Solder joint integrity may be compromised through mechanical shock, particularity in portable electronics using area array devices with solder balls for interconnections.

Lean Sigma, an approach that has been in practice for several years, mixes the lean manufacturing concept and problem solving approach with Six Sigma for a more efficient manufacturing process.

The expansion of business into alternative energy, green components and energy-efficient components is having a significant impact on the electronics and semiconductor industry.

EMS providers rely on component suppliers to ensure that the lead-free transition on the component terminations is seamless to their soldering processes, but that rarely happens.

This article discusses new developments in stencil laser and material technology and shows how these advancements, when combined, provide comparable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional electroformed stencils. The results are improved yields, cycle time reductions and significant cost savings.

Although the advantages of hot air solder leveling (HASL) in providing the most robust solderable finish for printed circuit boards are well recognized, in the years leading up to the implementation of the EU RoHS Directive in July 2006, the conventional wisdom was that it would have no place in the new lead-free electronics manufacturing technology.

Changes in the domestic printed circuit board assembly industry have resulted in a dominant shift to a high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturing environment resulting in a high frequency of line changeovers.

The electronics industry is under pressure to eliminate brominated flame retardants (BFRs) that were once widely used in electronics housings and cases and are still used extensively in printed circuit boards.

While already in widespread use in the consumer market for handheld, portable electronics, package on package (PoP) continues to gain in popularity and seems likely to be implemented in other types of electronic assemblies.

Do you know what level of applied strain your printed circuit board assembly realizes in your fielded state?

Although blade contact angle is a critical stencil printing parameter, screen printers have so far been unable to vary it ‘on-the-fly’, in software.

The ability to reduce production costs while maintaining a consistent high quality is essential. 

The concept for the introduction of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) control system is expanded here to cover the most important topic at the moment: static control requirements for machines and production plants.

Bill Pasco with Garmin: Evaluating which process optimization software could quickly and accurately determine how to set up his oven for an in-spec profile while reducing oven changeover time.

For our application and experiment, a new underfilling process, molded underfill (MUF), is being investigated.

1-part and 2-part liquid adhesives and sealants have long been part of the materials portfolio used in electronics packaging.

This article describes a study recently conducted by Zestron for better understanding the risks of cleaning lead-free and lead-containing assemblies together in a single process.

While there are many rework processes outlined by both rework equipment vendors and the IPC 7711/7721PCB rework and repair documents, there is a lack of repositories of application notes for non-mainstream laser-based PCB rework processes.

Since the implementation of EU RoHS in 2006, the electronics industry has seen a proliferation of Pb-free alloys for wave soldering, mini-pot rework, BGA and CSP solder balls and, more recently, solder pastes for mass reflow.