During the Repair and Rework, IPC-A-610 or IPC-7711/7721 training courses quite often we get the question which microscope or magnifier is most suited for the visual inspection of a printed circuit board assembly. An answer to this question is not [...]
IPC has published IPC-9121, Troubleshooting for Printed Board Fabrication Processes, an essential source of information for anyone involved in the fabrication or purchase of printed circuit boards (PCB's). This handbook covers over 650 PCB-process failures, with causes and corrective actions [...]
QFN components are part of the BTC (= Bottom Termination Component) style components. They have their connections only at the bottom of the package. QFN is the abbreviation of Quad Flat No Lead, meaning it is a component without leads [...]
Just like PIEK Almit has a long history. Starting in Japan in 1956 Almit pioneered in the field of soldering wire. The company really took off thanks to monumental technical innovations such as solder paste for aluminium and solder paste [...]
The picture shows a cold solder joint. This is a defect for all product classes as described in IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, etc. The cause of this problem could be: Dirty/oxidized soldering tip Too little/no flux Incorrect soldering temperature Soldered too quickly [...]
Today´s world is a window. It is transparent, and you see exactly what is happening on the other side. This has made it much easier for manufacturers of semi-finished and finished articles to check whether a supplier meets the requirements [...]
Can you repair a bad crimp connection? NO! The only way what you can do is to cut the old contact (provided there is enough wire length available), strip both the wires again and make sure that the wires are [...]
Why do you need to clean a PCB after soldering? The flux residues that remain on the circuit board can cause short circuits. The picture shows what happens if you don't clean. This is a defect for all classes per [...]
An ESD training from PIEK can save your company a lot of money! ESD (electrostatic discharge) is becoming increasingly important in the electronics industry. Electronic components are getting smaller and therefore more sensitive. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to [...]
Would you like to learn how to solder wires to different types of “terminals” (contacts)? PIEK has developed a practical course in which the different types of terminals are discussed, how to swage/mount terminals into the printed circuit board, how [...]
