SMT Placement Machine Types: How to Select the Right Mounter Four Families of Placement Machines With the rapid development of surface mount technology, SMT is now widely used across the electronics assembly industry, and the range of placement machines on the market has grown with it. Faced with all the…

SMT Placement Accuracy Guide: Computer Control Systems for Pick and Place Machines Why Accuracy Starts with the Control System SMT placement accuracy starts with the computer system that commands the machine. A placement machine usually adopts a two-level computer control architecture. The sub-level is composed of a dedicated industrial control…

SMT Placement Machine Sensors: Complete Guide to Pick and Place Sensing Why Sensors Define a Modern Placement Machine An SMT placement machine is only as trustworthy as the sensors inside it. Every cycle, the machine moves its placement head across the board at high speed, picks components from feeders, and…

Conformal Coating Inspection: UV AOI Guide for SMT PCBs Why Conformal Coating Needs Inspection Conformal coating is applied to printed circuit boards in many applications to protect them from physical impact, moisture, dust, and corrosion in harsh environments, where an unprotected board can fail after only months of service. In…

Industrial PCB Assembly Guide: Standards, Materials and Reliability What Is an Industrial PCB Assembly? An industrial PCB assembly is a printed circuit board that has been designed and built for equipment used in factories, energy systems, process control, instrumentation, and robotics. In short, any PCB that serves the industrial field…

From Bare PCB to PCBA: The Complete Process Guide What Does “Bare PCB to PCBA” Mean? A bare PCB is a printed circuit board that has been manufactured with its copper traces, pads, solder mask, and silkscreen but carries no electronic components. It is the empty foundation of every electronic…

SMT Processing Plant Equipment: Complete Guide to SMT Line Setup What Is an SMT Processing Plant? An SMT processing plant is a factory facility that assembles printed circuit boards with SMT PCB assembly technology. Surface mount components are placed directly onto pads on the board and soldered in place, which…

False Soldering in PCBA: Causes, Prevention and Rework Guide What Is False Soldering in PCBA? False soldering, also called cold soldering or a cold solder joint, is a condition in which a component appears to be correctly attached to the board but the solder has not formed a real metallurgical…

Via Capping PCB Guide: POFV Process, Benefits and Cost What Is Via Capping on a PCB? Via capping, also called plated over filled via (POFV) or via cap plating, is a PCB fabrication technique in which a drilled and filled via is covered with a thin electroplated copper layer so…

Resin Filled Via PCB Guide: Process, Benefits and Cost What a Resin Filled Via Is A resin filled via is a plated through hole that has been completely packed with insulating epoxy instead of being left hollow. Vias are the vertical tunnels that connect the layers of a multilayer board,…