Folded Rigid-Flex Verification

Flux is an AI hardware engineer. It folds rigid-flex boards in 3D and checks their fit, clearances, and flex design.

Set the flex joint position and fold

Ask Flux to position a flex joint and set the bend or twist.

Add a flex joint at the hinge and fold the arm 90° with a 2 mm bend radius.

Set the flex joint position and rotation so the tail folds toward the enclosure.

Twist the flex tail 90° over 25 mm to align the connector.

Set the hinge joint for repeated bending with a 3 mm bend radius.

A Flex Joint has Position, Rotation, Bend, Twist, and Repeated Bending rules. Set a bend angle and radius, a twist angle and length, or both. Use Repeated Bending for a joint that folds many times.

You can set these values on a Flex Joint in the PCB editor. See Add bends and twists for the UI steps.

View the folded board in 3D

Ask Flux to show the board folded or twisted at its flex joints.

Show the rigid-flex board folded at each flex joint in 3D.

Fold the arm at the hinge and show its final position.

Twist the flex tail and show how the connector sits in the assembly.

Show the board folded and compare the flex arm positions.

The PCB editor shows the board flat and marks its bend zones. The 3D view shows the board folded and twisted at each Flex Joint.

Open the 3D view to see the folded board. The 3D downloads, including STEP, show the folded board. See See and check the folded board.

Check the bend and twist geometry

Ask Flux to check each bend radius, twist length, and flex joint zone.

Check each bend radius against the minimum for its flex stackup.

Check that the hinge bend radius is large enough for repeated bending.

Check each twist length against the flex tail width.

List parts, vias, and holes that fall inside a bend or twist zone.

Flux checks the bend radius against the minimum for the flex stackup. The minimum bend radius is larger for repeated bending. It also checks twist length against the minimum for the tail width and finds parts, pads, vias, and holes in bend or twist zones.

Check traces and overlapping flex zones

Ask Flux to review trace direction, width changes, and the placement of flex zones.

Check that traces cross every bend at 90°.

Find traces that cross a rigid-to-flex boundary at an angle other than 90°.

Check for overlapping bend and twist zones.

Find traces with sharp corners or width changes near a flex boundary.

Flux checks that traces cross bends at 90°. It also checks for overlapping zones and flex issues at rigid-to-flex boundaries.

Review the flex checklist

Ask Flux to run the flex design checks and list the results.

Run the flex design checks and list the Stackup Areas results.

Review the rigid-flex board for parts or vias in bend zones.

Check the flex arm for edge clearance, bend radius, and trace direction.

List Flex Edge Glue issues at each rigid-to-flex boundary.

The Review panel shows flex design checks in the Stackup Areas category. The checks cover bend radius, repeated bending, twist length, parts and vias in bend zones, traces across bends, overlapping zones, and Flex Edge Glue.

Open the Review panel and expand Stackup Areas to read the results. Flux also checks Flex Edge Glue that covers a pad, via, or plated hole, is wider than the flex area, or has no rigid edge to glue against.

Check folded fit and clearance in the enclosure

Ask Flux to add the folded board to the 3D assembly and review its fit.

Add the folded board to the 3D assembly and check enclosure fit and clearance.

Check tool access around the folded board's connectors and fasteners.

Review the enclosure clearance around the flex arm at its final bend.

Update the bend settings until the folded board fits inside the enclosure.

The 3D assembly shows the board in its folded position with the enclosure. Use it to check fit and clearance. See Fit and Clearance.

Check signals and temperature by area

Ask Flux to simulate signals or temperature on the folded board.

Check signal integrity through the flex arm using its area stackup.

Simulate the impedance and crosstalk of traces in each flex area.

Run a thermal simulation of the rigid-flex board with its area stackups.

Review the flex design's signal and thermal results.

Flux uses the stackup of each Stackup Area for signal-integrity and thermal analysis. The area stackups also set the impedance and electrical length used for signal checks.

Export the folded board

Ask Flux to export the folded board for mechanical design.

Export the folded rigid-flex board as a STEP file.

Download the 3D model of the board in its folded position.

Export the board and assembly so I can continue mechanical design in my CAD tool.

The 3D downloads, including STEP, show the folded board. You can add the exported board to the enclosure assembly for fit and clearance checks.

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