Solder Ball Defect Analysis On Assembled Boards A solder ball is a small sphere of solder that has separated from the joint and remains on the board surface, usually beside a pad or trapped under a component. Balls range from harmless specks to a real risk of a short between…

Press Fit Connector Design and Assembly A press fit connector is held in the board by the elastic deformation of a compliant pin in a plated hole. There is no solder, so the joint depends entirely on the mechanical interference between the pin and the barrel, and the reliability of…

Solder Joint Void Acceptance Criteria Explained A void is a gap left inside a solder joint where flux volatiles or entrapped air prevented the metal from filling the volume. Voids are present in almost every joint to some degree, so the question is never whether they exist but whether the…

Reflow Oven Zone Balancing for Uniform Board Heating A reflow oven is described by its zones, and each zone holds a temperature. What the board experiences is not those setpoints but the result of the heat they deliver, the speed at which the board passes through them and the mass…

PCB Soldermask Improvement: Getting Better Each Lot 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 soldermask improvement from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering improving…

Impedance Coupon: Preparation, Placement and Process Control A controlled impedance board is only as good as the evidence that it meets the requirement. That evidence is normally a coupon built on the same panel with the same stackup, carrying traces whose geometry is known, so that a measurement can be…

PCB Soldermask Traceability: Following One Board 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 soldermask traceability from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering tracing soldermask…

PCB Soldermask Environment: Where It Happens 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 soldermask environment from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering controlling the…

PCB Copper Plating Standards: Agreeing the Rules 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 copper plating standards from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering…

PCB Copper Plating Setup: Getting Ready 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 copper…