Rework Heating Profiles for Fine Pitch Assembly Repairs Rework removes the protection that a controlled reflow profile provides and replaces it with a hand held tool, a judgement about when the joint is ready and a thermal history that nobody records. On fine pitch assemblies, that difference decides whether the…

First Pass Yield and the Metrics That Support It A yield number on its own says almost nothing. Ten percent of boards failing at final test could mean a stable process with a tight limit, or a process that has been degrading for a month, or a test fixture that…

PCB ESD Control Records: Writing It Down for Audit Static damage rarely leaves a visible mark. A sensitive part can pass every visual check and still fail months later in the field. That is why ESD control depends on written evidence rather than on confidence. The record shows which station…

PCB ESD Control Setup: What Matters on the Production Line 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…

PCB ESD Control Training: Teaching the Team 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 PCB…

Dye and Pry Analysis for Solder Joint Crack Detection Dye and pry is the test that answers a question X-ray cannot: where exactly did a solder joint crack, and how far has the crack travelled. It is destructive, it takes a day, and it produces a fracture surface that either…

Microsection Preparation Technique for PCB Analysis A microsection is the only way to see inside a plated hole, and the quality of the section decides whether the answer is real or an artefact of preparation. A badly ground sample can round a crack until it disappears, smear copper across an…

Gold Finger and Edge Connector Protection A gold finger is a plated contact at the edge of a board that mates with a socket or a card-edge connector. It is the one part of the assembly that is expected to survive repeated insertion without any solder joint to hold it,…

PCB ESD Control Problems: A Practical Manufacturing Guide 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 ESD control problems gives you a practical advantage when…

PCB ESD Control Audit: Checking the Practice 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 ESD control audit gives you a practical advantage when you…