Virtual DesignCATIA Flexible Circuit Board

As today's electronic devices pack more functions into smaller andlighter packages, flexible printed circuit boards (PCB) become morepervasive. Although they provide an optimal solution for thesecramped electronic environments, design and prototyping of flexiblePCB components is problematic, often relying on expensive physicalprototyping, error-prone manual processes and paper drawings formechanical and Electronic CAD (ECAD) communication.

Now you can eliminate these non-value-add expenses and errors byleveraging the power of CATIA Flexible Circuit Board, which enablesthe modeling of a flexible circuit board within a virtual mock-up andfacilitates the collaboration with electronic CAD systems. Efficientcollaboration helps to optimize design by improving or eliminating theerrors associated with disjointed handoffs between flexible circuitboard, prototyping and manufacturing. CATIA Flexible Circuit Boardoptimizes design eff ic iency by leveraging a ful ly automated,streamlined and cost-efficient process for design and development ofelectronic devices.

Customer benefits

• Full digital and integrateddesign process

• Product Mock-upContextual Design

• Downstream applicationsassociative design tointegrate continuousdesign changes

Key capabilities

Easy creat ion of mechanicalshapes of printed circuit boardsThe f lexible PCB?s 3D shape iscreated in the Generative SheetMetal Design workbench, within theglobal assembly product definition,taking the mechanical context intoaccount. It provides a very intuitiveand productive environment for thedesign of flexible circuit boards withdedicated tools like the sketcherthat a l lows rapid def in i t ion andedi t ion of f lex ib le c i rcu i t boardprofiles. Its feature-based approachof fe rs a h igh ly p roduc t ive and

in tu i t i ve des i gn env i r onmen t .General features such as cut outstamps, holes and flanges as wellas dedicated features for bendedpart such as wall, wall on edge,bend, extrude? permit the creationof geometry on both folded andun fo lded rep resen ta t i ons o f af lex ib le c i rcu i t board. A cutoutperformed, for example, on theunfolded representation of the partw i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y a n dsimultaneously be reflected on thefolded representation.

Creation of Constraint Area

CATIA Flexible Circuit Boardallows the creation of ConstraintAreas . A cons t ra in ts a rea is aspecif ic CBD object based on aplaned profile (sketch or 3D curve).Edition and creation of the volumeare done th rough a ded ica tedcommand. Constraint areas are thec o m m u n i c a t i o n c h a n n e l o fspecifications between ECAD andMCAD. All the constraint areas areg a t h e r e d i n a b o d y c a l l e dConstraint Area, which is createdon the fly when the Constraint areafunctionality is used first time.

E l e c t r o n i c c o m p o n e n t splacement on flexible boardsC A T I A F l e x i b l e C i r c u i t B o a r denables intelligent placement of 3De lec t ron i c componen ts on theflexible board. The component canc o m e f r o m a c a t a l o g i n t h edatabase or can be a l ready insession. The standard componentcan be placed on the flexible circuitb o a r d a n d c o n s t r a i n e d t o i t smechanical environment. By usingt h i s c o m m a n d , t h e p l a c e dcomponent wil l keep its posit ionduring Folded/Unfolded view.

Switch to Fold / Unfold ViewAt any t ime you can fold/unfoldyour Flexible PCB part to have afolded or flattened view of it. Thecons t ra in t a reas and a t tachedelectrical components repositionalong with the master part whilefolding or unfolding. It manages allthe sheet metal features and someobjects of the flexible circuit boardlike the components, the Constraintareas, the Holes and Cutouts.

Bi-d i rect ional in ter face wi thelectrical CAD Systems basedon industry standard interface(IDF) formatThe Export as IDF File tool is usedto export the Flexible Circuit Board(out l ine, mechanical constra intareas, cutouts and dril led holes,components placement) in the IDF2.0/3.O format, which can be usedin ECAD applications. After placingthe e lec t r ica l components andother ECAD operations, a new IDFf i l e i s g e n e r a t e d a n d s e n t t oMCAD. This . IDF f i le generatedafter ECAD routing contains thelocation of the components in theflexible circuit board assembly andthe constraint areas.

Synchron iza t ion a f te r ECADmodification importT o t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t h em o d i f i c a t i o n m a d e b y E C A Ddesigner , the MCAD user is ablet o u p d a t e a n e x i s t i n g b o a r dassembly ( initial assembly ) with anew . idf and . l ib f i le, which cancontain any changes to the boardgeometry (profile, thickness, holes,pockets), component placement,component constraints (remove oradd) and the BOM of the board. CATIA Flexible Circuit Board offersa fully automated, streamlined andcost-efficient process. At the end oft h e p r o c e d u r e , a l l i m p o r t e dcomponents and constraint areasare attached to the master flexiblePCB. The fully developed, flexiblePCB can be refolded with all of itscomponents and placed in the 3Dassembly for final validation.

CATIA Flexible Circuit Board. 2010

About Dassault SystèmesAs a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 100,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3Dsoftware market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entirelifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product - SolidWorks for 3D mechanicaldesign - DELMIA for virtual production - SIMULIA for virtual testing - ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences. DassaultSystèmes shares are listed on Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) and Dassault Systèmes ADRs may be traded on the US Over-The-Counter (OTC) market (DASTY).

CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, SolidWorks and 3DVIA are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.