Vapour Phase Soldering for Assemblies How Vapour Phase Heating Works Vapour phase soldering heats by condensation. A fluorinated fluid is boiled in a chamber, and the saturated vapour fills the space above the liquid. When a cooler assembly is lowered into that vapour, fluid condenses on every surface at the…

Vacuum Reflow and Void Reduction Why Voids Form in Solder Joints A void is gas that could not escape before the alloy solidified. The gas comes from several places: flux volatiles boiling out of the paste, air entrained in the deposit during printing, moisture released from the laminate or the…

Nitrogen in the Reflow Process What Nitrogen Changes in Reflow Nitrogen does not solder anything. It displaces oxygen so that the surfaces being joined stay metallic instead of oxidizing while they are hot. Reflow is a race between wetting and oxidation, and at the temperatures used for lead-free alloys the…

PCB Ribbon Bond Reliability: A Flat Wire Instead of a Round One 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…

Solder Pallet Design for Selective Soldering What a Solder Pallet Does A solder pallet is a machined carrier that holds a printed circuit board during selective soldering, masking the areas that must not see solder while exposing the through-hole joints that must. It also provides mechanical support so the board…

PCB Copper Trace Etch Factor: What Buyers and Engineers Should 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 copper trace etch factor gives you…

Flux Residue and Its Effects on Assemblies What Flux Residue Is Made Of Flux is a chemical tool. It removes oxide from the copper and the solder, lowers surface tension so the molten alloy wets properly, and then has done its job. What remains after reflow or wave soldering is…

Pad Cratering Under Area Array Packages What Pad Cratering Actually Looks Like Pad cratering is a fracture that begins inside the laminate rather than at the solder joint. Instead of the joint or the pad separating cleanly, a crack opens in the resin below the copper pad and spreads outward…

PCB Test Coupon Design: A Sample That Proves the Process 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 test coupon design gives you a practical…

PCB Salt Spray Corrosion Test: Design and Assembly Considerations 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 salt spray corrosion test from the perspective of a PCBA…