Aug22
What is ENIG Surface Finished for Circuit Boards? What Are Its Advantages and Disadvantages?

post on August 22, 2024

What is ENIG Surface Treatment for Circuit Boards? What Are Its Advantages and Disadvantages?

ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold), also known as immersion gold (Au), chemical Ni/Au, or soft gold, is a type of surface finished for printed circuit boards (PCBs). It is widely used in the assembly of mobile phone circuit boards and some BGA package substrates may also use ENIG or NEPIG (Chemical Nickel Palladium Gold).

ENIG is easy to recognize by appearance. If you see a printed circuit board with gold-colored pads (as shown in the image at the beginning of the article), it is likely ENIG. There is another type of “electroplated nickel gold” PCB that also has gold-colored pads, but due to the high cost of gold, it is rarely used unless there is a special need for a thicker gold layer or hard gold.

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PCB/FPC/PTF, Process, Quality, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (2,782)     comment (0)
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Aug15
Causes of Poor Solderability on HASL Finished PCBs (Data Collection and Analysis)

post on August 15, 2024

Causes of Poor Solderability on HASL Finished PCBs

Workingbear personally doesn’t recommend using HASL (Hot Air Solder Leveling) surface-finished PCBs in today’s SMT reflow processes, especially for double-sided reflow or fine-pitch components located on 2nd side. The defect rate of soldering with HASL is quite high and hard to overcome.

Most people experienced with SMT processes, when facing issues with SMD components not soldering well, typically first suspect issues with solder paste printing (like improper stencil thickness, aperture, pressure adjustments), solder paste oxidation due to prolonged air exposure, moisture or oxidation on SMD component leads, or incorrect reflow oven temperature profiles.

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PCB/FPC/PTF, Process, Quality, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (1,611)     comment (0)

Aug08
What Do PCB and PCBA Stand For? What’s the Difference?

post on August 8, 2024

What is the difference between PCB and PCBA? This should be an easy concept to understand, but since someone asked Workingbear, let’s explain it a bit. If you find any errors while passing by, please let us know to correct them.

Most people have probably heard of the term PCB. If you follow financial news, YouTube or read related articles, you might have come across this term. However, for those not in the electronics industry, the term PCBA might be less familiar, and sometimes it gets confused with PCB. Even though PCB and PCBA differ by just one letter, there is a significant difference between them in the electronics manufacturing industry.

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PCB/FPC/PTF, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (1,728)     comment (0)

Aug01
3D CT X-Ray Non-Destructive 3D Tomography Analysis for PCBA and BGA Failures

post on August 1, 2024

3D CT X-Ray Non-Destructive 3D Tomography Analysis for PCBA and BGA Failures

In recent years, the commercial application of 3D CT X-Ray has become increasingly noteworthy. As the technology matures, more companies are investing in its development, making the equipment more affordable, though still not quite at a consumer-friendly price point. Additionally, more laboratories equipped with 3D CT X-Ray are emerging, indicating that more electronics manufacturers are willing to invest in non-destructive testing. Workingbear has encountered at least two labs in Taiwan with 3D CT X-Ray equipment.

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Quality, Reliability, SMT, Soldering, Test/Inspection     WorkingBear    Views (1,854)     comment (0)
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Jul25
Effects of Nitrogen (N2) in SMT Reflow on Various Soldering Defects

post on July 25, 2024

Effects of Adding Nitrogen (N2) to SMT Reflow Ovens on Various Soldering Defects

“Oxidation” is a major enemy of solder quality, but oxidation is a natural law of elements striving for stability that cannot be avoided. Using nitrogen (N2) to isolate solder from oxygen (O2) is one of the few effective methods currently available to reduce oxidation of electronic components during high-temperature soldering.

Although nitrogen (N2) is not one of the noble gases of Group 8A, it is classified as an “inert gas” in modern chemistry. Nitrogen is very unreactive in nature, making it unlikely to form compounds with metals. It also makes up 78% of the atmosphere, making it relatively inexpensive to obtain. As a result, nitrogen is often used in SMT reflow ovens to replace oxygen, and in some wave soldering ovens, to reduce oxidation of solder or PCB pads at high temperatures.

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Quality, SMT, Soldering     WorkingBear    Views (2,420)     comment (0)
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