Half of PCB defects caused by SMT process

Near half of the defects in printed circuit boards (PCB) came from the surface mount technology (SMT) process, a researcher at Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI).

KETI researcher Lee Jin-ho said the institute analyzed around 700 cases filed by 235 companies between 2014 to this year for the research.

It showed the near half of PCB defects came from the SMT process, Lee said, speaking at local tradeshow KCPAshow2020.

SMT companies were responsible 47% of the times, followed by consumers at 28% and the PCB company at 22%, he said.

The research showed that PCB and SMT companies have not secured reliability properly. The defect ratio in consumers was also too high, Lee stressed. The industry, due to its production structure made out of outsourcing and subcontract, isn’t properly securing quality assurances in each step of the production, the research said.

The high ratio of defect from SMT process shows that PCB companies aren’t making boards that can handle soldering.

Defect from soldering occurred the most from automotive products, Lee said. Customers requiring PCB companies turn in high standard boards to avoid dewetting. Lee said companies should use jet scrubbing over brush before the photo solder resist process. After the process, companies should strengthen the cleaning and drying process to avoid contamination.