Annular Ring: Key Checks Before Release The annular ring is the band of copper that surrounds a drilled hole on a pad. It has to be wide enough that the hole can be drilled off centre by the full tolerance of the process and still leave copper all the way…

PCB Measurement System Analysis Guide Every number a board shop uses to control a process comes from a measurement, and every measurement carries its own variation. Measurement system analysis is the work of finding out how much of the variation in a set of readings comes from the gauge and…

PCB Selective Solder Environment: Process Details and Inspection Points 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 selective solder environment from the perspective of a PCBA factory…

Solder Mask Adhesion Testing And Cure Solder mask adhesion is the bond between the cured ink and the surface beneath it, and it is what keeps the mask in place through reflow, through handling and through the thermal cycling of the product’s life. When the bond is weak the mask…

Impedance Test Coupon: Preparation, Placement and Process Control A controlled impedance board is only as good as the evidence that its traces have the impedance the design intended. That evidence comes from a coupon built on the same panel, with the same stackup and the same etch process, whose traces…

PCB Selective Solder Improvement: Key Process and Quality Checks 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 selective solder improvement from the perspective of a PCBA factory…

PCB Selective Solder Control: A Factory-Floor Review 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 selective solder control from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering…

PCB Selective Solder Checklist: Practical Process Controls 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 selective solder checklist gives you a practical advantage when you…

PCB Operator Training Program Guide Operator training decides how much of the shop’s process capability actually reaches the product. A process can be specified correctly, measured correctly and still produce scrap because the person running it was shown the task once, on a different machine, by someone who was also…

Solder Paste Open Time and Stencil Dwell Control on SMT Lines Solder paste is a suspension of metal powder in flux, and it begins to change as soon as it is exposed to air. Solvent evaporates, the flux thickens and the powder begins to oxidise, so a deposit that prints…