Foresight Vehicle: Specification and Acceptability Criteria for Copper-Clad Dielectric Materials Used in Large Automotive Flexible Printed Circuits

Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs) have been used extensively in instrument clusters and more recently in headliners of some vehicles. Interest in large area FPCs as a replacement for traditional wiring harnesses has been propelled by the potential benefits, which include weight and space savings, ease of assembly into the vehicle, intelligence through direct mounting of electronic components, and creative design opportunities. This paper describes the development of a specification for flexible copper-clad dielectric materials to be used in the construction of a large FPC intended to replace an instrument panel wiring harness.