Electrochemical Migration and Corrosion on PCB Assemblies A board that works in the lab and fails in the field after a few months of humidity is usually the victim of an electrochemical process rather than a defective component. The damage is slow, invisible at first, and driven by the combination…

Cable Assembly to PCB: Crimp, Strain Relief and Retention A cable assembly is where a board meets the outside world, and it is where most of the field failures that are blamed on the board actually happen. The crimp, the strain relief and the connector retention each have a defined…

PCB Copper Plating Adhesion: Does It Stay On 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…

Industrial Oscillator Design Notes For Gateways An industrial gateway is expected to run in a cabinet that may be warm in summer and cold in winter, to start reliably after a power interruption, and to keep its network link up for years without a clock related error. The oscillator that…

Non Inductive Micro Thick Film Resistor Selection A resistor that has to fit into a space of a few square millimetres, survive a wide temperature range and behave predictably at high frequency is a different component from the chip resistor that sits beside it on the same board. The thick…

PCB Solder Mask Cure Check: Is It Fully Set 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 solder mask cure check from the perspective of a PCBA…

Panelisation: PCB Panel Design and Material Utilisation A production panel exists to make handling and processing efficient, but every panel carries material that becomes waste. The way the boards are arranged on the panel decides both the material cost and the process quality, and it is usually settled late. Why…

Manufacturability Review Before the Data Is Released A design review that happens after the data is released is an inspection, not a review. The manufacturability review is the step where the drawing, the process and the volume are compared while a change still costs a revision rather than a batch.…

PCB Solderability of A Finish: Does the Metal Take Solder 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 solderability of a finish gives you a…

PCB Drill Registration Check: Where the Hole Lands 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 drill registration check from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor,…