Thermopile Sensor Interface Circuit Design A thermopile sensor measures infrared radiation from a surface and turns it into a small voltage, typically tens of microvolts per degree of temperature difference. Because the signal is tiny and the sensor also responds to its own temperature, the interface has to solve a…

PCB Waste Treatment: What Leaves the Factory 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 waste treatment from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering treating…

Reed Switch Interface Circuit Design A reed switch is two ferromagnetic blades sealed in a glass capsule, closed by a magnetic field. It needs no supply, works from millivolts to hundreds of volts and survives millions of operations, which is why it still appears in door sensors, flow meters, level…

PCB Chemical Storage: Keeping the Drums Safe 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 chemical storage gives you a practical advantage when you choose…

Press Fit Connector Design And Assembly Practice A press fit connector makes its connection by deforming a pin inside a plated hole, so no solder is involved and no heat is applied. The technique suits a backplane that carries many connectors and cannot be passed through a soldering process, and…

PCB Water Quality in the Plant: What the Rinse Leaves 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 water quality in the plant gives you…

Via Tenting And Plugging Design Rules A via is a hole through the board, and unless it is covered it is also an opening that solder, flux and cleaning fluid can enter. The decision about what to do with it is made in the fabrication notes, and it is often…

PCB Drill Aspect Ratio And Hole Quality Limits Every plated hole in a board begins as a drilled hole, and the drilling process imposes limits that the design has to respect. The most important of those limits is the ratio of the hole depth to its diameter, because it governs…

ENIG Finish And Black Pad Defects An electroless nickel immersion gold finish is popular because it presents a flat surface for fine pitch components, survives storage, and can be used for both soldering and wire bonding. It is also the finish with the most discussed defect in the industry, a…

Connector Insertion Force, Normal Force and Contact Wear A connector is a mechanical device that carries an electrical signal, and it fails for mechanical reasons far more often than for electrical ones. The force that holds the two halves together, the force needed to push them together, and the wear…