RS485 Testing on a Smart Meter Communication Board A smart meter communication board can power up correctly and still fail in the field, because the behaviour that matters is only visible under repeated traffic. A board may answer the first request after a cold start and then stop, lose an…

PCB Mixed Dielectric Stackup: Different Materials in One Stack 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…

PCB Low Loss Laminate Selection: Material for Fast Signals Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at PCB low loss laminate selection from the perspective of a PCBA…

QFN Assembly and X-ray Inspection on a Charging Module Board A charging module control board combines power management, sampling, communication and protection, and it usually carries both bottom terminated devices and a dense population of small passives. On a QFN assembly the visible fillets on the outer leads prove very…

PCB Inkjet Legend Marking: Printing Without a Screen 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 explains…

PCB Eye Diagram Measurement: Looking at the Opening 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 eye diagram measurement gives you a practical advantage when…

PCB TDR Impedance Measurement: Reading the Reflection 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 TDR impedance measurement gives you a practical advantage when you…

PoE Board Assembly: What the First Article Has to Cover A security camera receives both data and power over one ethernet cable, and the board that makes that possible carries a controller, protection devices, a DC-DC supply and the network interface. The surface mount components on that board are directly…

PCB Etch Compensation for Trace Width: Holding the Line Width 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 etch compensation for trace width gives you…

BGA Assembly on a Vision Control Board: What the First Article Must Cover A machine vision control board carries a ball grid array processor, memory, clock devices, power regulators and one or more high-speed camera connectors. Assembling it concentrates several problems into one product: the joints under the BGA cannot…