Flexible electronics is a growing area of interest. In2tec, a flexible electronics innovator, was formed in 2001 following a management buy-out from C&K Components.

“We’ve combined 25 years’ flexible electronics experience with investment into our R&D Innovation Engine to create unique electronic solution sets,” said In2tec’s CEO, Neil Armstrong. “Our design philosophy is that nothing is impossible, and by following this we’ve created unique solution sets for our customers. Our capabilities can offer both dynamic flexible electronics and rigid 3-dimensional curved circuit boards which means we can truly break down any barriers to curved design.”

“Our flexible electronic solutions offer huge benefits for the automotive and aerospace markets where weight and space are invaluable. However, new innovations in the wearable and medical technology markets also stand to gain a lot from our technology” Armstrong added.

In2tec’s innovations include the Iflex circuit which is an alternative to traditional flexible printed circuits. Rather than using the usual copper etching process which requires premium materials and results in costly waste, Iflex uses conductive silver. This minimises the waste and is organically more cost-effective. On average, the Iflex solution set has saved customers £1.49 per part.

“The great thing about Iflex is that it can be altered to create a bespoke solution for our customer’s end application, including creating a hybrid circuit board,” Armstrong noted. “Add that to huge benefits flexible circuits can offer such as making curved design easier and reducing the weight and space of the circuit board and it’s clear that Iflex can offer a huge competitive advantage to our customers.

“We’re also really proud of our complex curve technology, there’s nothing else like it on the market,” Armstrong said. Complex curve technology offers the capability for the electronics to be printed directly onto the substrate, on a single plane, while forming that substrate into a curve. It offers huge advantages over flat, rigid PCBs and means the circuits take up significantly less space and creates a product which is lighter and has a low surface height.

E-waste and improving the sustainability of their products is also a focus for In2tec. “We think flexible printed electronics are going to be a huge drive for the circular economy and sustainable electronics,” said Armstrong. “A lot of our research and innovation has been in reducing e-waste and we’ve created ReUse circuit assemblies which are 95% recyclable. As the reduction of e-waste becomes a priority for the electronics industry, printed flexible electronics will be at the forefront of this.”

Flexible electronics are finding opportunities in a wide range of fields, from automotive and aerospace to medical and wearable applications. They are creating new design possibilities, from making wearable technology ‘more wearable’ or reducing the weight of automotive electronics. But what separates In2tec from the rest of the field? “The combination of our extensive electronics experience and our innovation drive. We’ve really been pushing the boundaries of research and development in flexible electronics,” Armstrong answered. “Until recently, we’ve been the world’s best kept secret, but now we’re out doing technology roadshows and showing off what we can do, which has received really positive feedback from the market. They’re excited about the design possibilities our products open up.”