Author Archives: WorkingBear
Oct21
Can Increasing Solder Paste Volume Improve BGA Soldering Defects Such as HIP?
X-ray image of a BGA showing more solder on the outer rows than on the inner rows. Improving BGA solder joint quality is an ongoing goal for SMT engineers, especially when working with fine-pitch BGA components. In general, BGAs with … Continue reading
Oct14
How to Strengthen BGA Solder Joints Through Design to Prevent Cracking
Figcaption: How to Strengthen BGA Solder Joints Through Design to Prevent Cracking Recently, several colleagues have asked me the same question: How can we improve BGA design to strengthen solder joints and prevent BGA solder ball cracking? The question came … Continue reading
Sep30
What Is HASL Surface Finish? Advantages and Disadvantages
Figcaption: What Is HASL Surface Finish? Advantages and Disadvantages HASL stands for Hot Air Solder Leveling and is one of the most common PCB surface finishes. It is commonly referred to simply as HASL or a solder coating. During the … Continue reading
Sep16
Component Drop-Off on PCBs: How to Analyze, Troubleshoot, and Identify the Root Cause
Figcaption: Component Drop-Off on PCBs: How to Analyze, Troubleshoot, and Identify the Root Cause Components falling off a PCB can be a nightmare for many process and quality engineers. Workingbear has previously shared several cases involving components falling off PCBs. … Continue reading
Sep09
How to Read a BGA Red Dye Penetration Test Report: What the Results Really Mean and How to Interpret Them
Figure 1: How to interpret the deeper meaning of a laboratory BGA red dye penetration test report If I showed you the microscope image above (Figure 1), taken right after a Red Dye Penetration Test, could you tell Workingbear what … Continue reading
