Mask Exposure Latitude: 6 Rules for a Stable Window Exposure latitude is the range of exposure energy over which a solder mask image still develops correctly, from the smallest opening to the largest area of mask. A wide latitude means the process tolerates lamp ageing, thickness variation and small changes…

PCB Drill Bit Standards: Agreeing the Rules 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…

SMOBC Process: 6 Rules for Solder Mask Over Bare Copper SMOBC stands for solder mask over bare copper, and it describes a board where the mask is applied to etched copper that carries no tin resist, so the mask sits directly on the copper surface. The exposed pads then receive…

Brush Plating Repair: 6 Rules for Selective Plating Brush plating repair deposits metal on a local area of a finished board using a hand held anode wrapped in an absorbent sleeve soaked in plating solution. It restores a damaged track, a worn edge connector or a pad that has lost…

PCB Drill Bit Training: Teaching the Team 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…

PCB Drill Bit Records: Writing It Down 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 drill bit records gives you a practical advantage when you…

Solder Paste Bridging: Why Adjacent Deposits Join Solder paste bridging is contact between two adjacent deposits of paste, either as printed or after the paste has spread on the board. It becomes a solder short at reflow because the two deposits melt into one continuous volume of alloy. The condition…

Hole Breakout: When a Drill Misses the Capture Pad Hole breakout occurs when the drilled hole is positioned, or the pad has moved, so that the hole cuts outside the copper pad it was meant to sit inside. The result is a <a href="https://www.gopcba.com/pcb-drill-registration/” title=”annular ring”>annular ring that is thin…

Solder Joint Pull Testing and Failure Mode Analysis A pull test measures the force needed to separate a solder joint, and its real value is not the number but the failure mode that accompanies it. Two joints can break at the same force, one cleanly through the solder and the…

Anode Polarization in Copper Plating: Causes and Fixes Anode polarization is the condition where the copper anodes stop dissolving freely and the cell voltage rises for a given current. The bath continues to plate, but it does so by depleting the copper in solution instead of replenishing it from the…