[sdiy] [OT] UV solder mask vs JBWeld/Gorilla Weld

[Brian Willoughby]

You might consider a custom flex circuit, assuming you have PCB design skills and the time. Custom flex circuits can be expensive, but the prices are coming down. I worked on one product with 4 custom flex circuits that started out at $40/ea and ended up at maybe $2/ea. The discount wasn't from quantity (fewer than 100 pieces), but from shopping around. The first flex fab was expensive. The second was cheap, but low quality. The third was high quality and inexpensive, perhaps higher quality than the most expensive, and the same cost or less than the poor quality. I was actually surprised that prices had come down that much.

One advantage of designing a new flex circuit is that you can sell spares to others who are repairing the same product.

I realize this isn't necessarily the best choice, but it's probably worth considering.

Brian

On Mar 6, 2022, at 18:31, Barry Klein wrote:
> Sorry for the OT post but I don’t frequent other electronics forums and am hoping some of you have experience with this.  I am repairing a torn flex circuit.  I have the hardest part done - I used wires from solder wick - twisted a couple together, applied solder paste on pads scraped clear on the broken traces, and have all jumpered across nicely.  But these wires have no strength. I have both flex pieces crazy glued to a thin metal base.  I intend to free them from it using a razor blade after I apply either uv soldermask or jbweld over the joints.  I’m afraid the JBWeld won’t adhere and afraid the UV solder mask won’t adhere or solidify.  Maybe it will harden if I use really thin coats but likely doesn’t adhere to the kapton.  Any advice?