Technical Library | 2018-07-11 22:46:13.0
For a demanding automotive electronics assembly, a highly thermal fatigue resistant solder alloy is required, which makes the lead-free Sn-Ag-Cu type solder alloy unusable. Sn-Ag-Bi-In solder alloy is considered as a high reliability solder alloy due to significant improvement in thermal fatigue resistance as compared to a standard Sn-Ag-Cu alloy. The alloy has not only good thermal fatigue properties but it also has superior ductility and tensile strength by appropriate addition of In; however, initial results indicated a sub-par performance in joint reliability when it is soldered on a printed circuit board (PCB) with Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG) surface finish. Numerous experiments were performed to find out appropriate alloying element which would help improve the performance on ENIG PCBs. Sn-Ag-Bi-In solder alloys with and without Cu additions were prepared and then tests were carried out to see the performance in a thermal fatigue test and a drop resistance test.to investigate the impact of Cu addition towards the improvement of joint reliability on ENIG finish PCB. Also, the mechanism of such improvement is documented.
Technical Library | 2020-12-16 18:50:42.0
System operating speeds continue to increase as a function of the consumer demand for such technologies as faster Internet connectivity, video on demand, and mobile communications technology. As a result, new high performance PCB substrates have emerged to address signal integrity issues at higher operating frequencies. These are commonly called low Dk and/or low loss (Df) materials. The published "typical" values found on a product data sheet provide limited information, usually a single construction and resin content, and are derived from a wide range of test methods and test sample configurations. A printed circuit board designer or front end application engineer must be aware that making a design decision based on the limited information found on a product data sheet can lead to errors which can delay a product launch or increase the assembled PCB cost. The purpose of this paper is to highlight critical selection factors that go beyond a typical product data sheet and explain how these factors must be considered when selecting materials for high speed applications
Technical Library | 2019-10-24 06:29:59.0
Making your novel electronic item design ready for mass fabrication and printed circuit board assembly consists of a lot of steps as well as risks. I will provide a few recommendations about how to neglect pricey errors and how to reduce the time to promote your novel item designs. You can hire printed circuit board assembly services for this. As soon as you have accomplished your product as well as printed circuit board design, you wish to get started developing prototypes prior to you commit to big fabrication volume. A lot of design software packages, for instance, PCB layout design software, as well as an industrial design software program, possess simulation potentials incorporated. Carrying out a simulation facilitates curtailing numerous design mistakes prior to the first prototype is developed. In case you are developing an intrusive item, you might desire to think about a modular design wherein all of the chief functionalities are situated in individual modules. All through your testing, you could then swap modules that don’t cater to the design limits. Spinning individual modules would be swifter and more cost-effective in comparison to spinning a complete design. Counting on the design intricacy, you can mull over manually mounting printed circuit board elements to bank dollars. Nonetheless, for medium to big intricacy this procedure likely to be very time taking, typically in case you wish to create numerous prototypes. Hence it makes sense thinking about a contract manufacturer for the assembly. Whilst running miniature quantity fabrication runs, the fabrication setup expenditure will usually control the by and large prototype constructs expenditure. Whilst seeking a subcontractor, it is finest to choose a vendor that focuses on prototype builds to reduce the cost. Prototype printed circuit board fabricators characteristically join the circuit boards of a number of clients which efficiently shares the setup expenditure in the midst of some customers. The disadvantage is that you would characteristically only be able to want among numerous standard printed circuit board material thicknesses as well as sizes. Apart from choosing a supplier with low setup expenditure, choosing a firm that would moreover be capable to manage your whole fabrication runs curtails mistakes because switching fabricators have the chance of errors owing to a specific supplier interpreting fabrication design data in a different way. This manner your design is already translated into the particular machine data that implies little or no setup expenditure for your final fabrication. A few PCB manufacturers also provide printed circuit board design services that are awesome plus if you do not possess experience with the design. Moreover, these vendors would be capable to help you in case there are issues with your design folders and be capable to detect issues prior to the fabrication.
Technical Library | 2015-04-29 03:48:39.0
SPI equipment is routinely used in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing to monitor and control one of the most crucial steps affecting the finished quality of circuit board. Solder paste deposition is the key process in board assembly operations using SMT techniques. Our LSM™ system was the industry's first popular method of manually inspecting solder paste; our SE systems revolutionized SMT production by offering an automated method for performing in-process 3D inspection on the assembly line. SPI systems measure the height and volume of the solder pads before the components are applied and the solder melted, and when used properly, can reduce the incidence of solder-related defects to statistically insignificant amounts. Critical to the SPI measurement is the accuracy of the height measurement because that has a direct correlation with solder volume and defects.
Technical Library | 2015-07-21 13:50:37.0
Achieving an even coat at the right desired thickness is a major challenge when it comes to applying conformal coating to a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Applying a coating too thin will ultimately render the electronic assembly vulnerable to potential environmental risks therefore defeating the purpose of the coating. Apply the coat too thick, and it could leave the electronic specific components non-functional therefore destroying the electronic assembly entirely. Coating thickness must meet quality specifications. Measurements for coating thickness may be taken while film is dry or wet. Once measurements are recorded, thickness is compared to quality specifications and fluid dispensing automation machinery is calibrated as necessary. There are a handful of methods for measuring conformal coating thickness that are commonly used in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Electronic Manufacturer (OEM) industries. A few commonly used methods for checking conformal coating thickness include:
Technical Library | 2017-11-22 12:38:51.0
The use of copper foils laminated to polyimide (PI) as flexible printed circuit board precursor is a standard practice in the PCB industry. We have previously described[1] an approach to very thin copper laminates of coating uniform layers of nano copper inks and converting them into conductive foils via photonic sintering with a multibulb conveyor system, which is consistent with roll-to-roll manufacturing. The copper thickness of these foils can be augmented by electroplating. Very thin copper layers enable etching fine lines in the flexible circuit. These films must adhere tenaciously to the polyimide substrate.In this paper, we investigate the factors which improve and inhibit adhesion. It was found that the ink composition, photonic sintering conditions, substrate pretreatment, and the inclusion of layers (metal and organic) intermediate between the copper and the polyimide are important.
Technical Library | 2021-05-06 13:41:55.0
Quality control is of vital importance during electronics production. As the methods of producing electronic circuits improve, there is an increasing chance of solder defects during assembling the printed circuit board (PCB). Many technologies have been incorporated for inspecting failed soldering, such as X-ray imaging, optical imaging, and thermal imaging. With some advanced algorithms, the new technologies are expected to control the production quality based on the digital images. However, current algorithms sometimes are not accurate enough to meet the quality control. Specialists are needed to do a follow-up checking. For automated X-ray inspection, joint of interest on the X-ray image is located by region of interest (ROI) and inspected by some algorithms. Some incorrect ROIs deteriorate the inspection algorithm.
Technical Library | 2021-07-27 14:59:56.0
With increasing focus on reliability and miniaturized designs, Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) as failure mechanism is gaining a lot of attention. Smaller geometries make the printed circuit board (PCB) susceptible to conductive anodic filament growth. Isola has carried out work to characterize the CAF susceptibility of various resin systems under different process and design conditions. Tests were carried out to determine the effect of various factors such as resin systems, glass finishes, voltage bias and hole and line spacings on the CAF resistance. This work was intended to provide information to the user on the suitability of various grades for specific end use applications. The focus of the work at Isola is to find the right combination of process and design conditions for improved CAF resistant products.
Technical Library | 2023-11-14 19:33:57.0
Wave soldering is an established technology and is commonly used where large unit volumes occur with low product variety. However, if a wave soldering machine is getting old or if technological changes or new PCB designs limits its manufacturing capabilities, consideration should be given to whether selective soldering would be a better choice. Anyone who deals with soldering through-hole and surface mount mixed-technology printed circuit assemblies will quickly discover that a selective soldering machine is not only less expensive that wave soldering, but selective soldering also offers the opportunity to meet customer requirements with significantly more flexibility. One such company is Thomas Preuhs GmbH. Located in Geislingen, Germany, Thomas Preuhs GmbH manufactures a variety of electronic assemblies for solar and HVAC data systems, automotive and white goods products as well as electric drive systems.
Technical Library | 2015-12-17 17:24:17.0
Product quality can be improved through proper application of design for test (DFT) strategies. With today's shrinking product sizes and increasing functionality, it is difficult to get good test coverage of loaded printed circuit boards due to the loss of test access. Advances in test techniques, such as boundary scan, help to recover this loss of test coverage. However, many of these test techniques need to be designed into the product to be effective.This paper will discuss how to maximize the benefits of boundary scan test, including specific examples of how designers should select the right component, connect multiple boundary scan components in chains, add test access to the boundary scan TAP ports, etc. A discussion of DFT guidelines for PCB layout designers is also included. Finally, this paper will include a description of some advanced test methods used in in-circuit tests, such as vectorless test and special probing methods, which are implemented to improve test coverage on printed circuit boards with limited test access.
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