Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

Realizing Smart Manufacturing for Electronics

Apr 04, 2019 | Siemens AG

Siemens announced today the introduction of Camstar™ Electronics Suite software, an innovative manufacturing execution system (MES) for electronics. Building on the successful enterprise-level platform for integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, this powerful, configurable and scalable MES solution enables printed circuit board (PCB) and box assemblers to meet traceability requirements, improve efficiency levels and control manufacturing operations through direct Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity with machines and production lines....

Publisher: Siemens PLM Software

Database Driven Multi Media Work Instructions

Mar 25, 2019 | Tommy Fox

Work instructions are time consuming to generate for engineers, often requiring regeneration from scratch to address very minor changes. They need to be produced in varying levels of detail, with varying guidelines, for multiple stations, operators and lines. Minor component, station or process changes – down to the modification of an individual BOM component – can cause headaches when attempting to maintain consistency across multiple work instructions that are touched by the change.

The solution presented here improves efficiency and saves engineering time by making use of a database driven approach. Manufacturing details, component information, process guidelines, annotations, machine-specific data, and more can be stored in one central database. Any information stored in this single repository can then be modified quickly in one location and automatically propagate seamlessly throughout multiple work instructions. These can be instantly printed out or displayed on screens at appropriately affected stations with the simple click of a button, as opposed to regenerating from scratch, or going in and reviewing many documents to find and update with the change....

Publisher: Optimal Electronics Corporation

Embracing a New Paradigm: Electronic Work Instructions (EWI)

Mar 15, 2019 | Jeffrey Rupert, Travis Loving

While there have been quite dramatic and evident improvements in almost every facet of manufacturing over the last several decades owing to the advent and mass adoption of computer automation and networking, there is one aspect of production that remains stubbornly unaffected. Massive databases track everything from orders, to inventory, to personnel. CAD systems allow for interactive and dynamic 3D rendering and testing, digital troubleshooting, and simulation and analysis prior to mass production. Yet, with all of this computational power and all of this networking capability, one element of production has remained thoroughly and firmly planted in the past. Nearly all manufacturing or assembly procedures are created, deployed, and stored using methodologies derived from a set of assumptions that ceased to be relevant fifty years ago. This set of assumptions, referred to below as the “Paper Paradigm” has been, and continues as the dominant paradigm for manufacturing procedures to this day. It is time for a new paradigm, one that accounts for the vastly different technological landscape of this era, one that provides a simple, efficient interface, deep traceability, and dynamic response to rapidly changing economic forces.

This paper seeks to present an alternative. Instead of enhancing and improving on systems that became irrelevant with the invention of a database, instead of propping up an outdated, outmoded and inefficient system with incremental improvements; rewrite the paradigm. Change the underlying assertions to more accurately reflect our current technological capability. Instead of relying on evolutionary improvements, it is time for a revolution in manufacturing instructions....

Publisher: ScanCAD International, Inc.

An Investigation Into The Durability Of Stencil Coating Technologies

Mar 13, 2019 | Greg Smith, Tony Lentz

It is well documented that Nano coatings on SMT stencils offer many benefits to those assembling PWBs. With reduced standard deviation and improved transfer efficiency nano coatings can provide, there is also a cost. As PWB assemblers work to justify the return on investment, one key question continues to arise. What is the durability or life of these coatings and what can be done in the print process to maximize the life of the coatings?

This paper addresses durability of the coatings in relation to the number of print cycles and underside wipe cycles applied as well as materials used on the underside wipe process. Different parameters will be applied and data will be collected. The results of this study will be summarized to help those using or considering the use of these nano coatings to improve their print process and suggestions will be given to maximize the life of the coatings....

Publisher: FCT ASSEMBLY, INC.

Effect of Encapsulation Materials on Tensile Stress during Thermo-Mechanical Cycling of Pb-Free Solder Joints

Mar 06, 2019 | Maxim Serebreni, Dr. Nathan Blattau, Dr. Gilad Sharon, Dr. Craig Hillman

Electronic assemblies use a large variety of polymer materials with different mechanical and thermal properties to provide protection in harsh usage environments. However, variability in the mechanical properties such as the coefficient of thermal expansion and elastic modulus effects the material selection process by introducing uncertainty to the long term impacts on the reliability of the electronics. Typically, the main reliability issue is solder joint fatigue which accounts for a large amount of failures in electronic components. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the effect of polymer encapsulations (coatings, pottings and underfills) on the solder joints when predicting reliability.

This paper presents the construction and validation of a thermo-mechanical tensile fatigue specimen. The thermal cycling range was matched with potting expansion properties in order to vary the magnitude of tensile stress imposed on solder joints...

Publisher: DfR Solutions (acquired by ANSYS Inc)

Evaluation, Selection and Qualification of Replacement Reworkable Underfill Materials

Feb 27, 2019 | Jeffrey Colish, Luis Lopez, Carlo Viola

A study was performed to investigate, evaluate and qualify new reworkable underfill materials to be used primarily with ball grid arrays (BGAs), Leadless SMT devices, QFNs, connectors and passive devices to improve reliability. The supplier of the sole source, currently used underfill, has indicated they may discontinue its manufacture in the near future. The current underfill material is used on numerous circuit card assemblies (CCAs) at several sites and across multiple programs/business areas. In addition, it is used by several of our contract CCA suppliers.

The study objectives include evaluation of material properties for down select, dispensability and rework evaluation for further down select, accelerated life testing for final selection and qualification; and process development to implement into production and at our CCA suppliers. The paper will describe the approach used, material property test results and general findings relative to process characteristics and rework ability....

Publisher: Northrop Grumman Corporation

The Influence of Clean Air on the Value-Added Chain in Electronics Production

Feb 25, 2019 | ULT

"The idea of the value chain is based on the process view of organizations, the idea of seeing a manufacturing (or service) organization as a system, made up of subsystems each with inputs, transformation processes and outputs".[1] The definition of a value-added chain by Michael E. Porter is one of many to be found in reference books, works and on websites. In principle, it involves a sequence of activities, executed by a manufacturing company to develop, produce, sell, ship, and maintain products or services. Three main parameters essentially influence a value-added chain: Direct activities − research, development, production, shipment etc. Indirect activities − maintenance, operation, occupational safety, environment etc. Quality assurance − monitoring, test/inspection; quality management etc. In particular, indirect activities and quality assurance generate a greater part of the costs in product manufacturing. This article principally focusses on the indirect activities, among them air purification....

Publisher: ULT Canada Sales Incorporated

The Impact of New Generation Chemical Treatment Systems on High Frequency Signal Integrity

Feb 20, 2019 | Jim Fuller, Sanmina-SCI; Karl Sauter, Oracle Corporation; Scott Hinaga, Cisco; Tian Qingshan, Huawei; John J Davignon, HDP User Group; Brian Butler, Introbotix; Ted Antonellis, Michael Coll, John Marshall, John Marshall, MacDermid Enthone; Joseph Smetana,

The High Density Packaging (HDP) User Group has completed a project evaluating the high frequency loss impacts of a variety of imaged core surface treatments (bond enhancement treatments, including chemical bonding and newer low etch alternative oxides) applied just prior to press lamination. Initial high frequency Dk/Df electrical test results did not show a strong correlation with any of the methods utilized within this project to measured surface roughness. The more significant factor affecting the measured loss is the choice of pre-lamination surface treatment. Most of the new chemical treatment systems outperform the older existing systems which depend upon surface roughness techniques to promote adhesion....

Publisher: Sanmina-SCI

Influence of Copper Conductor Surface Treatment for High Frequency PCB on Electrical Properties and Reliability

Feb 13, 2019 | Seiya Kido, Tsuyoshi Amatani

Development of information and telecommunications network is outstanding in recent years, and it is required for the related equipment such as communication base stations, servers and routers, to process huge amount of data in no time. As an electrical signal becomes faster and faster, how to prevent signal delay by transmission loss is a big issue for Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) loaded on such equipments. There are two main factors as the cause of transmission loss; dielectric loss and conductor loss. To decrease the dielectric loss, materials having low dielectric constant and low loss tangent have been developed. On the other hand, reducing the surface roughness of the copper foil itself to be used or minimizing the surface roughness by modifying surface treatment process of the conductor patterns before lamination is considered to be effective in order to decrease the conductor loss. However, there is a possibility that reduction in the surface roughness of the conductor patterns will lead to the decrease in adhesion of conductor patterns to dielectric resin and result in the deterioration of reliability of PCB itself.

In this paper, we will show the evaluation results of adhesion performance and electrical properties using certain type of dielectric material for high frequency PCB, several types of copper foil and several surface treatment processes of the conductor patterns. Moreover, we will indicate a technique from the aspect of surface treatment process in order to ensure reliability and, at the same time, to prevent signal delay at the signal frequency over 20 GHz. ...

Publisher: MEC Company Ltd.

Anti static IC shipping tube customization guidelines

Feb 07, 2019 | James tong

Antistatic plastic IC shipping tube customization, need to provide the following four aspects of information: First, the choice of pipe material; Second, the size of the parts or physical; Third, the length of the pipe; Fourth, the choice of plug....

Publisher: Shenzhen Sewate Technology Co.,Ltd

High Frequency Dk and Df Test Methods Comparison High Density Packaging User Group (HDP) Project

Feb 06, 2019 | Karl Sauter

The High Density Packaging (HDP) user group has completed a project to evaluate the majority of viable Dk (Dielectric Constant)/Df (Dissipation Factor) and delay/loss electrical test methods, with a focus on the methods used for speeds above 2 GHz. A comparison of test methods from 1 to 2 GHz through to higher test frequencies was desired, testing a variety of laminate materials (standard volume production with UL approval, low loss, and "halogen-free" laminate materials). Variations in the test board material resin content/construction and copper foil surface roughness/type were minimized. Problems with Dk/Df and loss test methods and discrepancies in results are identified, as well as possible correlations or relationships among these higher speed test methods....

Publisher: Oracle Corporation

Adapting Wave Soldering to High-Flexibility Manufacturing

Feb 05, 2019 | Bennett Bruntil, VP, Sono-Tek Corp

SonoFlux Servo with InSight automated board recognition system helps PCB manufacturers take steps toward greater automation and traceability and the goal of Industry 4.0....

Publisher: SONO-TEK CORPORATION

Novel Pogo-Pin Socket Design for Automated Low Signal Linearity Testing of CT Detector Sensor

Jan 30, 2019 | Mahesh Narayanaswamy

Due to the arrayed nature of the Computed Tomography (CT) Detector, high density area array interconnect solutions are critical to the functionality of the CT detector module. Specifically, the detector module sensor element, hereby known as the Multi-chip module (MCM), has a 544 position BGA area array pattern that requires precise test stimulation. A novel pogo-pin block array and corresponding motorized test socket has been designed to stimulate the MCM and acquire full functional test data. (...) This paper and presentation will focus on the socket design challenges and also key learnings from the design that can be applied to general test systems, including reliability testing. The secondary focus will be on the overall data collection and graphical user interface for the test equipment....

Publisher: General Electric

AOI Capabilities Study with 03015 Component

Jan 23, 2019 | David Geiger, Vincent Nguyen, Hung Le, Stephen Chen, Robert Pennings, Christian Biederman, Zhen (Jane) Feng, Ph. D., Alan Chau, Weifeng Liu, Ph. D., William Uy, Anwar Mohammed, Mike Doiron

Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) is advantageous in that it enables defects to be detected early in the manufacturing process, reducing the Cost of Repair as the AOI systems identify the specific components that are failing removing the need for any additional test troubleshooting1-3. Because of this, more Electronic Contract Manufacturing Services (EMS) companies are implementing AOI into their SMT lines to minimize repair costs and maintain good process and product quality, especially for new component types. This project focuses on the testing of component package 03015 which is challenging for AOI....

Publisher: Flex (Flextronics International)

Introduction to the manufacturing process of anti static ic tubes

Jan 20, 2019 | James tong

With the rapid development of the electronics industry, more and more components such as integrated circuits and connectors, relays, power modules, etc. need to be packaged with IC tubes. The anti static ic tubes is actually a kind of pvc plastic(reference to : What are the materials for IC tubes) profile, the size varies with the shape of the installed product, the precision requirement is high, the wall thickness should be controlled within ±0.1mm, and the surface is required to have no impurity spots, smooth and transparent. The IC packaging tubes produced by Sewate Technology Co., Ltd. are extruded. The typical process flow is: extrusion, vacuum adsorption setting, traction, fixed length cutting and directional discharge, deburring, immersion antistatic liquid, drying, testing, packaging and storage ...

Publisher: Shenzhen Sewate Technology Co.,Ltd

Optical Bonding

Jan 10, 2019 | Scheugenpflug

We notice that the quantities of material that are to be dosed are becoming more and more divergent. In addition to large media volumes, small and very small quantities are also increasingly coming into focus. For example autonomous driving: These vehicles already produce an immense amount of data today. When potting the associated sensors, cameras, and ECUs, it is important to ensure a precise and repeatable media application – even with volumes of only 0.03 ml. In contrast, when high-voltage batteries for electric cars are potted, 5 to 10 litres of heat-conducting paste are required per vehicle – and the trend is rising. Optical bonding used in display production, on the other hand, is in the medium volume range. The challenge now is to cover the entire volume spectrum reliably and in compliance with the required cycle times. This is remedied by a modular system of scalable modules, which offers the customer the necessary flexibility and enables him to plan a system according to his needs....

Publisher: Scheugenpflug Inc.

Bad Block Management in SSD

Jan 10, 2019 | Miya

Why do large number of bad blocks generate when SSDs close their lifespan? What's impact on SSDs nomral usage? And how does SSD manage the bad blocks? Just let's take a look at the bad block management in SSDs....

Publisher: Renice Technology Co., Ltd

An Investigation into Lead-Free Low Silver Cored Solder Wire for Electronics Manufacturing Applications

Jan 09, 2019 | Shantanu Joshi, Jasbir Bath, Kimiaki Mori, Kazuhiro Yukikata, Roberto Garcia, Takeshi Shirai

The electronics industry has widely adopted Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder alloys for lead-free reflow soldering applications and tin-copper based alloys for wave soldering applications. In automated soldering or rework operations, users may work with Sn-Ag-Cu or Sn-Cu based alloys. One of the challenges with these types of lead-free alloys for automated / hand soldering operations, is that the life of the soldering iron tips will shorten drastically using lead-free solders with an increased cost of soldering iron tool maintenance/ tip replacement. Development was done on a new lead-free low silver solder rework alloy (Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu-0.04Co) in comparison with a number of alternative lead-free alloys including Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu, Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and tin-lead Sn40Pb solder in soldering evaluations....

Publisher: Koki Company LTD

What are the materials for plastic anti static ic tubes?

Jan 08, 2019 | James tong

Plastic ic tubes can be made of plastics of various materials such as PVC, PS, PET, PC, ABS, etc. The shipping tubes of different materials will have different performances. The characteristics of various materials and their packaging tubes are described in detail below;...

Publisher: Shenzhen Sewate Technology Co.,Ltd

How to identify quality IC Shipping Tube guide

Jan 03, 2019 | James tong

With the increase of labor costs, the popularity of automated production lines, • Antistatic ic tubes, connector shipping tubes, power module shipping tubes, LED shipping tubes, relay shipping tubes and other electronic components tubes are also becoming more widely used. Many small companies blindly pursue low-priced packaging materials, and there is no requirement for quality. When it is later discovered that the parts are stuck in the packaging process, they will regret it when they crush the parts during transportation. Shenzhen Sewate Technology Co., Ltd. tells you about six ways to identify quality packaging tubes....

Publisher: Shenzhen Sewate Technology Co.,Ltd

Risk Mitigation in Hand Soldering

Jan 02, 2019 | Robert Roush

Failed solder joints remain a constant source of printed circuit board failure. Soldering is the bonding of metallic surfaces via an intermetallic compound (IMC). The interaction between thermal energy delivery, flux chemistry, and solder chemistry creates the solder bond or joint. Today, reliability relies on visual inspection; operator experience and skill, control of influencers e.g. tip geometry, tip temperature, and collection and analysis of process data. Each factor involved with the formation of the solder joint is an element of risk and can affect either throughput or repeatability. Mitigating this risk in hand soldering requires the identification of these factors and a means to address them....

Publisher: Metcal

Jetting of Isotropic Conductive Adhesives with Silver Coated Polymer Particles

Dec 26, 2018 | Gustaf Mårtensson

The development of novel interconnection materials for production of electronics is of considerable interest to fulfill increasing demands on interconnect reliability in increasingly demanding environments with respect to temperature extremes, mechanical stresses and/or production limitations. Adhesives are playing an increasingly significant role in the continuously evolving electronics industry. (...)

Specific applications will be presented that highlight the feasibility of the technology with respect to conductivity, structural reliability and lifetime standards. The deposition of the novel ICA has been performed using a jet printing technology to ensure both precise and accurate positioning, size and volume delivery....

Publisher: Mycronic AB

Process Optimization for Fine Feature Solder Paste Dispensing

Dec 19, 2018 | Maria Durham, Greg Wade, and Brandon Judd; Indium Corporation, John Boggiatto; ITW EAE - Speedline Technologies

With the rapid trend towards miniaturization in surface mount and MEMs lid-attach technology, it is becoming increasingly challenging to dispense solder paste in ultra-fine dot applications such as those involving chip capacitors or BGA packages, as well as dispensing ultra-fine lines in MEMs lid-attach applications. In order to achieve ultra-fine dots and fine line widths while dispensing solder paste, both the solder material and dispensing equipment need to be optimized. Optimizing the equipment can be very challenging, as there are many input variables that can affect the dispense quality of the solder paste. In this paper we will evaluate the many equipment variables involved in the solder paste dispensing process, and the impact these variables have on the dispense quality of the solder paste....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Assembly Reliability of TSOP/DFN PoP Stack Package

Dec 12, 2018 | Reza Ghaffarian, Ph.D.

Numerous 3D stack packaging technologies have been implemented by industry for use in microelectronics memory applications. This paper presents a reliability evaluation of a particular package-on-package (PoP) that offers a reduction in overall PCB board area requirements while allowing for increases in functionality. It utilizes standard, readily available device packaging methods in which high-density packaging is achieved by: (1) using standard "packaged" memory devices, (2) using standard 3-dimensional (3-D) interconnect assembly. The stacking approach provides a high level of functional integration in well-established and already functionally tested packages. The stack packages are built from TSOP packages with 48 leads, stacked either 2-high or 4-high, and integrated into a single dual-flat-no-lead (DFN) package....

Publisher: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors: Mitigating Rising Failure Rates

Dec 05, 2018 | Dock Brown

The multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) has become a widely used electronics component both for surface mount and embedded PCB applications. The MLCC technologies have gone through a number of material and process changes such as the shift from precious metal electrode (PME) configurations which were predominantly silver/palladium to base metal electrodes (BME) dominated by nickel. Each of these changes were accompanied by both quality and reliability problems. The MLCC industry is now in the midst of an unprecedented set of challenges similar to the Moore’s Law challenges being faced by the semiconductor industry. While capacitor failures have historically been responsible for a significant percentage of product field failures (most estimates are ~30%) we are seeing disturbing developments in the low voltage (<250V) commodity part infant mortality and wearout failure rates....

Publisher: DfR Solutions (acquired by ANSYS Inc)

Process Control of Ionic Contamination Achieving 6-Sigma Criteria in The Assembly of Electronic Circuits

Nov 29, 2018 | P. Eckold, M. Routley, L. Henneken, G. Naisbitt, R. Fritsch, U. Welzel

Ionic contamination testing as a process control tool a newly developed testing protocol based on IPC-TM 650 2.3.25, was established to enable monitoring of ionic contamination within series production. The testing procedure was successfully implemented within the production of high reliability, safety critical electronic circuits, involving multiple production sites around the world. I will be shown in this paper that the test protocol is capable for meeting Six-Sigma-Criteria....

Publisher: Robert Bosch LLC Automotive Electronics Division

How to choose a reliable CF Card for VDR

Nov 22, 2018 | Miya

VDR (Voyage Data Recorder) is an instrument continuously recording real-time data of ship body, including speech communication signal of cockpit, sensors data, alarm status and radar images, etc.. So what's types of storage devices may meet VDR's requirement?...

Publisher: Renice Technology Co., Ltd

Understanding the Effect of Different Heating Cycles on Post-Soldering Flux Residues and the Impact on Electrical Performance

Nov 20, 2018 | Brook Sandy-Smith, Indium Corporation and Terry Munson, Foresite Inc.

There are several industry-accepted methods for determining the reliability of flux residues after assembly. The recommended methods of test sample preparation do not always closely mimic the thermal cycle experienced by an assembly. Therefore, extraction from actual assemblies has become a popular method of process control to assess consistency of post-reflow cleanliness. Every method of post-reflow flux residue characterization will depend on the reflow process followed to prepare the coupon.

This investigation will focus on the effect of thermal conditions on the remainder of active ingredients in flux residues after assembly with no-clean solder pastes....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

Status and Outlooks of Flip Chip Technology

Nov 14, 2018 | John H. Lau

Status of flip chip technology such as wafer bumping, package substrate, flip chip assembly, and underfill will be reviewed in this study. Emphasis is placed on the latest developments of these areas in the past few years. Their future trends will also be recommended. Finally, the competition on flip chip technology will be briefly mentioned....

Publisher: ASM Pacific Technology

Laser-Based Methodology for the Application of Glass as a Dielectric and Cu Pattern Carrier for Printed Circuit Boards

Nov 07, 2018 | Joel Schrauben, Cameron Tribe, Christopher Ryder and Jan Kleinert

Glass offers a number of advantages as a dielectric material, such as a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high dimensional stability, high thermal conductivity and suitable dielectric constant. These properties make glass an ideal candidate for, among other things, package substrate and high-frequency PCB applications.

We report here a novel process for the production of printed circuit boards and integrated circuit packaging using glass as both a dielectric medium and a platform for wiring simultaneously....

Publisher: Electro Scientific Industries

Possible reasons for simultaneous solder skip and short circuit of BGA

Nov 07, 2018 | Rita Li --Seamark Zhuomao technology

Generally speaking, there are not many cases of insufficient solder and solder short in BGA soldering, but it is not impossible. Here we discuss some elements may cause it...

Publisher: Seamark Zhuomao Photoeletric technology(Shenzhen)CO., ltd

Study of the Rheological Behaviors of Solder Pastes

Nov 06, 2018 | Michal KRAVČÍK, Igor VEHEC

Solder paste is a homogeneous, stable suspension of solder powder particles suspended in a flux binder, and is one of the most important process materials today in surface mount technology (SMT). By varying the solder particle size, distribution and shape, as well as the other constituent materials, the rheology and printing performance of solder pastes can be controlled. Paste flow behavior is very important in defining the printing performance of any paste.

The purpose of this paper is to study the rheological behavior of SAC (Sn-Ag-Cu) solder paste used for surface mount applications in the electronic industry. The reason why the rheological tests are presented in this paper are two critical sub-processes: aperture filling and paste withdraw. In this paper, we report on the investigation of the rheological profiles, the serrated cone-to-plate system was found as effective in parameter minimizing the wall-slip effect...

Publisher: Technical University of Košice

High Throw DC Acid Copper Formulation for Vertical Continuous Electroplating Processes

Oct 31, 2018 | Saminda Dharmarathna, PhD, Ivan Li, PhD, Maddux Sy, Eileen Zeng, Bob Wei, William Bowerman, Kesheng Feng, PhD

The electronics industry has grown immensely over the last few decades owing to the rapid growth of consumer electronics in the modern world. New formulations are essential to fit the needs of manufacturing printed circuit boards and semiconductors. Copper electrolytes for high throwing power applications with high thermal reliability and high throughput are becoming extremely important for manufacturing high aspect ratio circuit boards.

Here we discuss innovative DC copper metallization formulations for hoist lines and VCP (Vertical Continues Plating) applications with high thermal reliability and throughput for high aspect ratio PCB manufacturing...

Publisher: MacDermid Inc.

QPlan - NPI Tools included

Oct 29, 2018 | Alexei Shkolnik from Proventus Technologies

We found that NPI process of SMT is mostly similar and sometimes overlapping to tooling process. In addition, in most cases the programmer is part of the team working on the NPI process. So, QPlan was extended with NPI Tools as a part of tooling process. This allows the team to carry out the NPI process at offline. And at the end of it, they can create corrected SMT program at zero time....

Publisher: Proventus Technologies

Rosin Resins Solution for Soldering Industry

Oct 26, 2018 | Jack Su

A product whitepaper of modified resins for soldering industry....

Publisher: Foreverest Resources Ltd.

Durable Conductive Inks and SMD Attachment for Robust Printed Electronics

Oct 24, 2018 | Leonard Allison

Polymer Thick Film (PTF)-based printed electronics (aka Printed Electronics) has improved in durability over the last few decades and is now a proven alternative to copper circuitry in many applications once thought beyond the capability of PTF circuitry. This paper describes peak performance and areas for future improvement.

State-of-the-art PTF circuitry performance includes the ability to withstand sharp crease tests, 85C/85%RH damp heat 5VDC bias aging (silver migration), auto seat durability cycling, SMT mandrel flexing, and others. The IPC/SGIA subcommittee for Standards Tests development has adopted several ASTM test methods for PTF circuitry and is actively developing needed improvements or additions. These standards are described herein. Advantages of PTF circuitry over copper include: varied conductive material compositions, lower cost and lower environmental impact. Necessary improvements include: robust integration of chip and power, higher conductivity, and fine line multi-layer patterning....

Publisher: Engineered Materials Systems, Inc.

SMT Troubleshooting Guide

Oct 20, 2018 | Cookson Electronics

With this easy-to-use Troubleshooting Guide, you can learn to troubleshoot common SMT issues. After using it a few times, it will become an essential companion for you and anyone in your company responsible for operating an SMT line.

This Guide offers troubleshooting advice for common SMT assembly issues by process defect. If your issue is not resolved after following the steps to help identify the possible root cause and solution, please contact your Cookson Electronics representative who will be able to provide you with further assistance....

Publisher: Cookson Electronics

Analysis of the Design Variables of Thermoforming Process on the Performance of Printed Electronic Traces

Oct 18, 2018 | Gill M., Gruner A., Ghalib N., Sussman M., Avuthu S., Wable G, Richstein J.

One specific market space of interest to emerging printed electronics is In Mold Label (IML) technology. IML is used in many consumer products and white good applications. When combined with electronics, the In Mold Electronics (IME) adds compelling new product functionality. Many of these products have multi-dimensional features and therefore require thermoforming processes in order to prepare the labels before they are in-molded. While thermoforming is not a novel technique for IML, the addition of printed electronic functional traces is not well documented. There is little or no published work on printed circuit performance and design interactions in the thermoforming process that could inform improved IME product designs. A general full factorial Design of Experiments (DOE) was used to analyze the electrical performance of the conductive silver ink trace/polycarbonate substrate system. Variables of interest include trace width, height of draw, and radii of both top and bottom curvatures in the draw area. Thermoforming tooling inserts were fabricated for eight treatment combinations of these variables. Each sample has one control and two formed strips. Electrical measurements were taken of the printed traces on the polymer sheets pre- and post- forming with a custom fixture to evaluate the effect on resistance. The design parameters found to be significant were draw height and bottom radius, with increased draw and smaller bottom curvature radii both contributing to the circuits’ resistance degradation. Over the ranges evaluated, the top curvature radii had no effect on circuit resistance. Interactions were present, demonstrating that circuit and thermoforming design parameters need to be studied as a system. While significant insight impacting product development was captured further work will be executed to evaluate different ink and substrate material sets, process variables, and their role in IME....

Publisher: Jabil Circuit, Inc.

3D Printed Electronics for Printed Circuit Structures

Oct 10, 2018 | Samuel LeBlanc, Paul Deffenbaugh, Jacob Denkins, Kenneth Church

Printed electronics is a familiar term that is taking on more meaning as the technology matures. Flexible electronics is sometimes referred to as a subset of this and the printing approach is one of the enabling factors for roll to roll processes. Printed electronics is improving in performance and has many applications that compete directly with printed circuit boards. The advantage of roll to roll is the speed of manufacturing, the large areas possible, and a reduction in costs. As this technology continues to mature, it is also merging with the high profile 3D printing. (...)

This paper will show working demonstrations of printed circuit structures, the obstacles, and the potential future of 3D printed electronics....

Publisher: nScrypt Inc.

Fill the Void II: An Investigation into Methods of Reducing Voiding

Oct 03, 2018 | Tony Lentz - FCT Assembly, Patty Chonis, JB Byers - A-Tek Systems

Voids in solder joints plague many electronics manufacturers. Do you have voids in your life? We have good news for you, there are many excellent ways to "Fill the Void." This paper is a continuation of previous work on voiding in which the following variables were studied: water soluble lead-free solder pastes, a variety of stencil designs, and reflow profiles. Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) component thermal pads were used as the test vehicle. The voiding results were summarized and recommendations were made for reduction of voiding....

Publisher: FCT ASSEMBLY, INC.

Assessing the Effectiveness of I/O Stencil Aperture Modifications on BTC Void Reduction

Sep 26, 2018 | Carlos Tafoya, Gustavo Ramirez, Timothy O’Neill

Bottom terminated components, or BTCs, have been rapidly incorporated into PCB designs because of their low cost, small footprint and overall reliability. The combination of leadless terminations with underside ground/thermal pads have presented a multitude of challenges to PCB assemblers, including tilting, poor solder fillet formation, difficult inspection and – most notably – center pad voiding. Voids in large SMT solder joints can be difficult to predict and control due to the variety of input variables that can influence their formation. Solder paste chemistries, PCB final finishes, and reflow profiles and atmospheres have all been scrutinized, and their effects well documented. Additionally, many of the published center pad voiding studies have focused on optimizing center pad footprint and stencil aperture designs. This study focuses on I/O pad stencil modifications rather than center pad modifications. It shows a no-cost, easily implemented I/O design guideline that can be deployed to consistently and repeatedly reduce void formation on BTC-style packages....

Publisher: AIM Solder

Moisture Measurements in PCBs and Impact of Design on Desorption Behaviour

Sep 21, 2018 | Chris Hunt, Owen Thomas, Martin Wickham

Moisture accumulates during storage and industry practice recommends specific levels of baking to avoid delamination. This paper will discuss the use of capacitance measurements to follow the absorption and desorption behaviour of moisture. The PCB design used in this work, focused on the issue of baking out moisture trapped between copper planes. The PCB was designed with different densities of plated through holes and drilled holes in external copper planes, with capacitance sensors located on the inner layers. For trapped volumes between copper planes, the distance between holes proved to be critical in affecting the desorption rate. For fully saturated PCBs, the desorption time at elevated temperatures was observed to be in the order of hundreds of hours. Finite difference diffusion modelling was carried out for moisture desorption behaviour for plated through holes and drilled holes in copper planes. A meshed copper plane was also modelled evaluating its effectiveness for assisting moisture removal and decreasing bake times. Results also showed, that in certain circumstances, regions of the PCB under copper planes initially increase in moisture during baking....

Publisher: National Physical Laboratory

Supply Chain Security: DFARS - Detection & Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts

Sep 19, 2018 | Robert S. Metzger

Coverage

• The threat of counterfeit electronics
• The statute - Section 818 NDAA FY 2012
• The DFARS – Detection & Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts – Revised August 2016

Publisher: Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, P.C.

Counterfeit Electronic Components Identification: A Case Study

Sep 12, 2018 | Martin Goetz, Ramesh Varma

Counterfeit electronic components are finding their way into today’s defense electronics. The problem gets even more complex when procuring DMS (diminishing manufacturing source) parts. This paper will provide a brief introduction to counterfeit prevention and detection standards, particularly as they relate to the Aerospace and Defense sector. An analysis of industry information on the types and nature of counterfeit components will be discussed in order to illustrate those most likely to be counterfeited, followed a specific case at a major defense contractor....

Publisher: Northrop Grumman Corporation

Moisture and Bubble-Free Material Preparation in Larger Quantities

Sep 10, 2018 | Scheugenpflug

Issue: Moisture and bubbles in your dispensing material with larger quantities Solution: Scheugenpflug’s 55-gal Barrel Agitator Station Barrel agitators for casting resins take their technology from the paint sector. They fall short of meeting the special demands of the auto, medical, aeronautics and electronics industries. They can’t guarantee a solid seal on the barrels – often containing expensive, moisture sensitive resins – allowing the humidity of the surrounding environment to damage the material. Also, conventional barrel agitators, as opposed to smaller units, cannot work in a vacuum to process materials directly....

Publisher: Scheugenpflug Inc.

Improved Flux Reliability of Lead-Free Solder Alloy Solder Paste Formulated with Rosin and Anti-Crack Resin for Automotive and Other High Reliability Applications

Sep 05, 2018 | Shantanu Joshi, Jasbir Bath, Mitsuyasu Furusawa, Junichi Aoki, Roberto Garcia, Manabu Itoh

In recent years, a growing number of electronic devices are being incorporated into automotive and other high reliability end products where the challenge is to make these devices more reliable. The package size of the devices is largely driven by the consumer industry with their sizes getting smaller making it harder to assemble and be reliable at the same time. For automotive and other high reliability electronics product, it is of the utmost priority to secure high reliability because it directly involves human life and safety. Challenges include selecting an appropriate solder alloy and having good reliability of the solder paste flux....

Publisher: Koki Company LTD

Does Thermal Cycling Impact the Electrical Reliability of a No-Clean Solder Paste Flux Residue

Aug 29, 2018 | Eric Bastow

No-clean solder pastes are widely used in a number of applications that are exposed to wide variations in temperature during the life of the assembled electronics device. Some have observed that cracks can and do form in flux residue and have postulated that this is the result of or exacerbated by temperature cycling. Furthermore, the potential exists for the flux residue to soften or liquefy at elevated temperatures, and even flow if orientated parallel to gravity. In situations such as in automotive electronics, where significant temperature cycling is a reality and high reliability is a must, concern sometimes exists that the cracking and possible softening or liquefying of the residue may have a deleterious effect on the electrical reliability of the flux residue. This paper will attempt to address this concern....

Publisher: Indium Corporation

To dispense material under vacuum or dispense degassed material in atmosphere ….that is the question

Aug 23, 2018 | Scheugenpflug

Simply put, the proper system design and use of vacuum in the potting process can make the difference between a mediocre part and a perfect part. Air entrapment is inevitable whether you utilize syringes, cartridges, pails, or drums of material in the process....

Publisher: Scheugenpflug Inc.

Board-Level Thermal Cycling and Drop-Test Reliability of Large, Ultrathin Glass BGA Packages for Smart Mobile Applications

Aug 22, 2018 | Bhupender Singh, Gary Menezes, Scott McCann, Vidya Jayaram, Urmi Ray, Venky Sundaram, Raj Pulugurtha, Vanessa Smet, Rao Tummala

Glass substrates are emerging as a key alternative to silicon and conventional organic substrates for high-density and high-performance systems due to their outstanding dimensional stability, enabling sub-5-µm lithographic design rules, excellent electrical performance, and unique mechanical properties, key in achieving board-level reliability at body sizes larger than 15 × 15 mm2.

This paper describes the first demonstration of the board-level reliability of such large, ultrathin glass ball grid array (BGA) packages directly mounted onto a system board, considering both their thermal cycling and drop-test performances....

Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Demystifying Adhesive Dispensing within the High-End Appliance Industry

Aug 16, 2018 | Scheugenpflug Inc.

Appliance designers are constantly evolving to satisfy the ever changing wants and needs of their consumer base. These changes filter down and include not only the materials but also the equipment used to dispense the material in the manufacturing processes. Moreover, the latest evolution of appliances also seeks to add luxury controls and eye-catching applications. This challenge then, of new applications and material dispensing, often means the application and execution of these increasingly complex materials present multiple challenges up and down the appliance supply chain. Successfully meeting the material dispensing challenge has the potential to spur growth significantly in the higher-end appliance industry as the manufacturing adhesion processes evolve to meet market demand....

Publisher: Scheugenpflug Inc.