Serial Number Marking: 6 Rules on a PCB A serial number marking gives every unit its own identity, and it is the point at which a board stops being a batch and becomes an individual. Without it, a field failure can only be traced to a lot and a date.…

Black Pad: 5 Causes Behind a Failed Joint Black pad is the name given to a joint failure that begins in the nickel layer of an electroless nickel immersion gold finish. The pad looks dark under the gold, the solder joint that forms on it is weak, and the fracture…

PCB Lead Time Setup: Getting Ready 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 lead time setup gives you a practical advantage when you choose…

Certificate of Conformance: 5 Records to Keep A certificate of conformance is a document in which the supplier states that the goods meet the requirements of the purchase order. It is a signed claim rather than a test result, and its value comes entirely from the records that sit behind…

PCB Lead Time Defects: What Goes Wrong 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…

Silver Tarnish: 5 Rules for Immersion Silver Silver tarnish is the discolouration that appears on an immersion silver board when the metal reacts with sulfur compounds in the air. It is a surface film rather than a change in the deposit, and it is one of the few finish defects…

PCB Lead Time Standards: Agreeing the Rules 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 lead time standards gives you a practical advantage when you…

PCB Lead Time Training: Teaching the Team 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 lead time training gives you a practical advantage when you…

PCB Lead Time Records: Writing It Down 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 lead time records from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering…

Volume Accuracy: 6 Checks for Paste Inspection Volume accuracy is the agreement between the volume a paste inspection system reports for a deposit and the volume that is actually there. It is not the same as repeatability, which only says that the machine gives the same answer twice, and a…