Microsection Sample Preparation and Reading Quality A microsection is the only way to see inside a plated hole, and it is also one of the easiest places to produce a false result. The section that is examined is a slice a few micrometres thick, and what it shows depends on…

Modbus Transceiver Circuit Design Modbus is a protocol, and the physical layer it usually runs on is a shared two wire bus with differential signalling. The protocol stack is a software problem, while the reliability of a Modbus link in a plant depends on the electrical details: biasing, termination, timing…

PCB Process Window Study: Finding the Limits 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 process window study gives you a practical advantage when you…

PCB Quote Turnaround: How Fast a Price Comes Back 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 quote turnaround gives you a practical advantage when…

Cleaning Chemistry Selection for PCB Assembly Lines Cleaning is often treated as a piece of equipment rather than a chemistry, and the choice of cleaning chemistry is made after the machine has been ordered. That order of work puts the process in a corner, because the chemistry determines the temperature,…

Photoelectric Sensor Interface Circuit Design A photoelectric sensor detects an object by the change it makes to a beam of light. The optical part decides what can be seen; the circuit decides whether the change can be separated from sunlight, from a dirty lens and from the drift of its…

RS-232 Serial Port Circuit Design RS-232 is one of the oldest interface standards still in daily use, and it survives because it is simple, robust and understood by every platform. It is also an unusual interface electrically: the signals swing between positive and negative voltages, the logic is inverted, and…

Copper Thickness Measurement on Inner Layers of a PCB Inner layer copper carries the current, forms the reference planes and sets the impedance of every controlled line on the board, yet its thickness is one of the least visible properties of a finished panel. It is buried under laminate and…

PCB Bath Analysis Routine: Testing the Tanks 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 Chemistry Make Up: Adding the Right Amount 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…