Rack of copper-plated sheets being removed from an electroplating bath during the first stage in the preparation of flexible electronic circuits, special types of printed circuits that can be shaped and moulded according to requirement. Based on a polyester (plastic) laminate, flexible circuits are typically used in circumstances where weight, space- saving or the nature of a component makes the use of the normal rigid printed circuit board impossible - in the nose-cone of a missile, for instance. The first flexible circuits directly replaced traditional, complex wiring looms which were time-consuming to connect.