Joined: 23 Jun 2026
Posts: 12
 Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2026 9:38 am Post subject: FPC Blanking ---- Applicable to Semicon? |
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| Hello Fellow Engineers,
I worked for a Semicon Company for about 13 years when I decided to join a slightly different industry which is Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC). This industry is not really new, however there are only a few companies that are into these products especially here in the Philippines. Anyway, the reason for this posting is the technology I learned (and still trying to learn) which might be useful in the Semicon industry particularly for DTFS process. For those who are looking for a better tooling material for punches and dies (better than tungsten carbide) I suggest you check out CPM3V. This material is tougher than tungsten carbide. In fact the clearances used in FPC are less than 5 um (almost zero). These clearances are needed given the soft material we blank (term used in the PC industry). I believe that you can increase your MTBF (due to regrinding or replacing) even with the clearances of about 25um which is standard in the Semicon. And if you reduce the 25um to say 10 um, it will definitely increase your MTBF and tool life further. The downside is the price and material is scarce. Currently it is about 3X the price of tungsten carbide. But I think this is only because of supply an demand. And of course, I have not tested this material on Semicon products yet. But I think it's worth an evaluation. Just so you know, I am not selling this material...(but I am thinking of starting a business). batman  |
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Guest
| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2026 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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| batman,
just wondering, do you give free samples (kahit scrap lang) of your FPC's to interested prospects? i'm a hobbyist intending to set up a small robotics business and i'm wondering if FPC's are applicable to robotics. thanks, roboman |
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Joined: 23 Jun 2026
Posts: 12
| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2026 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Roboman,
I am willing to give you some samples however I am not sure how you can use our scrap for your application. I mean, the FPCs we build are designed to specific customer designs. If we will design an artwork for your application, I'm sorry but its not going to be free. But let me tell you that FPCs are very much applicable to robotics industry. They are thinner than flat cables and more reliable. Our current customers are mostly in automotive industry. Some of the circuits they order require repetitive bending which a flat cable could not meet their specs. I am curious about your hobby. What kind of robots do you build? Are they for commercial purposes? batman |
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Guest
| Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2025 9:25 am Post subject: FPC Blanking |
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| Hi Batman,
I'm sorry guy, am totally disagreed with you that the CPM3V is better than carbide. In fact we had already stablished the best cutting material and tooling process for the FPC and other PCB material. The maximum tool life we stablished is already above the 1M strokes @ 65 SPM (Stroke Per Minute) depending on the product specification some has 1.5M. Actually the cutting material is just a secondary factor to stablish best cutting technology. The main factor here is machining process of the carbide material, second is the material selection(matching carbides), third is the cutting design rules for PCB, etc, etc. On the CPM3V, it is just a tool steel material on alevel of S7 that can be harden up to 60HRC and before you meet such hardness and toughness you need to have an intensive heat treatment process. During that process there's a lot of variables need to be consider on Annealing, Austenitizing, Tempering etc. If you did not meet all the requirements your CPM3V is just piece of meat cutting knife. Maximum of two regrind (@0.1 mm) are considerable for CPM3V. But in carbide, multiple are allowed as long as you have something to grind that due to homogeneous content @ 93 Hra. Currently we already on the 4 um clearance (2 um per side) on the punch/die and our customer are happy with it. We are on 12 solid years in tooling business and if you have any concern or something you wish to consult regarding toolings, please don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I'll be willing to help. rgds, |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2025 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Anselmo,
On the 12 solid years you have in the tooling business, have you tried the CPM3V yet? How extent was your study with the CPM3v if you have actually got hold of that material? |
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Guest
| Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2025 7:28 am Post subject: |
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| yap!
we made identical parts using the CPM3V and Carbide material but the CPM3V got dull after 350K strokes and the carbide runs up to a million. now with the new machining process we made on carbide we already run our part on a 2M. we barried to death this CPM3V from the tooling application, it is good only for making knives similar to those they commonly called Swiss knife. rgds, |
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Guest
| Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2025 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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| I noticed from the exchanges that some are well informed on this topic. Perhaps in the future one of you can develop a metal better than what you are using now.
Philippines needs inventions to boost our economy. thanks for the info shared. |
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