Advantages and future application of FPC Connector

Author：Danny / time：2018-08-02 / The number of clicks：424

Despite the fact that the global economy is still feeling the effects of the financial crisis, there has been a growing demand worldwide for connectors over the years. It is true that the increase is comparatively slower than that of previous years, but the connector manufacturing industry is projected to show growth potential amid a depressed global economy. Computer or smartphone users may not be familiar with the term FPC connectors, which are actually one of the indispensable components used in electronic products. FPC connectors are widely applied in various consumer electronic products like office and home equipment, because of their excellent connecting performance and agile adaptability. Such advantages are attributable to their  polyimide or polyester film base materials, which make the product bendable, foldable and smaller in size with good heat dissipation and lower cost, especially favorable to miniaturized electronic products such as smartphones.

Amid the new era of 4G, the smartphone market has gradually become the main outsourcing market for FPC connectors, including other fields such as automobile, medical, industrial, aerial and military. It is projected that the continuous launch of new products will sustain the connector industry’s positive growth. The most commonly found mainstream FPC connectors include DIP and SMT connectors, and their development aims to increase pin intensity, reduce spacing and lower connector height, so as to better address the future need of customers for electronic products that are lighter, thinner, smaller and more functional.

In the face of increasing cost of raw materials and labor, FPC connector manufacturers are constantly perfecting their manufacturing system in the hope of reducing production cost by increasing efficiency and reducing waste. At the same time, the development of new products and new areas of implementation are also taken into account. One must not only consider miniaturized consumer electronic products; FPC connectors also have a huge potential in terms of high-speed transfer. As one of the leading companies in the industry, Molex Co. has already started research on connectors in this field. It is believed that in the near future,FPC connectors will have an even bigger share of the market.
Despite the fact that its manufacturing techniques are more complicated and entail higher cost compared to those of flex-rigid circuit boards, the manufacture of FPC connectors has facilitated the production of connectors that can expand, subtract and move at will. The foldable, bendable and FPC connector with multi-layered imposition function can reduce the total size of a component and decrease the use of raw materials, thereby saving on assembly costs.