen printing with conductive ink is the newest
form of FPC (called membrane) being produced
today. In this application, carbon/silver (C/Ag) paste
replaces the traditional copper conductor. While very
soft and easily damaged, these membrane circuits
are cost effective to produce and are lightweight.
Cover Layer
Polyester
Carbon
Paste
Silver
Paste
Conductor
Base Film
Polyester
Stiffener
Carbon/Silver Paste
Plating
Cover Layer
Adhesive
Stiffener
Base Film
Copper Film
Polyester Insulator Tape
Tin Plated
Copper
Stiffener
History of FFC/FPC