Technical Articles

Ask a Question Write an Article

PCB Assembly

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

May 2, 2023

Proper soldering techniques are essential to creating electronic devices that function properly. In the electronics industry when a PCB is manufactured, the immediate next step is to solder all the electrical components like resistors, capacitors, and many other components to the PCB traces. However, sometimes the process doesn’t go as planned and which eventually leads to soldering issues a...read more

What are Cold Solder Joints?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Apr 28, 2023

A Cold Solder Joint is a type of soldering connection that is weak and has low reliability due to poor soldering technique or insufficient heat application during the soldering process. In a cold solder joint, the Solder may appear dull or grainy, indicating that it did not flow properly during the Soldering process, and may also have a weak mechanical bond to the component leads or circuit board....read more

What are PCB Laminates?

PCB Materials

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Apr 26, 2023

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an essential component in electronic devices, ranging from simple devices like calculators to complex systems like computers and smartphones. A PCB is a flat board made of a non-conductive substrate material with conductive pathways and components attached to it. One of the critical components of a PCB is the PCB laminate.A Printed Circuit Board finds its genesis ...read more

What is Solder Mask? A Comprehensive Guide.

PCB Fabrication

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Apr 26, 2023

PCB manufacturing is a complex process, even multi-layered if one can say so. You have to decide on a substrate material, metal selection is required that will form the conductive traces in your PCB. These two layers when laminated together, have to further go through numerous other processes, for example, drilling and etching. It can certainly be a handful job.So where does a Solder Mask come in?...read more

What are the Advantages of Teflon PCBs?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Apr 13, 2023

With a rapidly evolving Electronics industry, quick improvements are essential to any Business’s success. PCB manufacturing involves a wide array of processes, from material selection and brisk designing to the design's testing and rapid prototyping. Hence, it is vital to utilize the best material available for the consumer's demand.In this article, we will learn about Teflon, a fluo...read more

Tags;Fabrication;

Analysis of Optical Inspection of Soldering in PCB Assembly

PCB Assembly

Editorial Team

PCB Trace

An acute shortage of equipment for automatic control of electronic assemblies currently has led to a curbing of the development of the electronic industry. In this article, we will analyze the structure and functioning of modern optical inspections in Printed Circuit Boards. It discusses ways of improving the functional scheme of optical inspection are considered, and its main components and their...read more

Tags;Assembly;

Cost Analysis of PCB Assembly

PCB Assembly

Editorial Team

Rush PCB Inc.

Manufacturing costs are always a major concern for OEMs. Printed circuit board or PCB assembly costs include the materials that go into fabricating them, the components mounted on them, and the expertise necessary to make them reliable and safe. In this article, Rush PCB analyzes the cost breakup of a PCB assembly, so that our customers can take more informed decisions.Factors Affecting PCB Assemb...read more

Tags;Assembly;

Preventing Plating and Solder Voids

PCB Fabrication

Editorial Team

Rush PCB Inc.

While manufacturing printed circuit boards or PCBs, we focus our attention on the handling of tools and processes. This helps us avoid many quality issues like cold joints, brittle joints, and voids. As their name suggests, voids are empty spaces. Ideally, voids have no place in PCBs. The presence of voids in a PCB confirms that somewhere along the manufacturing activity, the process did not add e...read more

Tags;Fabrication;

What are Black Pads?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Aug 9, 2022

Black pads are primarily a layer of dark nickel that is formed due to corrosion on the surface of a PCB that has an ENIG (Electroless Nickel and Immersion Gold) finish. Black Pads are the result of excessive phosphorous content reacting with gold during the gold deposition process which is an essential step in applying an ENIG finish.ENIG is a surface finish that is applied on the printed circuit ...read more

What is the Reflow Profile of Solder?

Solder

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Aug 9, 2022

Reflow profiling is the process of evaluating the effect of heat on the solder being used on a printed circuit board. In the reflow soldering process, the board with solder should be heated in a way to ensure that the solder melts and solidifies at particular temperatures over specific periods of time to ensure proper solder joints are formed.Reflow profiling is used to optimize the soldering proc...read more

What are PCB Pads?

PCB Fabrication

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Aug 9, 2022

A pad on a PCB is an exposed region of metal that allows the soldering of the component leads onto printed circuit boards. These pads are then connected to traces on the board to form a circuit. When no components are soldered on to a PCB, a visible PCB pad footprint can be seen on the board (see figure above).There are two types of PCB pads:Through Hole Pads:Pads used to mount through-hole compon...read more

What are PCB Test points?

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Aug 20, 2022

A test point in a PCB is an exposed copper pad that can be used to check whether a circuit is functioning to specification. During production, users can inject test signals via probes through the test points to detect potential issues. The test signals output determines if a given signal is low/high when compared with the desired result and optimal changes can be made to achieve the same.The PCB T...read more

What are PCB Mouse bites?

PCB Fabrication

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Aug 9, 2022

Mouse bites also known as perforated breakaway tabs in a PCB are small perforations / pricks on the board which allow for panelizing and depanelizing smaller groups of PCBs together. This way multiple PCB boards can be assembled together, thereby saving time and making the process cost-effective. The assembled PCBs can be separated by applying pressure on the sections of the board that have perfor...read more

What is a PCB Trace?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Jul 29, 2022

A PCB trace is a highly conductive track that is used to connect components on a Printed Circuit Board to each other. Since a PCB Trace is used to conduct electricity it has to be made of a material that is highly conductive and stable. Additionally, the physical properties like its width and thickness help determine the amount of current that can pass through managing thermal stability. The most ...read more

What is a PCB Substrate?

PCB Basics

Editorial Team - PCB Directory

Jul 20, 2022

A PCB Substrate acts as a foundation upon which a printed circuit board is built. The substrate of a PCB defines its physical, electrical, and thermal properties. Substrates are typically dielectric composite structures that comprise of epoxy resin and are used in combination with a copper foil bonded onto one or both sides. A solder mask is then applied over the copper layer to insulate it and pr...read more

Ask a Question Write an Article

Technical Articles

Ask a Question

Write an Article

Topics