SMT Chip Thrust Test and Assembly Strength Guide The SMT chip thrust test measures the adhesion strength and soldering fastness of surface mount components on a PCB. It is also called a shear test. The test applies a controlled force to the side of a component until the solder joint…

Burn In Board PCB Guide: Design, Materials, Process and Cost What a Burn In Board Is A semiconductor burn in board, often called a burn-in board, is a high performance PCB that carries chips through accelerated reliability testing. The board is installed inside a burn-in oven or an ATE system,…

Improve SMT Production Line Throughput: Placement Optimization SMT production line throughput is usually limited by the placement machine. The printer, mounter, and reflow oven must work at a balanced speed so that no single machine waits for another. Improving throughput is not only about buying a faster mounter; it also…

20-Layer ABF Substrate Guide: Structure, Materials, Process and Cost What a 20-Layer ABF Substrate Is A 20-layer ABF substrate is a high density IC package substrate built with ABF build-up film as the dielectric, used to connect a semiconductor die to the PCB motherboard. AI processors, GPUs, CPUs, FPGAs, ASICs…

SMT PCB Assembly Process Control: Error Prevention Guide SMT PCB assembly process control measures are defined for every step from solder paste application to component placement and reflow soldering. SMT is a popular assembly technology because it allows high density and fast production, but it can only produce reliable boards…

BGA Reballing Guide: Process, Equipment, IPC Standards and Cost What BGA Reballing Is BGA reballing is the professional rework process of removing a ball grid array chip from a board, stripping the old solder balls from its underside, attaching a fresh set of uniform balls and re-soldering the component back…

Manual and Automatic SMT Assembly: Process Guide Manual and automatic SMT assembly are used together in a modern PCBA factory. Automatic pick-and-place machines place surface mount components at high speed, while manual methods remain useful for through-hole parts, prototypes, and small production quantities. The factory chooses the correct method for…

PCB Dimensions Guide: Board Size, Thickness and Tolerance Standards What PCB Dimensions Really Include PCB dimensions are the complete set of mechanical parameters that define a bare board, not just its length and width. A full dimension set covers the board outline, the finished thickness, the copper weight on each…

SMT Mounting Principle: Placement Machine Mechanics The SMT mounting principle explains how a placement machine picks a component from its feeder, verifies its position, and places it exactly on the pad of a PCB. SMT stands for surface mount technology, and the mounting machine is the key equipment that performs…

PCB In Circuit Test (ICT) Guide: Process, Fixtures and Costs What PCB In Circuit Test (ICT) Means PCB in circuit test, usually shortened to ICT, is an automated electrical test applied to an assembled board to verify that every component is present, correctly placed, correctly valued and properly connected before…