Jun12
Impact Drop Test Requirements in Electronic Product Development

post on June 12, 2025

裸機的落下試驗/摔落實驗(Drop test)要求

During the design and verification phase of electronic products, an Impact Drop Test is a standard procedure. This test is generally divided into two phases:

  1. Product Drop Test – Testing the device without packaging.
  2. Packagage Drop Test – Evaluating the protective capability of the packaging during transportation.

(Note: This article is based on personal experience and is for reference only. If you have different opinions, feel free to discuss with us. Also, the test methods mentioned are not industry standards, so please use discretion when referring to them.)

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Design, Plastic, Quality, Reliability     WorkingBear    Views (1,094)     comment (0)

Jun05
Tumble Test: How to Prevent PCB and BGA Failures in Electronics Manufacturing

post on June 5, 2025

Tumble Test: How to Prevent PCB and BGA Failures in Electronics Manufacturing

From what I remember, one of the earliest and most frequent requests for tumble testing came from Motorola. Since some of Motorola’s mobile phones and products were designed for military use, their reliability and quality standards were exceptionally strict. However, this also meant higher design and production costs. I can’t help but wonder if this was one of the reasons Motorola eventually lost its competitive edge.

Workingbear strongly believes in maintaining high-quality standards, but over-engineering beyond practical use (over quality) can be a waste of resources. Take smartphones as an example—most people replace their phones every two years. Designing a phone to last five years is already impressive. Insisting on a 10- or 20-year lifespan might only make sense if it doesn’t significantly increase costs. Otherwise, companies need to seriously consider whether the extra investment is worth it.

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Design, Process, Quality, Reliability     WorkingBear    Views (1,058)     comment (0)

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

These two lab cross-sections show conductive material growing along glass fiber gaps.

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, we made a breakthrough. We finally got a faulty PCB that consistently showed the issue. After working with the PCB manufacturer to analyze it, we found the likely cause: CAF (Conductive Anodic Filament)—a type of metallic filament caused by electrochemical migration (ECM), which is known to cause failures in PCBs.

At last, we had a clear direction to investigage. Before that, our customer was getting very frustrated because we couldn’t find the root cause.

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Case study, EDX/EDS/SEM/IMC/FTIR, PCB/FPC/PTF, Process, Quality, Reliability     WorkingBear    Views (1,324)     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

CAF Configuration Variants

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 literally, hardly anyone would understand what it means! Simply put, CAF is a kind of hidden short circuit that forms inside a PCB layer or even under the solder mask (the green coating on the surface of circuit board).

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PCB/FPC/PTF, Quality, Reliability, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (1,285)     comment (0)
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May15
The Role of Process Engineers and Product Engineers in a Company

post on May 15, 2025

The Role of Process Engineers and Product Engineers in a Company

Many people, especially newcomers to the workforce, may feel confused when they first hear the term Process Engineer. What exactly does a process engineer do?

First, let’s understand what process means. Simply put, a process refers to the manufacturing procedure—the steps and methods used to produce a product.

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Role & Responsibility, Uncategorized     WorkingBear    Views (1,096)     comment (0)