Via in Pad for Fine Pitch BGA Pads As ball pitch falls, the room between the pads disappears before the routing does. At a pitch where no trace can pass between two adjacent pads, the usual escape route is no longer available, and the only way to bring the signal…

PCB Soak Zone in Reflow: Bringing the Board Level Modern electronics depend on boards that are assembled correctly the first time. Every product – a phone, a charger, a medical instrument or an industrial controller – relies on thousands of solder joints that must conduct current for years. This article…

ICT Test and Functional Test Services for PCBA Assembly quality and product quality are two different questions, and the inspection that follows reflow only answers the first of them. A board can be soldered perfectly and still fail, because a component is the wrong value, because a joint that looks…

PCB Reflow Profile Design: The Heat the Board Sees Modern electronics depend on boards that are assembled correctly the first time. Every product – a phone, a charger, a medical instrument or an industrial controller – relies on thousands of solder joints that must conduct current for years. This article…

Pilot Build to Volume Production: Closing the Gap Many programmes go straight from a working prototype to a production order, and the problems that were hidden by the small quantity then appear in the factory. A prototype is built in ones and twos, often by hand, with the attention of…

PCB Paste Volume Measurement: Checking the Print by Machine Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB paste volume measurement gives you a practical advantage…

On-Site Design Engineers at the Customer Facility An internal layout team can be busy with several projects and short of hands during a peak, and hiring takes longer than the peak lasts. A complex board may need experience the team has not built up yet. A project may be sensitive…

PCB Stencil Step Design: Thicker Paste in Places Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB stencil step design gives you a practical advantage when…

Half-Hole and Stamp Hole PCB Manufacturing A module board that has to be soldered flat onto a mother board needs a connection that takes little space and carries the current without a connector in the way. The half-hole process is the usual answer. Two boards are joined by a row…

Flying Probe Test on a Portable Oscilloscope Acquisition Board A portable oscilloscope acquisition board carries converters, a processor, memory, analog switches, operational amplifiers and input protection, and the power check that follows assembly says very little about any of them. A board can start normally while one supply net, one…