Category Archives: Quality


May29
Uncovering the Culprit: How CAF Turned Out to Be the Hidden Cause Behind PCB Micro-Shorts — From Suspicion and Analysis to Solutions

post on May 29, 2025

Workingbear’s company was having a tough time with a strange issue: intermittent micro-short circuits inside the layers of the PCB. Since the shorts didn’t show up near any components, it was really hard to figure out what was wrong. Recently, … Continue reading →

Case study, EDX/EDS/SEM/IMC/FTIR, PCB/FPC/PTF, Process, Quality, Reliability     WorkingBear    Views (1,279)     comment (0)
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May22
What is CAF (Conductive Anodic Filament) in PCBs? and How to Prevent It

post on May 22, 2025

One of our company’s products once experienced an issue called an “internal micro-short” in the printed circuit board (PCB). After investigation, we discovered the root cause was something called CAF (Conductive Anodic Filament). But let’s be honest—if you translate that … Continue reading →

PCB/FPC/PTF, Quality, Reliability, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (1,228)     comment (0)
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May08
The Deep Dive: BGA Pads: SMD vs. NSMD (Strength, Voids & Design Considerations)

post on May 8, 2025

Hey folks, welcome back to the blog! Today, we’re diving deep into something absolutely critical for the reliability of almost every electronic gadget out there: BGA solder joints. You know, those tiny connections that hold complex chips onto our printed … Continue reading →

Design, PCB/FPC/PTF, Process, Quality, Reliability, SMT     WorkingBear    Views (1,401)     comments (1)
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Apr17
How to Identify Unknown Contaminants: Choosing Between EDX/EDS and FTIR

post on April 17, 2025

When we discover unknown contaminants on printed circuit boards assembly (PCBA) or electronic products, how do we determine what they are and where they come from? Do we rely on experience, or do we use scientific instruments for analysis? What … Continue reading →

EDX/EDS/SEM/IMC/FTIR, Quality     WorkingBear    Views (1,809)     comment (0)
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Apr03
PCB Warping and Bowing: Causes, Prevention, and Best Design PracticesPCB warpage

post on April 3, 2025

A user asked: “During the SMT process, PCBs often warp or bow after going through reflow high temperature. In severe cases, this can lead to defects like insufficient solder joints or tombstoning. How can we prevent and solve this issue?” … Continue reading →

PCB/FPC/PTF, Quality, SMT     WorkingBear    Views (718)     comment (0)