BEST Inc. Offers Precision Milling Services for Removal of Underfilled SMT Components

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BEST Inc., a leader in electronic component and PCB services, is pleased to announce they offer precision milling services for the safe removal of underfilled surface mount components eliminating circuit board damage thereby salvaging printed circuit board assemblies.

Conventional rework methods for underfilled surface mount components such as BGA, QFP, and QFN devices that utilize heat often can result in physical damage to the printed circuit board including laminate damage, mask destruction, as well as lifted and/or missing pads thereby reducing manufacturing yields and product reliability. In most cases these defects are unrepairable and result in scrapping of very expensive multi-layer printed circuit boards which is costly to the overall assembly process.

Underfilled surface mount components are becoming increasingly widespread in high-technology electronic applications such as aerospace, defense, medical and other high-reliability requirements. Reworking of underfilled surface mount components is extremely challenging with thermal removal methods resulting in physical damage to the printed circuit board thereby risking scrapping of an expensive multi-layer printed circuit board assembly a real possibility.

Precision milling of underfilled surface mount components is a far superior method since it does not destroy the printed circuit board and is performed without using heat thereby eliminating the potential of thermal damage. The precision milling process employs high-precision milling equipment to remove a component one layer at a time. While this method results in the destruction of the component, it enables subsequent component placement at the same location and reduces the risk of circuit board damage.

A significant advantage of the precision milling process is that it leaves remanent solder on the board serving as pre-tinned pads for the placement of a new component to be placed in the same location thereby salvaging the entire printed circuit board assembly.