Best Flex PCB manufacturers

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Hi, I am looking to get a flex PCB made for a project I'm doing, and I'm kinda at a loss as to where to get it produced. JLCPCB has been my go-to for regular PCBs for a long time due to their unbeatable prices and high quality and fast turnaround times. But they don't offer flex PCB services.

So, I'm hoping some of you have some experience making flex PCBs and could herhaps offer some wisdom on getting them made. The only one I've seen really is PCBway, but they seem to charge an arm and a leg for them. So if there are any manufacturers that are less expensive, that would be great.

Also, I've seen most commonly the orangey kapton type flex PCbs, but I've also seen types like this that seem to have a solder mask material on them, likely making them more durable. Does anyone know what this is called, and where I might be able to get that made?

Image of this flex PCB type I was referring to above:

Thanks for the help everyone, feel free to remove if I've posted this in the wrong place.
 

YveltalGriffin

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I get my FPCs from two places, GoldPhoenix and PCBWay. Each service has pros and cons.

GoldPhoenix
  • FPC Pool service (opens every few days, closes after a few days or when pool is full)
  • Super duper cheap, only $1.20 per square inch
  • 1/2 layers, ENIG, 0.1mm thickness, 0.5oz/in² copper and 5/5mil trace/space. I've never had issues ordering designs with 10/20mil vias despite that being out of spec.
  • Any type of PI or FR4 stiffener is only $5 extra. They can do all the usual stiffener stackups like 0.2mm PI, 0.5mm FR4, and have really good registration for the price.
  • Only yellow (natural) coverlay. Be sure to specifically request tighter apertures if you need them, otherwise they'll ask to gang all the openings.
  • Fantastic customer service!
PCBWay
  • Flexible PCB service (order anytime)
  • Relatively expensive (~$110 minimum + shipping)
  • 1/2/4/6/8 layers, ENIG/IAg/ISn/OSP, variety of thicknesses and copper weights, 2.5/2.5mil trace/space. (The tighter trace/space spec is the only reason I ever buy from PCBWay.)
  • PI, FR4, stainless steel, and aluminum stiffener (PI and FR4 don't add cost, stainless and Al do)
  • Yellow, black, and white coverlay options. Their coverlay registration is absolutely immaculate in my experience.
  • Good customer service, just much more automated than GP
I will say that every time I've ordered FPCs from PCBWay, they've messed with my silkscreen (either moving markings around, or changing font sizes.) It doesn't impact functionality but it is strange.

OshPark also has a pool FPC service, but it's 6/6mil trace/space, has absurd 3-week lead time, and doesn't support stiffeners. Not up my alley, but they do have nice DLP silkscreen, so there's that.
 
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Thank you so much actually, GoldPhoenix should be really great to get some samples since with PCBway it seems like I'm spending like $150 minimum.
 
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