Nolan’s Notes: Is Mexico the Pulse of Electronics in the Americas?
Standard of Excellence: Speed vs. Quality in Customer Service
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Revamp Your Components with BGA Reballing
Taking the Gremlins Out of Your Process
April 13, 2016 | Stephen Las Marias, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Every step in your assembly line—bareboard loading, solder paste printing and inspection, pick and place, reflow, optical inspection, testing, unloading the assembly, and panelization—is supposed to be designed to perform optimally for you to have an efficient, reliable, robust and reproducible process.
However, and as isolated as they may seem, "gremlins" sometimes appear and mess up the results of a batch, keeping operators and line engineers figuring out what seems to be wrong in their process.
In our recent survey, we asked our subscribers about their pain points when it comes to their processes, whether they need further automation for more control, and what they would like to know more about with regard to improving their process engineering.
Among the greatest challenges cited were equipment issues, materials, soldering and rework, changeovers, quality, and last but not least, management.
When it comes to equipment, some of our respondents consider the never-ending introduction of new machines as a challenge—despite these machines being designed to streamline the production. Perhaps one reason for this is the lack of time for thorough testing of a new process or machine prior to releasing to production.
Respondents also said there is a lack of data acquisition systems with appropriate sensors for data logging over periods of time, and a need for systems to analyze big data to help their process innovation.
For soldering and rework, the pain points include ensuring a robust soldering and rework process for assembly, soldering BGA components, and solder printing.
The frequent production switches among different products are also among the biggest challenges. This leads to quality issues such as time-to-market pressures, respondents say, which cause them to hurry and possibly overlook key process parameters. Still on quality, the respondents say there is also a need to identify all critical-to-function parameters without having to resort to very high sample sizes.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2016 issue of SMT Magazine.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
BTU International Earns 2025 Step-by-Step Excellence Award for Its Aqua Scrub™ Flux Management System
10/29/2025 | BTU International, Inc.BTU International, Inc., a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the electronics manufacturing market, has been recognized with a 2025 Step-by-Step Excellence Award (SbSEA) for its Aqua Scrub™ Flux Management Technology, featured on the company’s Pyramax™ and Aurora™ reflow ovens.
On the Line With… Ultra HDI Podcast—Episode 7: “Solder Mask: Beyond the Traces,” Now Available
10/31/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the release of the seventh episode of its 12-part podcast series, On the Line With… American Standard Circuits: Ultra HDI. In this episode, “Solder Mask: Beyond the Traces,” host Nolan Johnson sits down with John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits, to explore the essential role that solder mask plays in the Ultra HDI (UHDI) manufacturing process.
Rehm Wins Mexico Technology Award for CondensoXLine with Formic Acid
10/17/2025 | Rehm Thermal SystemsModern electronics manufacturing requires technologies with high reliability. By using formic acid in convection, condensation, and contact soldering, Rehm Thermal Systems’ equipment ensures reliable, void-free solder joints — even when using flux-free solder pastes.
Indium Experts to Deliver Technical Presentations at SMTA International
10/14/2025 | Indium CorporationAs one of the leading materials providers to the power electronics assembly industry, Indium Corporation experts will share their technical insight on a wide range of innovative solder solutions at SMTA International (SMTAI), to be held October 19-23 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Revamp Your Components with BGA Reballing
10/14/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileBall grid array (BGA) components evolved from pin grid array (PGA) devices, carrying over many of the same electrical benefits while introducing a more compact and efficient interconnect format. Instead of discrete leads, BGAs rely on solder balls on the underside of the package to connect to the PCB. In some advanced designs, solder balls are on both the PCB and the BGA package. In stacked configurations, such as package-on-package (PoP), these solder balls also interconnect multiple packages, enabling higher functionality in a smaller footprint.