Printed circuit boards with different material core assembling quality analysis based on 4 P Soldering Model

Abstract

The increasing demand for high integration with continuous decreasing dimensions, maintaining quality and lowering costs for electronic modules brought on the market new types of printed circuits boards (PCBs), having different material core. Taking into account only rigid PCBs, there are currently used metals (Al, Cu, brass), for applications requiring excellent thermal management (RF modules, power leds), or glass, for applications requiring high levels of cleanliness (medical apparatus), or specific polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE) materials for microwave applications (Arlon, Rogers). In the practice, the Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) companies become to have difficulties for assembling the PCBs with different core materials determined by high thermal capacity being hardly to adjust the Surface-mount technology (SMT) lines parameters. In this paper it is analyzed the influence of the PCB support over some of the parameters of 4P Soldering Model and the consequences on the quality of the soldering. There were used four types of boards with different types of pad finishes, same solder paste, same pin finishes and two different processes. The results are undeniably that PCB support material is very important for the statement of the thermal profile of the process.