Technical Library | 2020-03-09 10:50:17.0
A customer called the Helpline seeking advice for cleaning no-clean fluxes prior to applying a conformal coating. The customer's assemblies were manufactured with a no-clean rosin based solder paste (ROL0) and were cleaned with an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) wash. After cleaning, a white residue was sometimes found in areas with high paste concentrations and was interfering with the adhesion of the conformal coating (Figure 1). For conformal coatings to adhere properly, the printed circuit board (PCB) surface must be clean of fluxes and other residues. In addition, ionic contamination left by flux residues can lead to corrosion and dendrite growth, two common causes of electronic opens and shorts. Other residues can lead to unwanted impedance and physical interference with moving parts.
Technical Library | 2019-06-05 11:11:06.0
As electronic products increase in functionality and complexity, there is an emphasis on affordability, miniaturization, and energy efficiency. The telecommunications, automotive, and commercial electronic markets are the leading drivers for these trends. These markets see high volume manufacturing with millions of units priced to the fraction of the cent. The choice of the packaging material for the electrical components for these markets can have a substantial effect on the cost of the final product. Therefore plastic encapsulated components are almost universally used in non-military applications over the conventional ceramic or metal electronic packages.
Technical Library | 2023-11-07 09:36:38.0
How to Choose the Right PCB Coating Machine Line Selecting the ideal equipment for your PCB coating line can be a complex task. In this article, we will guide you through the critical components of a standard PCB coating machine line and their solutions to common challenges. We'll delve into the line's composition, including the elevator, transfer station, coating machine, inspection station, curing oven, and their interconnectedness through a return conveyor. Let's explore each element and understand its role. Components of a PCB Coating Machine Line: Elevator: The PCB coating process starts with an elevator, efficiently transporting PCB boards to the next stage. Transfer Station: After the elevator, boards are conveyed to a transfer station, preparing them for the coating process. Coating Machine: The heart of the PCB coating line is the coating machine. We offer a range of coating machines, including I.C.T-T550, I.C.T-T550U, I.C.T-T600, and I.C.T-T650. Inspection Conveyor: Following the coating process, the boards move to an inspection station. The second transfer station is equipped with LED lights and a blue glass cover, enabling operators to closely inspect the coating quality. This feature is vital for ensuring consistent, dust-free coatings. Curing Oven: For UV-curable adhesives, we provide a UV curing oven to effectively solidify the adhesive. Return Conveyor: Beneath the entire line runs a return conveyor, connected to the elevator. This conveyor system efficiently returns PCBs from the last elevator to the first one, reducing manual handling and streamlining operations. The Advantages of the PCB Coating Line Design: 1. Easy Accessibility: The operator's station is strategically located beside the coating machine, ensuring easy access for setup and adjustments. 2. Enhanced Efficiency: The integrated return conveyor eliminates the need for manual transport, optimizing workflow. 3. Quality Control: The inspection station with the blue glass cover enables operators to inspect coatings for quality and cleanliness. 4. Dust Prevention: The blue glass cover also serves as a barrier to prevent dust contamination on freshly coated PCBs. Selecting the right PCB coating machine line is essential for achieving quality and efficiency in your operations. Our meticulously designed equipment line, along with its well-engineered components, can help you attain superior results. If you have further questions or need assistance in choosing the best solution for your specific requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are committed to providing solutions that meet your needs and exceed your expectations.
Technical Library | 2023-04-17 21:37:32.0
Ionic contamination is a leading cause in the degradation and corrosion of electronic assemblies, leading to lifetime limitation and field failure (Fig. 1). Ionic residue comes from a variety of sources shown in Fig. 2 opposite: Examples of ionic contaminants: * Anions * Cations * Weak Organic Acid
Technical Library | 2010-06-10 21:01:48.0
This paper researches the effectiveness of the R.O.S.E. cleanliness testing process for dissolving and measuring ionic contaminants from boards soldered with no-clean and lead-free flux technologies.
Technical Library | 2020-11-24 23:12:27.0
In a lead-free reflow process, temperatures are higher, and materials use outgasses more than in a leaded reflow process. The trends toward higher density populated boards and more pin-in-paste technology also increase solder paste use. More components and more solder paste result in more outgassing of chemistry during the reflow process. Some assemblies report condensation of vapors when the cold printed circuit board enters the oven. Little is known about the interaction between these condensed materials in terms of the interaction between these condensed materials and the reliability of the assembly. Apart from the question of reliability, a printed circuit board contaminated with a small film of residues after reflow soldering is not desirable.
Technical Library | 2016-02-11 18:26:43.0
Although reflow ovens may not have been dramatically changed during the last decade the reflow process changes step by step. With the introduction of lead-free soldering not only operation temperatures increased, but also the chemistry of the solder paste was modified to meet the higher thermal requirements. Miniaturization is a second factor that impacts the reflow process. The density on the assembly is increasing where solder paste deposit volumes decreases due to smaller pad and component dimensions. Pick and place machines can handle more components and to meet this high through put some SMD lines are equipped with dual lane conveyors, doubling solder paste consumption. With the introduction of pin in paste to solder through hole components contamination of the oven increased due to dripping of the paste.
Technical Library | 2020-09-02 22:02:13.0
With the adoption of Wafer Level Packages (WLP) in the latest generation mobile handsets, the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry has also seen the initial steps of High Density Interconnect (HDI) products migrating away from the current subtractive processes towards a more technically adept technique, based on an advanced modified Semi Additive Process (amSAP). This pattern plate process enables line and space features in the region of 20um to be produced, in combination with fully filled, laser formed microvias. However, in order to achieve these process demands, a step change in the performance of the chemical processes used for metallization of the microvia is essential. In the electroless Copper process, the critical activator step often risks cross contamination by the preceding chemistries. Such events can lead to uncontrolled buildup of Palladium rich residues on the panel surface, which can subsequently inhibit etching and lead to short circuits between the final traces. In addition, with more demands being placed on the microvia, the need for a high uniformity Copper layer has become paramount, unfortunately, as microvia shape is often far from ideal, the deposition or "throw" characteristics of the Copper bath itself are also of critical importance. This "high throwing power" is influential elsewhere in the amSAP technique, as it leads to a thinner surface Copper layer, which aids the etching process and enables the ultra-fine features being demanded by today's high end PCB applications. This paper discusses the performance of an electroless Copper plating process that has been developed to satisfy the needs of challenging amSAP applications. Through the use of a radical predip chemistry, the formation, build up and deposition of uncontrolled Pd residues arising from activator contamination has been virtually eradicated. With the adoption of a high throwing power Copper bath, sub 30um features are enabled and microvia coverage is shown to be greatly improved, even in complex via shapes which would otherwise suffer from uneven coverage and risk premature failure in service. Through a mixture of development and production data, this paper aims to highlight the benefits and robust performance of the new electroless Copper process for amSAP applications
Technical Library | 2014-03-06 19:04:07.0
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the rate of Head-in-Pillow component soldering defects which interrupts the merger of the BGA/CSP component solder spheres with the molten solder paste during reflow. The issue has occurred across a broad segment of industries including consumer, telecom and military. There are many reasons for this issue such as warpage issues of the component or board, ball co-planarity issues for BGA/CSP components and non-wetting of the component based on contamination or excessive oxidation of the component coating. The issue has been found to occur not only on lead-free soldered assemblies where the increased soldering temperatures may give rise to increase component/board warpage but also on tin-lead soldered assemblies.
Technical Library | 2010-04-15 22:06:32.0
As electronic products increase in functionality and complexity, there is an emphasis on affordability, miniaturization, and energy efficiency. The telecommunications, automotive, and commercial electronic markets are the leading drivers for these trends. These markets see high volume manufacturing with millions of units priced to the fraction of the cent. The choice of the packaging material for the electrical components for these markets can have a substantial effect on the cost of the final product. Therefore plastic encapsulated components are almost universally used in non-military applications over the conventional ceramic or metal electronic packages.
