Tech Seconds: X-ray Analysis Electronics Assembly
In this installment of Tech Seconds, Phil discusses the basics of X-ray analysis for electronics assembly and how to identify soldering voids....
Voiding
Tech Seconds: Troubleshooting Voiding
In this installment of Tech Seconds, Phil outlines how to effectively troubleshoot voiding issues when a customer notices an increase in the amount of...
Tech Seconds: Voiding - Symptom or Defect?
How do you determine whether your voids are a symptom or a defect. Phil Zarrow gives his advice. ...
Stages of a Reflow Profile: Part II
The second stage of a reflow profile activates the flux in the solder paste and prepares the solder for reflow. This can be a critical stage...
How Process Variables Affect Variation in QFN Voiding
Indium Corporation's been doing extensive testing on the effect of different process variables on voiding and QFNs... ...
Avoid the Void® Common Causes of Voiding in Electronics Assembly
This video is for anyone interested in the causes and effects of voiding in solder paste. Keywords: Phil Zarrow, Glen Thomas, askus@indium.com, voidin...
Flux-Cored Wire in Robotic Soldering
Looking for a way to Avoid the Void® using high-quality cored wire? Click here....
No-Clean Fluxes in Semiconductor Assembly
We explore cleaning techniques for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It will cover water-soluble and no-clean materials and process....
To Minimize BTC Voiding, Start with the Right Solder Paste
Let’s see what’s up with Patty….. Patty was just dropped off at O’Hare airport after finishing a 3 day workshop on Lean Six S...
Voiding: A Critical Issue in Electronics Assembly
QFN voiding is a significant electronics issue today. Patty & her team tackle voiding in QFNs, BTCs (bottom-terminated components), and more....
Materials Lifetimes - A Modest Proposal
Specific and consistent terminologies are required to enable accurate and effective discussions of soldering materials....
Flux-Coated Solder Preforms
Flux-coated preforms allow you to reduce the amount of flux that’s presented to the joint and increase the solder volume. SMT expert Phil ...
Using and Specifying Solder Preforms
Why use solder preforms? SMT industry expert Phil Zarrrow finds out from Jim Hisert, Indium Corporation Manufacturing Engineer. ...
Voiding in the Thermal Ground Pad of BTC Components
Phil Zarrow interviewed Derrick Herron, a technical support at The Indium Corporation. PZ: With the advent of bottom-terminating components, one of...
SMTA International 2015, One Month Away!!!
SMTA International 2015 is just around the corner. If you want to see what our engineers will be presenting at the show check out this blog; there is ...
Achieving Uniform Solder Bondline Control Between Substrate and Baseplate in IGBT Assembly: Part II
As we discussed in part I of this three-part series, uneven solder bondline thickness between the substrate and baseplate of an IGBT module can cause ...
Applying Solder Preforms – Heating (with Guest Star Brandon Judd)
For this week’s World of Solder Preforms series installment, Brandon Judd explains the importance of reflow profiling: Solder preforms are a ver...
Two NEW products featured at SMTAI 2014
As with many companies exhibiting at SMTAI, Indium Corporation is featuring several new products that address many of the concerns of our custo...
Introducing Indium10.1 – the best Pb-free solder paste to prevent voiding
Indium Corporation works hard to ensure that we have solder pastes that suit all of our customers’ needs. Our R&D team works closely with ou...
Register for my Professional Development Course at APEX
On Monday, March 24, I will be giving a professional development course at the IPC APEX Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The course, Understanding and ...
Choosing a Leadframe or DBC Finish for Die-Attach in Power Devices
Solderability and Wetting The wetting and spreading of solder onto surfaces is an essential part of forming a strong, reliable, conductive joint. The ...
Indium Corporation's Brandon Judd and the Southwest U.S.
For fun, I decided to interview our very own Brandon Judd to talk about Indium Corporation Technical Support, the Southwest United States, and a...
LV1000 Flux Coating: the solution to voiding AND MORE
In my last blog post, I gave a brief overview of the attributes and advantages of our new LV1000 flux coating formulation. I also discussed the ...
First Pass Yield Continued
Folks, Let’s see how Patty is doing with her latest challenge….. Patty had decided to call The Professor and see what advice he had to of...
Introducing the next generation of flux coatings for solder preforms
Solder joint voiding is tough to deal with. When attaching components, such as power amplifiers/transistors or QFNs, the larger the footprint the...
Great First Pass Yield and Productivity, but Poor Profit?
Folks, Let’s see what is up with Patty…..... Patty sat at her computer, admittedly a little tired. She had just gotten back after a...
Statistically Significant vs Practically Significant Results in SMT Assembly
Folks, Everyday, we are exposed to the results of surveys and polls. A typical example might be that President Obama is leading Mitt Romney in a...
No-Clean Solder Paste for Clip-bonding Die-Attach
I’m just back from Malaysia, where I visited one of our larger customers who has been using our high-lead (high-Pb) dispensable N...
Void Reduction in Solder Joints
It is often said that a chain is only as strong as it weakest link, the same can be true for a series of......
Intermetallics In Soldering
Intermetallics are a necessary evil in the metal-to-metal bonding world, which definitely includes soldering. There are two basic ways that metal will...
Solving the QFN Voiding Problem With Solder Preforms
Folks, Rob heads to Guadalajara to solve the QFN voiding problem...... As Rob sat on the airplane, he was excited to go to GDL (Guadalajara, Mexi...
Things I Learned at IWLPC 2010
Once again, here are some things I learned at this year’s IWLPC show 2010 in Santa Clara. Picture below taken at Philadelphia airport,...
Understanding Thermal Resistance Calculations
I have previously discussed various reasons why thermal considerations in a device cannot be an afterthought. There are various methods for handl...
NanoFoil(r) Basics: Activation Part II
In my last post, NanoFoil Basics: Activation Part I, I talked about NanoFoil® activation properties (remember, I’m not using the t...
Packaging and Handling of Integrated Preforms® For Solder Fortification®
Integrated Preforms®, like separate solder preforms, are available in all of the common shapes. Since not all applications are alike, these connec...
INTERVIEW: Klaus Roehmer: PINK Vacuum Reflow
Figure 1: 15% Voiding with air reflow Figure 2: ~0% Voiding after vacuum reflow ......
Mentos, Diet Coke, and Mixed Alloy Voiding
Most of you have probably seen videos of countless Mentos/Diet Coke experiments all over the internet. If you are one of the few who have not, t...
Heard the one about....?
“Hey, Andy!!” The stranger grinned. “Nice to meet you in the flesh at last!”. It was the last customer visit on a recent trip ...
Virtual Reality? The Virtual-PCB Online Tradeshow
For my next trick, I will be participating in a chat session as part of the Virtual PCB Show on February 25th from 11:00AM to 11:45 AM.......
Surface Finishes 3: Soldering to Immersion Silver (ImAg)
Next on the soldering to list is soldering to immersion silver (ImAg). ImAg is probably the only solder finish that is sensitive to the profile used f...
What's Acceptable?
Unacceptable voiding under a die With less voiding under a power die, more heat can be dissipated through the solder into......
Flux coated preforms are like a snowball….
For those of us who grew up in colder climates, snowball fights were a right of passage. As a child I fell victim......
Conductive Epoxy
Conductive epoxy is a polymer matrix with flakes of silver mixed into it. These silver flakes span a distance of about 40 microns or less. The silver....
Questions for Tim Jensen
Folks, Tim Jensen, Product Manager, PCB Assembly Materials, would surely be considered one of the most knowledgeable people in lead-free soldering and...
Shop Around for Your Interfaces
Designers are always seeking the latest and greatest performance material which will enhance the performance of their hot devices. Still they often ch...
Another B2B Online Video Ad Released
We have just released the third in a series of online video ads aimed at our B2B electronics assembly audience. The series is titled: INDIUM CORPORATI...
IPC/JEDEC Frankfurt
Folks, I just got back from IPC/JEDEC’s Conference: RoHS Compliance and Beyond. Before I get into technical stuff, a few comments on traveling t...