Electronics Manufacturing Technical Articles

The Environmental Impact of Pick-and-place Machines

Aug 12, 2009 | Sjef van Gastel

Energy labels are a key part of global attempts to reduce consumption of environmental resources. They inform customers of the future consequence of their purchases. There are now many national and other energy labels covering houses, cars, lamps, washing machines and dryers, air conditioners, etc. The EU Energy using Products (EuP) directive also is working on classifying industrial applications to set rules for future energy reductions. These rules are at least three years away; until then, there are no energy labels for industrial manufacturing equipment....

Publisher: Assembléon

Defluxing Déjà vu

Jul 29, 2009 | Michael Konrad, President, Aqueous Technologies Corporation

While the origin of the phrase "may you live in interesting times" is widely disputed, the fact that we indeed live in an interesting time is certainly not. While record bank failures and declines in stock values, only rivaled by the Depression era, wreak havoc on consumer confidence, the economic trickle-down effect translates to reductions in production output and ultimately the consolidation of many industries, including electronic assembly....

Publisher: Aqueous Technologies Corporation

Joule Heating Effects on the Current Carrying Capacity of an Organic Substrate for Flip-Chip Applications

Jul 22, 2009 | Varaprasad Calmidi, Irv Memis.

This paper deals with the thermal effects of joule heating in a high interconnect density, thin core, buildup, organic flip chip substrate. The 440 μm thick substrate consists of a 135 μm thick core with via density of about 200 μm. The typical feature sizes in the substrate are 50 micron diameter vias is the core/buildup layers and 12 micron thick metal planes. An experimental test vehicle is powered with current and the temperature rise was measured. A numerical model was used to simulate the temperature rise in the TV....

Publisher: i3 Electronics

01005 Assembly, the AOI route to optimizing yield

Jul 15, 2009 | Cathy Combet, Ming-Ming Chang, Product Managers, Vi TECHNOLOGY, France.

The increasing demand for smaller & smaller portable electrical devices is leading to the increasing usage of extremely small components in the SMT assembly lines. With the introduction of 01005 packages in mass production, all the different stages of the line are facing new challenges: from board design, through component placement to reflow process. Each stage introduces some specific types of defect which are considered impossible to repair due to the small size of the package. AOI has become an essential tool to enable good yield in the assembly of 01005....

Publisher: Vi TECHNOLOGY

Using Hansen Space to Optimize Solvent Based Cleaning Processes for Manufacturing Electronic Assemblies.

Jul 09, 2009 | Steve Stach.

Sometimes you just cannot clean with water. Good examples of this are: circuits with batteries attached, cleaning prior to encapsulation, ionic cleanliness testing, and non-sealed or other water sensitive parts. High impedance or high voltage circuits need to be cleaned of flux residues and other soils to maximize performance and reliability and, in these types of circuits; water can be just as detrimental as fluxes. When solvent cleaning is called for, Hansen solubility parameters can help target the best solvent or solvent blend to remove the residue of interest, and prevent degradation of the assembly being manufactured. In short, using this approach can time, manufacturing cost and reduce product liability....

Publisher: Austin American Technology

Thermal Residue Fingerprinting: A Revolutionary Approach to Develop a Selective Cleaning Solution

Jul 01, 2009 | Steve Stach, Austin American Technology Harald Wack, Ph.D., Umut Tosun, Naveen Ravindran, ZESTRON America, John M. Radman, Daniel D. Phillips, Trace Laboratories East

During the last 5 years, the processes to remove flux residues especially for lead-free and challenging geometries have demonstrated new cleaning obstacles which have to be overcome.i A new methodology has been recently developed to further increase the propensity for successful cleaning.ii At the core of this method is the thermal identification of the residue matrix. Thermal energy changes the physical state, i.e. transitions between liquid, solid and gas phases. By taking advantage of such specific information during phase transitions, the cleaning process can be tailored to such settings, which in turn increases the cleaning success significantly....

Publisher: ZESTRON Americas

A New Angle on Printing

Jun 25, 2009 | George Babka, Scott Zerkle; Assembléon Americas, Frank Andres, Rahul Raut, Westin Bent; Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials, Dave Connell; Research in Motion.

Although blade contact angle is a critical stencil printing parameter, screen printers have so far been unable to vary it "on-the-fly", in software. The recently released Assembléon/Yamaha YGP printer has changed this, and has made new application research possible to study a crucial 01005 process variable for feature printing that previous researchers have ignored.

We have designed the first robust solder paste printing process for 01005 components that uses only a single printer and stencil. We have studied transfer efficiencies across all the major parameters, with important results for reliable high-density equipment assembly. Our findings show that a variable blade contact angle can print fine features with wider process window, and reduce overall process variation between boards produced from a line....

Publisher: Assembléon

The Call for Halogen-Free Electronic Assemblies

Jun 17, 2009 | Karl Seelig, Michael Burgess.

The increased interest in halogen-free assemblies is a result of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) exerting pressure on electronic equipment manufacturers to eliminate halogens. The NGOs primary focus is on resolving global environmental issues and concerns. As a result of an increase in the enormous "e-waste" dump sites that have begun showing up around the world, NGOs are pushing consumer electronic manufacturers to ban halogen-containing material in order to produce "green" products. Not only are these sites enormous, but the recycling methods are archaic and sometimes even illegal.

This stockpiling and dumping has created growing political and environmental issues. In order to deal with this issue, the question of why halogens are a focal point must be addressed....

Publisher: AIM Solder

Drop Shock Reliability of Lead-Free Alloys - Effect of Micro-Additives

Jun 11, 2009 | Ranjit S Pandher, Brian G Lewis, Raghasudha Vangaveti, Bawa Singh

The shock reliability of solder joints has become a major issue for the electronic industry partly because of the ever increasing popularity of portable electronics and partly due the transition to lead free solders....

Publisher: Cookson Electronics

Cree® XLamp® LED Thermal Management

Jun 11, 2009 | Cree, Inc.

XLamp LEDs lead the solid-state lighting industry in brightness while providing a reflow-solderable design that is optimized for ease of use and thermal management. Lighting applications featuring XLamp LEDs maximize light output and increase design flexibility, while minimizing environmental impact. This application note serves as a guide to understanding thermal management of XLamp LEDs and minimizing the effects of elevated junction temperatures....

Publisher: Cree, Inc.