How to know the Pitch of FPC /FFC Ribbon Cable?

If you are looking to replace the FFC/FPC cable or finding one to which will perfectly fit your desired connector, the Pitch requirement is very important. So first of all, you will need to find out the pitch of the cable from your old cable or connector before buying a new one to replace it. It comes in different dimensions ranging from 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm.

Let's understand what is pitch of FPC cable or contact points any other electronics PCB first.

We have received many inquiries about how to measure the pitch of FPC/FFC flat ribbon cable. But actually It is not feasible to measure the pitch of FPC/FFC cable accurately with normal scale or even with the help digital vernier scale !

But still it's quite easy to get it. There is a simple formula to calculate it. Here is a little example on looking at the Flat FPC Flex cables and figuring out the Pitch of the Cable.

The formula used is Cable Width = (No. of conductors in cable  + 1) x (Pitch)
The + 1 is referring to the ends of the cable. Even though there is not a conductor path there the distance has to be taken into account.

It is always easier to measure the Full width of the cable and then divide by the (No. of Pins in cable + 1)

So here is the formula,

For example - Cable width 5mm, number of contacts 9.
Take the 5mm and divide by the number of contacts (9 +1) this will equal 0.5mm. Then 0.5mm is now the pitch of the cable.

I hope you have found this article helpful to calculate the pitch if your cable.