RU2791713C1 - Method for manufacturing flexible printed circuit boards in continuous roll form - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: manufacturing of circuit boards.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to methods for manufacturing flexible, stretchable printed circuit boards in continuous roll form. It is achieved by the fact that a flexible substrate wound into a roll is fed onto a cooling table, with the help of a laser, recesses are made according to a previously drawn up scheme, into which a conductive solution is supplied. Then a second layer of flexible substrate is fed, wound into a roll, which is placed over the recesses filled with a conductive solution. The resulting two layers are laminated using heated drums to obtain a single structure, on the upper part of which holes for contacts are made using a laser according to a pre-compiled scheme. In this case, the height of the holes corresponds to the thickness of the upper layer, and the electronic contacts are placed in the holes so that they come into contact with the conductive solution, the finished product is wound into a roll.

EFFECT: creation of a method for manufacturing flexible stretchable printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form, which reduces production time, and also provides a flexible stretchable printed circuit board, which is not limited in size and shape.

2 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to methods for manufacturing flexible, stretchable printed circuit boards in continuous roll form, which can be used, for example, in electronics, radio engineering and other industries.

A method of manufacturing flexible printed circuit boards is known from the prior art, including the formation of a relief surface of a polymer film due to channels created by irradiation with ions and chemical etching, followed by the formation of a metal layer by electroplating, while a two-sided relief surface is formed in the polymer film due to through hollow channels by its irradiation with high-energy ions with an energy that ensures their projective range in the material of the polymer film is 1.5-2 times greater than its thickness, and subsequent chemical etching, and then a metal deposit is galvanically formed in through hollow etched channels, starting from one relief surface of the film, in close contact with a self-supporting metal cathode, to the opposite free relief surface of the film, on which a galvanic metal layer of a given shape and thickness is formed (RU 2356194 C1, 20.05.2009).

A known method of rolled electrochemical processing of flexible printed circuit boards due to anodic dissolution of the foil sections corresponding to the non-conductive pattern of the printed circuit board, when moving the workpiece from a flexible foil dielectric from the supply reel through the current lead to the workpiece foil and the ECM zone to the receiving reel, while the surface of the foil is electrochemically oxidized when moving the flexible workpiece from the current supply to the ECHO zone (RU 2400950 C1, 09/27/2010).

A method is known for manufacturing a printed circuit board with a pattern of conductors, which includes the following steps: i) a conductive layer, for example, a metal foil, is selectively attached to the substrate, so that a part of the specified conductive layer, for example, a metal foil, containing predetermined areas that form the final the conductors of the article, and the narrow sections located between said conductive sections of the final product, is fixed to the substrate by means of a bonding agent, while the larger sections of the conductive layer to be removed, for example, metal foil, are essentially not fixed to the substrate, while the section to be removed connected to the substrate by no more than its edge area to be processed in the next step ii), and possibly by areas preventing separation of the areas to be removed before step iii); ii) conductors are patterned on said conductive layer by removing material, for example, metal foil, from narrow gaps between predetermined conductive areas and from the outer periphery of the area removed in the solid state, the material being removed by at least one method of the group: etching, laser processing, ion bombardment, particle blasting, iii) remove in the solid state the areas to be removed of the conductive layer, for example, metal foil, not fixed on the substrate, since these areas to be removed, previously connected to the substrate by their edge areas, are no longer held by the edge areas conductive layer, which were removed from the outer periphery of the areas to be removed in step ii), while the substrate is flexible, and the printed circuit board is manufactured using the roll-to-roll method (RU 2458492 C2, 08/10/2012).

The closest analogue to the proposed technical solution is a method for the production of a flexible printed circuit board based on liquid metal, which includes applying liquid metal, a pre-prepared circuit, to an elastic (stretching) substrate to form a liquid metal circuit, while liquid metal is used, including including gallium alloy (US 20200296825 A1, 09/17/2020).

The main disadvantage of the known technical solutions is the long duration of the flexible printed circuit board production process, which is due to the use of manual labor or equipment operating in semi-automatic mode at individual stages of production, as well as the need to maintain the sealed layer until it solidifies completely, which also greatly slows down the production process.

The problem to which the present invention is directed is the development of a fully automatic method for the manufacture of flexible, stretching printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form.

The technical result achieved in solving the problem is to create a method for manufacturing flexible, stretchable printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form, which reduces production time, and also provides a flexible, stretchable printed circuit board, which is not limited by size and shape.

To achieve this technical result, a method is proposed for manufacturing flexible printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form, according to which a flexible substrate wound in a roll is fed onto a cooling table, recesses are made using a laser, according to a pre-compiled circuit board layout, a conductive solution is fed into the resulting recesses, then a second layer of a flexible substrate is fed, wound in a roll, which is placed over the recesses filled with a conductive solution, the resulting two layers are subjected to lamination using heated drums to obtain a single structure, on the upper part of which holes for contacts are made using a laser, according to a pre-composed circuit board layout , while the height of the holes corresponds to the thickness of the upper layer, and the electronic contacts are placed in the holes so that they come into contact with the conductive solution, the finished product is wound into a roll.

Preferably, a gallium alloy, silver ink, or a liquid electrolyte is used as the conductive solution.

Preferably, quick-drying adhesive is applied to the holes before the electronic contacts are installed.

In FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing flexible, stretchable printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form.

1 - laser;

2 - conductive solution dispenser;

3 - cooling table;

4 - glue dispenser;

5 - laser;

6 - device for inserting contacts;

7 - laminator. Brief description of the process:

1. the first drum delivers a flexible, stretchy substrate, which has been pre-wound into a roll, onto a cooling table;

2. the laser makes holes in it (according to the previously drawn up circuit board layout);

3. cooling table cools the substrate;

4. The dispenser squeezes out a conductive solution into the resulting holes, which can be used as a gallium alloy, silver ink or liquid electrolyte;

5. the second drum delivers the second layer of flexible, stretchable substrate over the first layer;

6. two layers of flexible, stretchable substrate are introduced into the laminator (heating drums), where they are sintered into a single structure consisting of two layers;

7. using a laser on the resulting structure, holes are made in its upper layer for contacts (according to a pre-compiled circuit board layout), while the holes are not made through, but so that the hole is equal in height to the thickness of the upper layer, so that after installing the contact, it was in contact with a conductive solution;

8. then the second dispenser squeezes out quick-drying glue and lubricates the insertion points of future contacts, so that they stick, as well as for sealing;

9. the device inserts electronic contacts into the holes made;

10. the finished product is wound on the third drum.

Further, a detailed example of the implementation of the proposed invention is presented, while it is obvious to a specialist that this example is only a special case of the implementation of the proposed invention and cannot be used to adjust the breadth of the applicant's claims.

Example 1

The first drum delivers a flexible, stretchy substrate, which was previously wound into a roll on a cooling table with a cooling of up to +5 degrees, containing a laser module, the purpose of which is to "burn" holes on the substrate, according to a pre-compiled circuit board layout, and a dispenser into which it feeds conductive solution, such as gallium alloy or silver ink or liquid electrolyte, into the holes. At the same time, the stretchable substrate can be made of various materials, for example, polydimethylsiloxane, epoxy resin, SEBS / spirol-ethylene-butylene-styrene, polyimide film,

PET/polyethylene terephthalate, silicone rubber. The dispenser heats the conductive solution so that the solution has a liquid consistency, and squeezes it into the holes formed by the laser. At the same time, the cooling table cools the substrate so that the conductive solution does not spread beyond the holes formed by the laser, and also prevents the formation of carbon deposits (charred edges) when using the laser. Then the second drum feeds the second layer of flexible, stretchable substrate (material from which the substrate is made, for example, polydimethylsiloxane, epoxy resin, SEBS / spirol-ethylene-butylene-styrene, polyimide film,

PET/polyethylene terephthalate silicone rubber pre-wound into a roll that is placed over the first layer. Two layers of a flexible, stretchable substrate are introduced into a laminator, which is a heating drum (temperature up to 450°C), where they are sintered into a single structure of two layers. The two-layer structure obtained at the outlet of the laminator is fed to the second table, which contains a laser module, a device for placing contacts and a dispenser for quick-drying glue. At the same time, by rotating the drums, the substrate moves back and forth on the table, while moving, for example, the camera fixes the mark on the substrate, which the laser left on the first table, to ensure accurate positioning on the second table, to calibrate the location of the circuit, made on the first table. After positioning with a laser, a hole is made at the place where the contacts are inserted, while the holes are not made through, but so that the hole is equal in height to the thickness of the upper layer, so that after the contact is installed, it comes into contact with the conductive solution. Then the dispenser squeezes out the quick-drying adhesive and lubricates the insertion points of future contacts, so that they stick, as well as to seal it. The contact locator then inserts the electronic contacts into the holes made. The finished product in the form of a two-layer flexible, stretchable printed circuit board in a continuous roll form is wound on a third drum and/or sent for storage and/or sale.

All of the above clearly demonstrates that the presented method for manufacturing flexible, stretchable printed circuit boards in continuous roll form is fully automated, and, therefore, in comparison with previously known methods, this method significantly reduces the time for manufacturing the final product, since on average this process previously took at least days, and when implementing the proposed method, the specified time is less than a minute.

In addition, the proposed method, including due to the sequence of operations, as well as the use of a roll-shaped substrate, makes it possible to obtain a final product of almost any size, which also distinguishes this invention from previously known analogs.

Claims (2)

1. A method for manufacturing flexible stretchable printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form, characterized in that a flexible stretchable substrate wound into a roll is fed by means of the first drum onto a cooling table containing a laser module and a dispenser for a conductive solution, holes are made in it using a laser according to a pre-compiled circuit board layout, a conductive solution is squeezed into the obtained holes with a dispenser, while the cooling table cools the substrate, preventing the solution from spreading outside the holes, then, using the second drum, a second layer of a flexible stretchable substrate is fed, wound in a roll, which is placed over the first layer , the obtained two layers of a flexible stretchable substrate are sintered in a laminator to obtain a single structure, the two-layer structure obtained at the outlet of the laminator is fed to a second table containing a laser module, a dispenser for quick-drying glue and a device for placing contacts, on the upper part constructions of two layers, using a laser, holes are made at the points of insertion of electronic contacts according to a pre-compiled circuit board layout, while the height of the holes corresponds to the thickness of the upper layer, the quick-drying glue is squeezed out with a dispenser and the points of insertion of electronic contacts are lubricated for gluing them, and the electronic contacts are inserted into the obtained holes with a device for accommodating electronic contacts so that they come into contact with a conductive solution and stick, the finished product in the form of a two-layer flexible stretching printed circuit board is wound on a third drum. 2. A method for manufacturing flexible stretchable printed circuit boards in a continuous roll form according to claim 1, characterized in that gallium alloy, silver ink or liquid electrolyte is used as a conductive solution.

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