-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueIntelligent Test and Inspection
Are you ready to explore the cutting-edge advancements shaping the electronics manufacturing industry? The May 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine is packed with insights, innovations, and expert perspectives that you won’t want to miss.
Do You Have X-ray Vision?
Has X-ray’s time finally come in electronics manufacturing? Join us in this issue of SMT007 Magazine, where we answer this question and others to bring more efficiency to your bottom line.
IPC APEX EXPO 2025: A Preview
It’s that time again. If you’re going to Anaheim for IPC APEX EXPO 2025, we’ll see you there. In the meantime, consider this issue of SMT007 Magazine to be your golden ticket to planning the show.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Preventing Production Defects and Product Failures
February 23, 2016 | IPCEstimated reading time: 1 minute

By Dr. Jennie S. Hwang, Ph.D., D.Sc. CEO & Principal, H-Technologies Group & Board Trustee & Distinguished Adj. Professor, Case Western Reserve University
Under today’s manufacturing and market environment, the effort to maximize production yield, reduce cost and assure product reliability is becoming increasingly important to a company’s competitiveness. Considering the new and anticipated developments in packaging and assembly and with the goal of achieving high yield and reliability in mind, the “how-to” prevent prevailing production defects and product reliability issues through an understanding of potential causes is a necessity.
On Thursday, March 17, 2016, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, professional development course (PD21) at IPC APEX EXPO will be held at the Las Vegas Conference Center. The course will address the top six production defects and issues:
- PCB pad cratering (vs. pad lifting)
- BGA head-on-pillow defect
- open or insufficient solder joints
- copper dissolution issues
- lead-free through-hole barrel filling
- PCB black-pad issues
The course provides a holistic overview of product reliability including the important roles of materials, processes and testing/service conditions, as well as the crucial principles behind the product reliability. The course addresses the most prevalent production issues and defects that affect yield, cost and reliability, suitable to all who are involved with or interested in SnPb and Pb-free manufacturing including designers, engineers, researchers, managers and business decision makers; also is designed for those who desire the broad-based information.
Specific defects associated with BTCs and PoPs and the reliability of BTC and PoP assembly will also be outlined.
The main topics to be covered in this course are listed below. You are most welcome to bring your questions and issues for solutions and discussions.
Main Topics:
- Premise of production defects and product failure prevention
- The most common production defects/ issues in lead-free assembly
- PCB pad cratering (vs. pad lifting) — causes and solutions
- BGA head-on-pillow defect — causes, factors, remedies
- Open or insufficient solder Joints – different sources, best practices
- Copper dissolution — process factors, impact on through-hole joint reliability, mitigation
- Lead-free through-hole barrel filling — material, process and solder joint integrity
- PCB black-pad issues – causes, remedies
- Defects of BTC solder joints – prevention and remedies
- Defects of PoP solder joints – prevention and remedies
- Product reliability – principles
- Product reliability – roles of solder joint, PCB and component considerations
- Summary – production defects
- Summary – product reliability
For more information on this PD course or to register, click here.
Suggested Items
Indium’s Karthik Vijay to Present on Dual Alloy Solder Paste Systems at SMTA’s Electronics in Harsh Environments Conference
05/06/2025 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation Technical Manager, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East Karthik Vijay will deliver a technical presentation on dual alloy solder paste systems at SMTA’s Electronics in Harsh Environments Conference, May 20-22 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
SolderKing Achieves the Prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade
05/06/2025 | SolderKingSolderKing Assembly Materials Ltd, a leading British manufacturer of high-performance soldering materials and consumables, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise, one of the UK’s most respected business honours.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Gold Mitigation for Class 2 Electronics
05/07/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileIn electronic assemblies, the integrity of connections between components is paramount for ensuring reliability and performance. Gold embrittlement and dissolution are two critical phenomena that can compromise this integrity. Gold embrittlement occurs when gold diffuses into solder joints or alloys, resulting in mechanical brittleness and an increased susceptibility to cracking. Conversely, gold dissolution involves the melting away of gold into solder or metal matrices, potentially altering the electrical and mechanical properties of the joint.
'Chill Out' with TopLine’s President Martin Hart to Discuss Cold Electronics at SPWG 2025
05/02/2025 | TopLineBraided Solder Columns can withstand the rigors of deep space cold and cryogenic environments, and represent a robust new solution to challenges facing next generation large packages in electronics assembly.
BEST Inc. Reports Record Demand for EZReball BGA Reballing Process
05/01/2025 | BEST Inc.BEST Inc., a leader in electronic component services, is pleased to announce they are experiencing record demand for their EZReball™ BGA reballing process which greatly simplifies the reballing of ball grid array (BGA) and chip scale package (CSP) devices.