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  • Maximizing Yields with Minimal Iterations

    Maximizing Yields with Minimal Iterations

    DfM practices for preventing common fab and assembly defects.
      READ MORE...

  • Clearance and Creepage in PCB Design

    Clearance and Creepage in PCB Design

    An overview of standards and guidelines for high-voltage applications.
      READ MORE...

  • Addressing the Global Talent Shortage

    Addressing the Global Talent Shortage

    Changing dynamics in the workforce are driving the need for an intuitive user experience. Are the tools up to the task?
      READ MORE...

  • So You’re a Designer. Now What?

    So You’re a Designer. Now What?

    PCB designers can have many different career pathways.
      READ MORE...

  • How to Run a Design of Experiments

    How to Run a Design of Experiments

    A review of the six fundamental steps behind scientific process development.
      READ MORE...

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Current Issue

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Category: Caveat Lector

PCB design software development wasn’t always dominated by a trio of giants. Even not-so-old timers will remember the landscape once overflowed with small, entrepreneurial businesses. Pads, Cooper & Chyan, Redac, CADI, CADAM, OrCAD, Symbionics, ACT, Ambit and countless others were the foundation for what has emerged as Mentor Graphics, Cadence and Zuken.

Read more: The Rise of the Small?

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Category: Defect of the Month

Bob Willis

A look at solder mask contamination on pads.

This month we look at solder mask contamination on pads. FIGURE 1 is a very, very bad example that never should have made it to the customer. Solder mask residues are visible on the surface and around the edge of the pad. There is also a level of solder mask undercutting.

 

 

 

 

Read more: Avoid Green Solderable Finishes

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Category: Defect of the Month

Bob Willis

Get agreement on what constitutes “rework” – and a capable operator.

This month we look at etching defects and their removal – or presence, as in the case of FIGURE 1. A customer was surprised to find a batch of bare boards with this level of rework.

 

 

 

 

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Read more: Poor Fabrication and Rework

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Category: Defect of the Month

Bob Willis

Excessive temperature or moisture may be to blame.

Open connections on area array packages can be difficult to spot, particularly if they are intermittent electrical failures like the examples in FIGURE 1. One or more open joints can occur between the package and solder sphere or at the PCB pad interface. Reflow soldering with either convection or vapor phase can cause packages to move and separate. This can be caused by warping of the package or in some cases minor popcorning due to moisture. Both faults can be simulated and recorded with video for reference.

 

 

 

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Read more: Resolving Intermittent Area Array Packages with Video Simulation

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The Route 72

ROI 145

Board Talk 1