PCB material selection and manufacturing process understanding is important to consider when contemplating a new project. One question is often, the difference between PCB core and prepreg materials. Once the difference between core and prepreg is understood, then what exact materials should be used for your application? What’s the impact on electrical parameters during plating, etching, […]
Halogen Free PCBs are printed circuit board without halogens in their construction. Halogens include Chlorine, Bromine, Fluorine, Iodine, and Astatine, which have health & safety concerns. For a PCB to be considered “Halogen-Free,” there must either be less than 900 parts per million of chlorine or bromine, or fewer than 1500 parts per million of […]
In PCB application, all gold is 99.9% pure. So efficiency in selecting the most appropriate process and thickness is very important to keep your product as cost-effective as possible. There are multiple types of gold finishes which can be applied to printed circuit boards, depending on the functionality required. ENIG (Electroless Nickel plating under Immersion […]
PCB gold fingers are a common PCB manufacturing requirement of memory sticks, graphics cards, and other product designs requiring edge connections or contact points. “Fingers” are neat, narrow, usually, long row of PCB pads along the edge of a PCB card (either on one or both, sides of the PCB).The rectangular row of conductive PCB […]
Solder paste is a combination of small metal solder particles and flux used in printed circuit board assembly & manufacturing. The purpose of solder paste is to create a stable bond between the plated connection pads on the PCB board and the electronic components being added to form a working electrical circuit. Size, composition, and flux density […]
The circuit board base material comprises the substrate (or core) and the PCB laminate. The substrate is the non-conductive dielectric material, typically chosen based upon the dielectric constant (dk). Laminates when used in conjunction with substrates provide the copper foil or surface material. However, laminates may themselves be used as core material in some board […]
It’s easy to leave the PCB design guidelines as an afterthought, spending most of your time focusing on circuit design, functionality, and component selection. However, not providing attention to PCB layout basics can lead to a design that translates poorly from the digital domain to physical reality. Thereby making it more difficult to fabricate. The […]
Surface Mount Technology is an area of electronic assembly used to mount electronic components to the surface of the printed circuit board (PCB) as opposed to inserting components through holes as with conventional assembly. SMT reduces manufacturing costs and also to make more efficient use of PCB space enabling more complex electronic circuits to be […]
Measling occurs when discrete white spots appear in the base epoxy-glass laminate of a PCBÂ (printed circuit board), usually when the resin is not properly applied to the board during the lamination process due to the presence of moisture or other contaminants. Measling signifies a malfunctioning or poor-quality board that can degrade electrical and physical performance. […]
Summarized below are some typical solder paste printing defects along with recommended corrections or preventative actions to improve your (PCBA) Printed Circuit Board Assembly manufacturing process and overall product quality. At Optima Technology Associates, Inc. we have over 25 years of experience manufacturing PCBs, PCBAs and providing engineering services to help you meet your quality standards and […]
