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Selective Soldering for PCB Assembly

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A selective soldering approach offers PCB connectors the perfect instrument to overcome a few of the challenges. Selective soldering is a robotic device that pushes hot solder from a tank via a nozzle to cover the conduits running from the ground of a circuitry

What is Selective Soldering?

Selective soldering is indeed the method of soldering components selectively onto electronic components and formed modules, damaged in conventional printed circuit board assembly or through-holes technology mounting procedures by heat from the heat exchanger or wavelength soldering. This normally involves an SMT refill operation; selectively soldered components are generally surrounded by elements that have already been supplied in a soldering process and must be accurate enough to prevent damage to them.

Benefits over wave soldering such as no solder pallets are needed:

Wave Soldering is the routine method used for soldering pieces on circuitry for many years. Although originally developed for boards having completely thru-hole parts, some SMT bits will also be soldered.

For TH components to be mounted on circuit boards while PCB manufacturing, selective wave soldering pallets are employed. The pallets are built of an isolated epoxy composites substance. Wave Solder Pallets simplify the production process considerably, removing the need for heavy human work and manual work.

Some situations do not allow wave soldering, and manual soldering is not successful. The only alternative left is to employ the selective solder technique in these circumstances. A few of these requirements include:

  • The high elevation of the component:

The solder wavelength has constraints, and certain components are large enough to obstruct the soldering of the wave.

  • Unanimous heating:

Thick boards, particularly boards with extensive copper layers, might issue manual soldering for power and neutral aircraft. It’s hard to get one molten metal in the board to heat all the electrically coupled metal enough because the solder flows via the holes to make an excellent solder bond.

  • The high-density accumulation of thru-hole connectors:

When big connections with tens of pins are utilized, a soldering iron may hardly be solder efficiently through each pin.

  • Tight spacing of the component:

When thru-holes are too near to SMT components, there may be insufficient space to install a safety fixture around SMT modules to provide efficient wave soldering during smt assembly.

Soldering technology is becoming increasingly 3D, with connections to multiple levels. The maximum temperature is restricted for wave soldering through pallets, and the slurry reflow pin is just a 2D solution with space limits.

PCB Assembly
PCB Assembly

Selective soldering unit with Nitrogen assisted for clean, shiny solder joint:

Introduction

In these technologies, the major objective of using nitrogen is to avoid creating additional oxide on the solder interfaces of the SelectWave and the MultiWave. Furthermore, nitrogen inhibits the creation of extra dross while cleaning the MultiWave nozzles.

The nitrogen supply surrounding the soldering bottle avoids oxide layer development on the wave exterior and supports the flux action during the soldering operation. The cleaning of the nitrogen must rely on the support needed for the procedure.

Naturally, nitrogen with the greatest purity provides the finest support for the lowest use. But on the other side, less pure nitrogen may also complete the task with greater nitrogen utilization and mass flow. Everything relies on the commodity and the flows utilized.

At PNC, our pcb assembly services will include selective soldering as we have an in-house unit that is nitrogen-assisted for clean, shiny solder joints.

Faster than manual human soldering:

The positioning and soldering of electrical equipment onto circuit boards are also largely dependent on robotics in modern circuit board manufacturing factories. Does it suggest they have passed on to qualified manual assembly engineers? Not really.

As with other production processes, selective soldering is the ideal way for reducing costs and speed. Manual installation needs much-experienced personnel to perform what an electronic soldering line can accomplish more quickly.

Large, dense electronics beneath their pins, including Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs), need automatic solder reflow because of the difficulties of soldering the pins beneath them manually.

  • Large quad flat packs featuring fine-width pins are planarity-sensitive when not all wires are on the surface exposed. This makes it hard to manually solder and prefers automated soldering devices.
  • On the opposite end of the size range, tiny chip equipment, such as resistors and condensers, are too hard for hand positioning and soldering in 0201 containers (or smaller).

ERSA Eco Select 2:

ERSA adds a small ECO SELECT 2 to the renowned VERSAFLOW range as a global expert in selective soldering systems.

This system is particularly suited for modular manufacturing lines and is the perfect answer for small and medium enterprises production when flexibility is vital.

The ECO SELECT 2 is fitted with a programmed elevated flux for specific lines or row flux application, as are other ERSA selective soldering solutions. An incorporated spray sensor monitors the location of the flux stream.

Quick-wave IR emitters on the bottom side enable short preheating procedures. The segments of the heating cassette may be triggered depending on the product. The optional top-sided convection preheater allows even complicated components to be homogeneously warmed up.

The soldering process is indeed the backbone of the ECO SELECT 2. ERSA’s ‘pel off’ effect enables 0° soldering without span development and ensures the minimum DPM rates.

At PNC, we have this facility available and you can even get it at very economical rates.

Features autoload and unload:

At PNC, the process work using the Autoload and discharge system quicker. Our automated smt assembly load/unload decreases the human operation of the worksheet by 80% to enable punching processes more efficiently. The material loads & unloads from the same side of the device to save space. Higher manufacturing stability makes production unattended. There are certain important characteristics;

  • Reduce handling periods by more than 80%
  • Full brush board setup
  • Grips of sensitive part nests.
  • Includes the interaction autoload.

The capability of using leaded solder and lead-free (Unit has two different solder pots):

Lead-free solder has a detrimental effect on connection reliability. In terms of mechanical effect, plumbing solder is tougher than plumbing solder. In addition, plumbing-free soil generates surface compounds, flux impurities, and deposits of alloys that may produce poor surface energy. For these reasons, the change from leading to plumbing-free electronic manufacturing is not a comprehensive substitution of electric and hydraulic features:

  • The lead is rather soft. You will discover that solder junctions without lead are tougher than solder junctions produced by lead. This increases the intensity and tiny changes, resulting in excellent dependability.
  • Free lead soldering creates poor weathering, causing other difficulties, such as vacuum and burial.

Leaded solder offers many advantages for electronic production, but the tides of revolution are furious. All sectors using solder in considerable numbers will probably change to plumbing free shortly if they’ve not yet done so.

Engineers at PNC are experts in designing, pcb assembly, and fabricating customized PCB designs with efficient soldering techniques which are pocket-friendly at the same time.

Contact us at sales@pnconline.com to get the customized quote on your requirements.

Beyond PCB Assembly Services, Board Support Package Development

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What is a Board Support Package?

A board support package (BSP) is a collection of essential low level software applications configured for a specific microprocessor and its associated hardware. It supplies the drivers for all the hardware in the system andcontainsa bootloader to initialize the microprocessor and hardware prior to loading the operating system. The package may contain additional low level software to assist the developer in initializing the operating system. The BSP can also include a root file system, and a utility to configure the microprocessor and other hardware.By using PNC to develop the BSP, it will allow them to design around their circuit board fabrication capabilities and process.

Board Support Packages are specific to a family of microprocessors and to a specific operating system.  A typical BSP may contain drivers and initialization code for:

  • Initializing the microprocessor
  • The parallel and serial buses
  • The volatile and nonvolatile memory
  • The display and graphics card,
  • Digital and analog I/O
  • Camera, wireless modules, user input devices etc.

While a BSP for the hardware is the first requirement for developing a product with embedded software, this doesn’t mean that every company developing embedded software needs to develop their own BSP with the drivers for their specific hardware configuration. There are five reasons to let an outside BSP developer like PNC develop the BSP for your embedded application.

1. The BSP supplied by the microprocessor manufacture is an incomplete solution

The microprocessor manufacturer will typically supply a rudimentary BSP with their evaluation board.   This is because manufacturers know that making it easier for the developer to work with the microprocessor is helpful to being selected for the final design and pcb assembly process.   However, the manufacturer’s BSP may not have the drivers for the specific hardware in your design – the only way to ensure a BSP fully supports your hardware design is to have it customized for you.

2. Developing device drivers is a specialized skill

Developing the drivers and initialization code BSP requires detailed knowledge of the microprocessor and its peripheral hardware.  Most developers writing applications running on an OS do not have the requisite expertise to write the hardware driversunderneath that OS.  On the other hand, a group focused only on BSP development like the team at PNC obtains that expertise by working with many hardware platforms every year, and by developing robust tested reference code for common peripherals such as displays and USB ports.

3. A BSP is needed only once for a product

A BSP is needed near the beginning of an embedded software product to allow the developers to work with the target hardware instead of an evaluation PC board or emulation software. Once all drivers are debugged, however, the BSP rarely needs to be touched again except for occasional updates to address hardware end-of-life issues.  This is different than the product’s application, which may see multiple releases over the life of the product.  Since BSP updates are so infrequent it does not make sense for an organization to maintain that highly specialized expertise for the months or years between BSP updates.

4. The BSP and associated drivers are invisible to the customer

Application software that meets customer needs is a close collaboration between developers, product management, marketing, and sales.  Any time spent by the in-house team developing a BSP is time not spent developing features the customer will see and use.  Outsourcing the invisible aspects of the product like the BSP allows the development team to stay focused on the customer.

5. Outsourcing the BSP can accelerate product development

Handing off the BSP to an outside supplier like PNC means that the team’s developers are not tied down developing it internally.  The BSP supplier can develop the BSP incrementally starting with core functionality followed by drivers for some of the less critical hardware once the development team is ready for it.  The outside supplier also brings deep expertise to the driver development, meaning driver development takes less time, and works the first time. The most beneficial reason for PNC to develop your BSP is that they can also fabricate PCB’s as well having in house pcb assembly services.

Talk to the software team at PNC the next time you have a time critical embedded project.  Let PNC help you with your Board Support Package, device drivers, operating systems porting, or protocol stacks development.

PCB assembly Pre-Reflow FAI

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First article inspection (FAI) prior to SMT assembly is a design verification methodology that provides a reported verification and validation of details of a product on the shopfloor per its manufacturing procedure and requirements. There are various ways to perform FAI, from both supplier’s and customer’s side, making it a very dynamic process. This means that each organization can tailor its FAI method to benefit itself and consequently, its customer, yet maintain rigid performance standards at the same time. FAI involves qualitative and quantitative measurement. FAI is also highly effective since it can potentially fulfill process validation requirements of quality management systems like ISO9001 or AS9100.

In the PCBA manufacturing industry, FAI can be effectively employed in validating materials for manufacture, underlying technologies, manufacturing processes used, packaging, and equipment. It can also be applied to a batch of a given sample-size from a mass-production instead of just the first sample, as the name might suggest. At PNC, strict adherence to our manufacturing standards helps in production with better yield but at the same time, facilitating dynamic validation techniques in our manufacturing process allows us to reduce lead time. The focus of FAI in PNC assembly lies in validating the pcb assembly before reflowing so that the SMT team can make necessary adjustments for the next batch, saving time and effort during rework. They are also responsible for validating the correct loading of the right component in its allotted slot per the assembly program. This extra step helps in validating the placements of the components and improves the turnout rate for a successful production.

All aspects of reflow also must be amenable to improve solder performance and the same translates to our guideline where only the most recent batch of solder paste (with most activity) is permitted for use, which is validated by FAI. Apart from pre-reflow FAI, post-reflow X-Ray also helps validate the solder performance based on the reflow profile which can then be adjusted accordingly so that all components are successfully soldered. This can be similarly implemented at the rest of the printed circuit board assembly stages as well up to testing. But there is a necessity to establish a constant groundwork or point of reference in such a dynamic process to give each validation at a particular stage, the perspective of what changes were made before. This is achieved by using a single piece of documentation used to validate at every stage, wherever applicable, and that document reports any changes made to the processes or product, to the next stage.

pcb_assembly
pcb_assembly

PNC employs the use of AEGIS software to combine SMT assembly guidelines and inspection requirements into a single document (internally referred to as AEGIS). The AEGIS is used to report every single FAI validation to different stages of assembly. PNC’s FAI process for SMT starts with thorough solder paste FAI & its validation, which will be detailed in another post. For this post, let us consider pre-reflow FAI and highlight its validation process since it is the most crucial stage. The procedure is as follows:
1. The SMT team confirms the correct allocation of components as given in the assembly program. This is done by comparing each component with its description, measuring component value wherever applicable, and checking for physical marking on ICs. This helps in validating that the right component has been placed in its respective position on the board.
2. The next step involves checking for the polarity of components, wherever applicable. This is a two-step process. First, the supply angle of a component in the reel needs to be checked and second, the placement of that very component on the PCB needs to be verified.
3. Now, once the first board is assembled, the pcb assembly is put through FAI, where the placements of all components on the board are checked, any necessary placements that remain are placed manually and polarities of applicable components are checked and changed as per what is given in the AEGIS. The same changes are made in the assembly program to avoid the same occurrence in the rest of the batch. Components that are designated as DNP (Do Not Place) are also checked and finally, the solder paste information such as solder type, lot number, date of manufacture, and expiry are checked to ensure that the right solder paste has been used.
4. All these checks translate to notes, remarks, and checks on the AEGIS document, which can then be referred at later stages up to final inspection. If the job in consideration is a repeat job, it can be optimized to avoid any errors made in the first batch of production.
5. The board is then sent through reflow. Once reflowed, the board is extensively inspected under high magnification camera for quality of component placement, solder joints etc. yielded by SMT process.
6. Each section in the AEGIS is meant for FAI by a different team performing a different operation.

PNC has been able to reduce its lead time and increase customer satisfaction significantly and our personalized and successful FAI is a big factor contributing towards it. Further development to the FAI process is underway as much as it is needed to achieve better production yield over time for all the different types of PC Board assembly that are assembled at PNC.

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Let PNC Simplify Your Printed Circuit Board Design With, CPLDs

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New product designs continue to get more compact, while the performance and the number of features that customers expect continue to increase. To the engineer, this means higher PCB circuit densities and less room on the PCB for just-in-case design, such as unallocated I/O, or 0 ohm resistor networks to allow for reconfiguration of the PCBs at PCB assembly.

Meanwhile, new product prototype cycles are also getting faster. 3D printed mechanical parts are available within hours, putting pressure on electrical engineers to work faster and get their PCB designs right the first time. Even the fastest PCB fabrication, such as PNC’s 24-hour fabrication turn-time can’t help if the PCB has to be redesigned to fix errors.

The answer to both problems may be the CPLD. PNC’s CPLD programmers can help engineers reduce PCB size and allow on the fly circuit reconfiguration. Most people know that PNC specializes in fast PCB prototyping, but PNC is more than aPCB Manufacturer, PNC can speed prototyping by designing PCBs that replace inflexible circuit designs with PCBS that can be reconfigured to remap I/Os or change the order that circuit elements power up. A CPLD design developed by PNC can also allow the same PCB to be reconfigured to be used for the next generation product.

When it comes to programmable circuit elements, FPGA and microprocessors get all the good press. They are powerful, versatile, and generate more revenue for the manufacturers than workhorses such as CPLDS. Even though CPLD capability has improved dramatically over years, while both cost and power consumption have dropped, they are still often considered only for low level tasks such as “Glue Logic.” PNC designers can tell you that even a CPLD used for “low level” glue logic is appreciated when a late breaking design change means that two outputs now need to be two inputs, and one input needs to be inverted. All in a day’s work for PNC.

A PC Board Manufacturer, such as PNC can help you use these new, more capable CPLDs in places that can solve tough problems, replacing more expensive, complex and power-hungry solutions. Here are four examples.

I/O expansion

One of the most common CPLD applications is to expand the number of available microprocessor I/O ports. The CPLD I/O can either be multiplexed to the microprocessor or controlled via a serial interface. The advantage of a serial bus interface is that it allows you to locate this extra I/O anywhere, even on another Printed Circuit Board through a compact two or three pin connector.

The CPLD combinational logic architecture allows the creation of either a big fan-in or fan-out (over a hundred ports in some cases), and the outputs have enough current to drive small LEDS, a great way to create an array of circuit status LEDS.

When the CPLD output is used in conjunction with a CPLD’s internal clock the CPLD can also drive multiple PWM outputs allowing it to control things such as LED brightness, cooling fan speed, and simple sound producing devices.

The CPLD’s architecture gives it another useful capability for I/O expansion, the ability to accept inputs and drive outputs at different voltages. This multi voltage capability is often utilized for another common application; the communication bridge.

Bridges

CPLDs are often used as a bridge between one or more bus protocols, potentially at different voltages. They can support

  • serial to serial
  • serial to parallel,
  • parallel to parallel

They can even be used to drive an LCD. Because of their simple architecture, they have a low pin delay, making high speed synchronization possible.

Power Management

Another one of CPLD’s features is that they retain their programming and will boot within 500 µs. This means that the CPLD is the first programmable element to wake up on power up, so that it is awake and ready to manage the power up of power supplies and programmable devices ensuring they start in the right order.

Safety Systems

Because of the CPLDs simple architecture and 100% deterministic behavior CPLDs are often used in safety critical systems. One example application is to monitor interlocks, ensuring that the system is in a safe condition before the system can begin operation.

CPLDs pack a lot of capabilities into a compact package, they can reduce PCB complexity and allow reconfiguration on the fly. If you have never considered a CPLD in your design, the designers at PNC can help you with the CPLD circuit design, CPLD programming and Circuit board fabrication. Talk to PNC today.

Telescope

Ensuring a successful Turnkey PCB Assembly project

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There are many detailed factors involved when pursuing the right company for your electronic or PCB assembly needs. These factors can be broken down into two distinct areas, customer communication and supplier contract review. Either the customer or the supplier cannot afford time lost if there is a misunderstanding or lack of data to efficiently and effectively produce a quality product on time. Time spent up front makes for a smooth and efficient transition through the quoting and manufacturing process.

Customer communication

A majority of communications for a request for quote, RFQ’s, in today’s industry are via email. The email needs to contain the required data files and be clear and concise in regard to quantities and delivery dates, along with any details that are not stated on the fabrication/assembly drawings. Since we are talking about Printed Circuit Board Assembly Turnkey projects, let’s break this down further with the required data files for PCB and PCBA.

PCB data files:

1- Fab drawing with build details such as material type, thickness, Copper weight, Tg rating, IPC-A-600 Class, Stack-up, Drill Chart, LPI & silk screen color, Serialization, Panelization array, MIL Spec, final finish and type(RoHs/Non RoHs) etc.
2- Complete set of gerber files.
3- Drill files.
4- IPC-356 Netlist for electrical testing.
5- Read me file for additional information not stated in fabrication drawing or email.

PCB Assembly data files:

1- BOM with manufacturers part number/description and alternates if applicable or DNP’s.
2- Assembly drawing with build details, Solder paste requirements, torque specs, IPC-A-610 Class, DNP’s, serialization, etc.
3- Pick & Place file.
4- ICT or Probe testing if applicable.
5- Functional test procedure if applicable.
6- Read me file additional information not stated in fabrication drawing or email.
If all the required information and data files are complete, we have successfully met the first half of the RFQ process. With this in mind, it’s up to us to compile this information in our contract review process. Let’s take a look at what is processed on our end to complete the RFQ cycle.

Supplier Contract review

All incoming turnkey projects are given an internal number for uniqueness especially for part numbers that has been revised. They are stored in a secure file folder based on two groups of data. ITAR data is stored separately than non-ITAR data. Once the customers data is stored and secure, engineering is notified to start to contract review process for the PCB and PCBA data sets.

Contract review for PCB:

1- Gerber files are imported and overlaid into correct layer structure.
2- Drill files are imported and overlaid against the gerbers.
3- If there is no IPC-356 Net list file, we extract the net from the gerber.
4- The gerbers are ran through a design rule check for manufacturability.
5- Fab drawing is reviewed by engineering for manufacturing capability.
6- If any discrepancies are determined, customer is notified immediately, If no discrepancies, engineering hands off the internal contract review check sheet to customer service.

Contract review for PCB Assembly:

1- BOM is scrubbed to ensure all parts are identified by manufacturer and P/N.
2- BOM parts stock research from approved vendor list.
3- Assembly drawing reviewed by engineering for assembly capability.
4- Pick & Place file review.
5- Review for testing if applicable.
6- If any discrepancies are determined, customer is notified immediately, If no discrepancies, engineering notifies customer service.
7- Quoting team is notified to officially create the quote and send to customer.
Customer communication and supplier contract review is a relatively simple step in order to achieve and ensure a successful assembly turnkey project. Adhering to the steps above can make for a great partnership.