Placement Force and Z-Axis Control on SMT Placement Machines Placement accuracy is usually discussed in the X and Y directions, because that is what vision systems measure. The Z-axis, which controls how far the nozzle travels down and how hard it presses, receives far less attention and causes a surprising…

Flux Activity and Activation Temperature in Soldering Flux is the part of the soldering process that does the chemistry. It removes the oxide layer from the metal, keeps the surface clean while it is hot, and lowers the surface tension so that molten solder can spread. How well it does…

PCB V Score Depth: 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 V score depth from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor, covering…

PCB Tab Routing Design: From Design to Repeatable Production 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…

PCB Reference Designator Rules: From Design to Repeatable Production 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 reference designator rules from the perspective of a PCBA factory…

PCB Serpentine Routing: What Buyers and Engineers Should Check 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 serpentine routing from the perspective of a PCBA factory floor,…

Replacing Leaded Inductors With SMD Parts Safely Moving a design from leaded inductors to surface mount parts is a routine step during a cost reduction or a mechanical redesign. A leaded inductor needs a hole, a manual insertion step and a taller mechanical envelope, while a surface mount part can…

Capacitor Package Sizes And SMT Process Compatibility Choosing a capacitor package is often treated as a question of size alone, but the package also has to survive the placement and soldering process that the board will go through. A part that is electrically correct can still cause defects if its…

Pick And Place Coordinate File Errors And How To Avoid Them A board can be electrically perfect and still stop a production line because the pick and place coordinate file is wrong. The machine does not read the schematic or the netlist; it reads a table of positions, and if…

Solar Charge Controller Circuit Design A solar panel produces a voltage that depends on the light and a current that depends on the load, and the product of the two is the power delivered. A charge controller sits between the panel and the battery and tries to keep that product…