Planned Maintenance in PCB Manufacturing Planned maintenance is the work done on equipment before it fails, scheduled at a time that suits production rather than at a time that suits the failure. A board shop depends on a small number of expensive, highly loaded machines, and the loss from an…

Solder Preform: Design Rules and Process Limits A solder preform is a piece of solder manufactured to a specific shape and volume: a washer, a disc, a rectangle or a small formed pellet. It is placed in the joint before heating, and it melts to provide exactly the amount of…

PCB AOI 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 AOI records from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering recording AOI…

PCB AOI 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 AOI training gives you a practical advantage when you choose a…

Solder Mask Blistering After Reflow and Assembly A blister in a solder mask is a bubble that has lifted the coating away from the copper or the laminate beneath it. It may appear after reflow, after wave soldering or after the board has been in service for months, and once…

PCB AOI Problems: When It Goes Wrong 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 AOI problems gives you a practical advantage when you choose…

PCB AOI Cost: What It Adds Up To 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 AOI cost from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering…

PCB AOI Checklist: What to Check 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 AOI checklist gives you a practical advantage when you choose a…

PCB AOI Audit: Checking the Practice 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 AOI…

Hot Air Rework Profiles For SMT Assemblies Rework is the removal and replacement of a single component on an assembled board, and a hot air rework station is the tool used for most surface mount parts. The station applies heated air to the component and its joints, melts the solder…