Yes, the tooling costs ARE higher than standard PCBs. But lots of connectors
can add weight and a LOT of grief. I've done 3 over the years, and all 
three were
a $wash against standard connectors/cables/PCBs _if_ the qtys are high 
(above
500), but the product's reliablity was higher; in one case dramatically 
higher (product
subject to severe vibration in normal operation).

But the main problem is PROVING that to management. That is normally 
done with
a prototype- and, as noted- they are very expensive.

--Bob

Spehro Pefhany wrote:

> At 10:06 AM 8/24/2005 -0700, you wrote:
>
>> Alan's got it.
>>
>> The normal application is to eliminate tiny connectors and their 
>> attendant
>> unreliability. As long as the components are actually installed on 
>> the rigid
>> portions of the circuit, all will be well, but mounting them anywhere 
>> on the
>> flex part is a prescription for disaster. Done in this way, the 
>> design is quite
>> reliable.
>>
>> On one camera, I have seen one circuit open up like a flower into 3 
>> rigid
>> parts, and it worked very well. It eliminated the need for bottom-side
>> SMD mounting, saving the client a lot of manufacturing money as well
>> as easing repair and/or rework.
>>
>> --Bob
>
>
> Last time I looked at small production quantities, we went with 
> connectors,
> cables and rigid boards because the tooling costs were fairly high 
> (thousands).
>
>> Best regadrs,
>
>
> Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..."            "The Journey is the 
> reward"
> speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: 
> http://www.trexon.com
> Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  
> http://www.speff.com
> ->> Inexpensive test equipment & parts 
> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZspeff
>
>


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