have said it many times in articles and seminars, Nothing Solders Like Solder, but design and manufacturing engineers need to understand all the different process options available

During manufacture, circuit boards can be subjected to many steps, with each step impacting the surface finish.

Electronic assembly cleaning processes are becoming increasingly more complex because of global environmental mandates and customer-driven product performance requirements.

Few things strike more dread in the hearts of technical service personnel than the words "Is your flux compatible with material 'XYZ'?"

The continuing trend for the miniaturisation of portable electronic devices, combined with the demand for ever-greater functionality from those devices, has driven many surface mount designers away from the traditional SMT leaded package selections of PLCC, QFP, TSOP etc, and towards packages with an area grid array footprint.

Part 1—Issues in hot air solder levelling (HASL).

The various aspects of the solder joint formation from a process, metallurgical and risk management perspective are addressed in this three-paper series.

“Bob Willis Process Advice and Defect Clinic” - Second year at Germany's most loved summer show.

Lead-free processes for reflow and wave soldering are well documented, but this is not the case for hand soldering, which is still used for specialised electronic products. This article describes the selection of solder and board finishes that suit hand soldering and important issues affecting the choice.

Over the last few years I have been asked to examine many different ball grid array (BGA) defects from assembly and on field failures here are a selection of the defects and some of the popular causes.

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Increased functionality and smaller devices are significant drivers in innovative packaging designs.

Over the last few years I have been asked to examine many different ball grid array (BGA) defects from assembly and on field failures here are a selection of the defects and some of the popular causes.

This article examines the key sources of contamination, how it can be measured and what can be done to negate its effect.

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A single speck of dust or a fibre is enough to halt an entire production line, costing significant sums in product wastage and manufacturing downtime.

Innovative electronic assembly designs strive to increase functionality over smaller surface areas. Highly dense circuit assembly designs increase the cleaning challenge.

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With this high conductivity, these metal TIMs offer the lowest thermal interface resistance, enabling design of higher power and smaller electronic devices.