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Integrated Solutions for Board-level Reliability: A Smarter Path Forward
August 27, 2025 | Alan Gardner, MacDermid Alpha Electronics SolutionsEstimated reading time: 1 minute
In today’s electronics manufacturing landscape, reliability is no longer just a benchmark but a business imperative. As industries such as automotive, aerospace, and high-performance computing (HPC) push the boundaries of innovation, the demand for dependable board-level performance under extreme conditions has never been greater.
Ensuring board-level reliability (BLR) is no small feat. From thermal cycling to mechanical stress and electrochemical degradation, the challenges are complex, and the consequences of failure are significant.
The Connection Challenge
The solder joint at the PCB interface is a critical reliability determinant that demands close attention during layout and material selection. As board designs push toward higher component densities, finer pitches, and increased thermal cycling demands, these connections often become the dominant failure mode.
The interaction between solder alloy composition and reinforcement polymer material directly influences the mechanical and thermal behavior of solder joints. For these combinations, CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatch and fatigue life under thermal and mechanical stress require extensive validation. However, exhaustive in-house testing of all possible material combinations can quickly overwhelm development resources and delay the manufacturer’s time-to-market.
A Smarter, Integrated Approach
Reliance®, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions’ integrated reliability enhancement tool, simplifies and accelerates design engineers' decision-making. Built on over 10,000 hours of testing and decades of materials science expertise, the tool offers a user-friendly interface that visualizes complex data in a digestible format.
To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the August edition of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
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