Can FFC and FPC cables replace each other?

Many people ask if FFC cable and FPC can replace each other? In fact, the friend who asks this question must be unfamiliar with this industry. In the present or for a considerable period of time in the future, neither FFC nor FPC cable can replace the other. These two types of cables will coexist and complement each other.



I say that many friends, even some who have not been involved in the field of FFC wiring for a long time, do not agree with our conclusion. Below, I will analyze based on this:



The process of FFC flat wire and FPC flat wire is significantly different. FFC soft wire is formed by pressing a set of flat copper wires arranged at a specific spacing between two layers of hot melt PET or PI film on a high-temperature wheel, while FPC flat wire is formed by etching on a whole layer of PI film covered with copper film to form different circuit structures.



1、 The complexity of the circuit structure between FFC and FPC cables is different. It is obvious that for complex curved line structures, fpc line layout is inevitably the preferred choice, while ffc line layout can only form some straight line layout. When forming a complex curve line structure, it is necessary to choose fpc cable layout. Relatively speaking, FPC cable is softer than FFC cable.



Application of smart phone double-sided board FPC flexible cable

2、 The temperature resistance of FFC cable is different from that of FPC cable. Generally, the temperature resistance of ffc cable made of PET based hot melt adhesive film is only 80 ℃ or 105 ℃. When PI based hot melt adhesive film is used, ffc cable can withstand a temperature of 120 ℃. But the FPC cable can withstand temperatures above 200 ℃. Therefore, fpc cables are more resistant to high temperatures than ffc cables.