CONFORMAL COATING OPEN INNOVATION PCB WASTEDFM ACCELERATED RELIABILITY

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DFM softwareIn the Design through Manufacturing process, there are several steps: the PCB design stage where you are defining the product, the NPI stage and the manufacturing stage where both the bareboard fabrication and PCB assembly processes take place.

Within the NPI stage there are actually two unique aspects. The first one is where the product is optimized for the manufacturing processes, The other is where the manufacturing processes instructions are created. We will show you how the Valor NPI solution addresses both of these aspects.

If you look at an electronic product’s lifecycle it could be defined in this manner : design, new product Introduction, ramp-to-volume, volume production and then sustaining an end-of-life.As you progress along this continuum, from left to right in the following plot (Figure 01), it costs you an increasing amount of time and money to identify and then optimize your product for mass production and reliability. It’s known that at each step, the cost of modifications for solving a problem, is raised up to ten times.

With systematic use of DFM tools you have the ability to optimize your PCB design for mass production and reliability, much earlier in the

lifecycle, thus saving your company substantial money and time.

VOLUMEDESIGN NPI RAMP TO VOLUME SUSTAIN END-OF-LIFE

COST OFMANUFACTURING

RELATEDDESIGN

CHANGE

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

At each stage of the product lifecycle different questions are asked

NPI:Does it work?

Can it be manufactured?

How will it be manufactured?

Have I chosen acceptable

parts?

RAMP-TOVOLUME:

What can be done to improve yield?

What alternate parts can be used?How can I minimize

tooling costs?Where can it be

built?

VOLUME THROUGH END-OF-LIFE:What is the lowest cost method to produce?

How can I assure product reliability?How can I achieve manufacturing flexibility?

Virtually every company has their own PCB project run through DFM today. Often times it is made by their suppliers, by the PCB fabricator or the PCB assembly house. The problem is the design company’s interests are different than their supplier’s.For example, you know that minimizing the design costs is very important to your company and you might assume that discipline is respected by your suppliers. But that is not really the case. They are motivated to maximize their profit on your job to the extent the contract permits. This affects how they see your PCB design and the actions they take on it.DFM doesn’t do anything for you. It doesn’t change your design or magically make it better. What it does is present to you potential manufacturability issues that may adversely affect the yield, cost or reliability of your product. Sometimes you have to accept the issue as the trade-off for making a design change could be worse. But it is the visibility and control of those trade-offs that designers want. Your supplier may only show you the DFM issues they want addressed, leaving you to wonder what other issues you may run into with another supplier. If you don’t have visibility to these potential issues during the design process you can’t control the trade-off decisions.That leads to the next point regarding communication. You might be fine with the idea of a fabricator making edits to improve your design for manufacturability, but if you are not informed of those changes you assume your original design is good and submit that to another supplier, maybe this time for production build, only to find out you got different results from the second supplier because they did not make the same

1. Library Cell Generation

2. Component Placement

3. Route PCB

4. Generate BOM

5. Create Outputs

6. Release

edits. You need a way of avoiding the need for a supplier to edit your design and you need a way of validating that they did not make any unauthorized edits.Many EMS companies’ business models are based on them sourcing the components. In essence they act as a distributor and buy components in volume and there is nothing wrong with that. The question is how confident are you that every alternate part they propose will be acceptable to you from a form and fit perspective? Wouldn’t you want control of that?What improvement could we offer to your design?Normally the introduction in the market of a new product or a new release, is driven through some defined steps:

Cell validation of new library parts is a manual, time-consuming process. Our service can be used with manufacturing rules to validate cells. For example, pin overhanging soldermask or silkscreen too close to pads, or maybe you have designed pads too tight for pins. All these issues could lead to an insufficient or unreliable soldering joint.

Also, component placement positions are critical to the reliability of the product. With our service you could validate placement against assembly processes: component clearance requirement could be assessed, footprint too close to the edge of the board could be damaged during SMT assembly process or maybe misplaced references on the silkscreen could be found and corrected.

Catching DFM problems early during PCB design saves time as fixes can be more difficult at a later stage. Incremental DFM provides visibility to the person responsible for that stage of the design and release process.

Running a DFM analysis on early stage on the PCB design could help the Designer to identify and correct common fabrication issues, like manufacturing process tolerances can cause a same net short, potentially affecting circuit behaviour, or traces close to a pad must be fully covered by mask to avoid solder bridging during the assembly process.

Also flex or rigid flex PCB could be evaluated with this method, for achieving better reliability, like conductor positioning inside PCB bend area, like position of plated hole near stiffeners or displacement of large copper areas for avoiding cracks.We could evaluate positioning and pin to pad ratio, according to IPC standards, with the aim of a better reliability of the whole product. Alternate parts also could be evaluated, because not always the second source shape is perfectly equal to the original part. This assures that no matter which qualified parts are actually sourced, there will be no manufacturing issues.At the end of the analysis there is a final review that brings all elements together (like CAD, BOM and Netlist) in an ODB++ file format in order to help the EMS assembly partners to simplify their work. The ODB format is a neutral database readable from 99% of system sold for electronic manufacturing.

Flex and rigid flex

This article is also avaiable on Polyscope 8|18 edition

Figure 01

3

System has developed Multigecko Special, a fully automated system with high-end technologies designed starting from a mechatronic approach.

The hardware is merged with the software to give life to an interconnected process, where technology guarantees flexibility and speed for small and medium formats.

Multigecko Special is equipped with stepper motors with drives developed by System Electronics. In particular, the technical staff in the department of electronic engineering of System had the task of designing the robotic movement of the machine. The hardware and software have been designed to best respond to the application requirements, such as in the drives, that can operate at high voltages and deliver high currents. Another

distinguishing factor is the highly evolved diagnostics system. The added value in this unit is the possibility of using operating voltages and currents according to the needs for machine movement. What’s more the power elements of the drives are equipped with temperature sensors to ensure constant monitoring of work conditions. The data are read by special software that emits specific warnings when certain thresholds are reached. This operation has a dual purpose: on the one hand it enables the user to check that the machine is appropriately sized, and on the other the user can intervene and run diagnostics as required.Management of current is digital, thus enabling the elimination of unpleasant noise levels that traditionally accompany conventional analogue controls.The drive by System Electronics can also receive commands from a non real-time network, such as Ethernet. This is a smart

State-of-the-art motion control and electronics for sorting line

Multigecko Special

system, the function of which does not only depend on the PLC but also a local movement profiler.

The innovative features of the System Electronics quad make it stand out from other devices by virtue of various factors:

The sorting and packaging of small, medium and large ceramic formats represent a crucial phase in the manufacturing process.

www.system-group.it

• High integration: the presence of 4 axes per module, when normally only 1 or 2 are used.

• Stepper motors can achieve high performance levels, comparable in some cases to brushless motors. Simply consider that with the System Electronics quad, the motors can run at over 2000 rpm with torque exceeding 13Nm, thanks to integrated management of the entire system.

• Reduction of noise generated by the motor for perfect resonance management.

• The quad is multi-interface (EtherCAT, Ethernet and Can), is UL certified and has 16 inputs and 16 additional digital outputs.

• Operating temperature management can be local via the integrated fan or remote via the panel.

The technology and innovations illustrated in this article are emblematic of how the software and hardware are increasingly blended together to obtain industrial automation processes at the forefront of technology. Multigecko Special represents a major innovative packaging process with a strong mechatronic approach, which sees an increasing combination of automation technology and ICT.

4

Conformal coating and PCBA cleaningConformal coating is a dielectric, non-conductive resin coating for assembled electronic cards, made without adding any substantial weight or thickness to the device

It assures protection against those environmental factors which may affect the performance of the

electronic system.

The result is a protective barrier against environmental humidity, chemical pollutants and corrosive agents in general (such as saltiness); but not everybody knows that the conformal coating (namely the coating conforming to the PCBA surface profile) also increases protection against repeated thermal cycles, mechanical shocks and vibrations.Materials to be used should be specified during the planning and design stage, before starting to produce the card. At times, the lack of specific knowledge leads to select the most commonly used materials, without assessing solutions which could increase the production yield, optimizing costs at the same time. The market offers a vast selection of coating materials.

The most common ones are acrylic resins that provide an excellent protection against humidity and fungi. Epoxy resins are dual-component and have an excellent resistance against chemical agents, humidity and abrasion. Polyurethane resins have excellent resistance against chemical solvents, humidity and abrasion.Silicone products work very well at high temperatures (up to 200 °C) and absorb vibrations; this makes silicone the recommended choice for automotive applications. Parylene is the trade name of a variety of polymers having good dielectric properties, used as a barrier against humidity.

Thanks to its long experience, PreventPCB has proved that the conformal coating technology alone is not in itself sufficient to guarantee long-term reliability, unless an accurate laboratory investigation is conducted aimed at checking the cleanliness of the PCB before the coating process.All the work processes undergone by PCB, from its bare board status to final assembly, leave residuals: from drilling dusts to panelling and chemical hatching, up to flux residuals from the HAL finishing, SMT remelting and PRC PTH.

Ionic contamination due to the various work processes, under conditions of humidity and under a difference of potential (energized PCBA), leads to the formation of dendrites and to corrosion. Due to different reasons, washing, even if systematically carried out, does not always lead to the complete removal of contaminants (e.g. bath exhaustion) nor cleaning with non-specific cleaners. What is more, the extreme miniaturization of current electronic systems implies a reduction in the insulation distance between traces and vias, facilitating the occurrence of electro-chemical migration phenomena and subsequent problems arising. Electro-chemical migration is a process through which a metal undergoing an electric potential is ionically removed from its original position and is re-deposited in another area. This migration implies a reduction of the PCBA’s surface resistance. Basically, it is a ionic process and requires the presence of an electrolyte (contaminants and humidity), a voltage and a polarization time. This phenomenon occurs when two relatively close electrodes (traces, vias, welding seams), polarized and opposite in value, are connected to a continuous electrolyte layer which can be visible or absorbed. Microscopic parts of metal become ionized and start to migrate driven by the applied electric field. An imperceptible conductor filament is formed between the anode and the cathode and may easily lead to a short circuit.Anode filaments normally consist of metal salts and migrate from the anode to the cathode. Another similar phenomenon is the growth of dendrites; metallic ions are generated in the anode so that if there is an electric field, they migrate towards the cathode, where they can be recombined under the form of dendrites which then grow in the direction of the anode.

PreventPCB laboratories have modern equipment to carry out a range of tests which the final user would find hard to do, be it for lack of experience or for the cost of many systems that are only available for the consultancy service put at the customer’s disposal.

From X-Ray systems to SEMs (electronic scanning microscope) to investigate what is not visible to the naked eye, to sections of samples for a detailed understanding of the phenomena, from ionic chromatography to TIC (Total Ionic Contamination) to test for ionic residuals

and the degree of cleanliness, all, from the TIC to the IC, is conducted in conformity to the IPC standards and duly certified.

Our Capabilities

SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope, for morphologic analysis at high magnification

FT-IR Spectroscopy: chemical analysis of organic compounds

TIC: Total Ionic Contamination IC: Ion Chromatographyfor cleanliness condition from PCB up to PCBA

Thermo Camera X-Ray and Tomography machine

CMYK:100c 50m 40k

Pantone:288 U

Publi kation 2018FOKU SSIERTKO MP ET ENTTR ANSP AREN T

Figure 02

CMYK:100c 50m 40k

Pantone:288 U

Publi kation 2018FOKU SSIERTKO MP ET ENTTR ANSP AREN T

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Accelerated reliability

There is an enormous difference between the concepts of quality and reliability of a PCB: it will not be enough to choose the best raw materials or to assemble the printed circuit in a workmanlike manner. . Knowing how it will behave throughout its operating cycle is essential - whether it’s subject to failure and how frequently, whether it can withstand extreme working conditions and for how long, etc. In other words, even the best printed circuit in terms of quality of the individual raw materials and assembly, may not guarantee a long working life. This means that reliability tests are essential, not optional, if you want to be certain you have designed/bought an excellent product. For years there have been laboratory tests, now standardised, which provide a very precise indication of printed circuits reliability, like many other products on the market, whether they are technological or not. However, these tests may take weeks or sometimes months to provide a reliable result. This timeframe is clearly unprofitable if we think that those tests must be done at product development phase and, in any case, before it is put on the market. To overcome this problem, researchers have put together alternative tests that are very effective and they offer the advantage of requiring much less time, (days instead of weeks). This gave rise to the “Accelerated reliability” concept,

Lab testing an electronic board after assembly, is of the utmost importance. It is performed to verify its reliability. Laboratory tests are essential to study the product’s behaviour after a few years of its working life.

1. ACCELERATED RELIABILITY

2. PREVENTPCB LABORATORY

Beyond quality control and standard tests that certify good manufacturing and functioning of the product, PreventPCB Lab has chosen to excel in forecasting end conditions and reduction of Ppm. “Measuring a printed circuit’s reliability is always necessary” - explains Roberto Lavelli, Laboratories Managing Director -, and we have top notch experience and cutting edge instrumentation that allows us to support our clients throughout the entire cycle of reliability tests. Our specialisation in this regard is also crucial in order to drastically reduce the risk of defectiveness when designing a PCB.

We can now say we have reached our goal with our ‘4.0 Platform Service’, a customer service protocol that allows us to guarantee a long working life for the printed circuit, by means of various instrumental analyses and constant attention to traceability, from the design phase to the placement on the market.

This model, which is constantly being developed, allows us to precisely define the MTBF (mean time between failures) and it let us forecast the lifespan of a product”. PreventPCB’s laboratory equipment encompasses key instruments in the area

an analysis protocol delivered to the industrial sector, which has been benefiting from it for a number of years. However, we should not think that research has nothing more to offer in this field, on

the contrary. This industry is making giant steps forwards and new technologies will soon further facilitate the work of those who make prototypes and finished products to be put available on the market.

of Accelerated reliability: these include a “Temperature Shock Test Chamber” and a “Floorstanding Temperature and Climatic Test Chamber”, which make it possible to reproduce ageing of a printed circuit as the ambient conditions change, and when subjected to mechanical forces.

Our “Salt spray fog Chambers”, on the other hand, highlight the degree to which material deteriorates due to oxidation, and can help to improve corrosion resistance of metal parts of the PCB.

Accelerated aging is not so much about bringing testing conditions to the extreme; its true meaning is in fact, to study the parameters that best reflects the aging that the product will undergo in the field over a short period of time. The key concept is simulation, or rather, a number of simulations within a short period of time that submit the products to extreme operating conditions. . That is what “Accelerated reliability” means. So, the tests are carried out by changing the climatic and mechanical parameters with respect to the norm, in a controlled manner: temperature, humidity, sun and artificial light, pressure, vibrations, voltages, etc., both individually and simultaneously. Returning to our area of interest, an electronic component can be subjected to very quick changes in conditions, such as working cycles that involve great fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and various vibration frequencies, in order to observe how it behaves when moving (e.g. in an automotive or industrial setting). Or the ageing times can be assessed, if it exposed to artificial or sun light, dust and compression resistance, etc.

The results of a set of tests of this type gives appraisers a precise idea of the product reliability, over its actual working life. The tests are recognised internationally and are carried out in accordance with norms and precise protocols. The most common are the international IPC, ASTM, and IEC standards.

It goes without saying, that you need to have specifically designed instrumentation available, which not all companies have in-house.

• The stress levels to which the electronic component can be exposed;

• The time for which the stress can be tolerated;

• The limit values (breaking points) that make it possible to identify design weaknesses.

RELIABILITY TESTS DETERMINE:

7

8

OPEN INNOVATION SystemThe challenges of innovation

Innovation strategy has always played an important role in the development of industries. Over the years, various reference models have been developed to support the growth of companies of all sizes. In the process of continual corporate improvement, PreventPCB has adopted the Open Innovation paradigm, according to which not only those who internally develop the best innovations become more competitive, but also those who succeed in creating innovative services, acknowledging and absorbing the best of what can be found beyond their corporate boundaries.

Open innovation is the new strategic and cultural approach aimed at increasing and creating value, in order to be more competitive on the market. Based on this concept, companies not only use internal ideas and resources, but they also take a look at external solutions and technologies coming from academic environment, start-ups or from customers and suppliers.

The Open Innovation approach applied by PreventPCB enhances the access to the latest available innovations on the market, integrating them to its business model. This approach allows PreventPCB not only to extend its service potentiality, but also to accelerate the “time to market” for the customer benefit. In the continuous re-planning of its business practices, PreventPCB top management focuses on creating an atmosphere where each new idea is welcomed and carefully examined, obtaining a dynamically constructive environment that develops internal talents and attracts external ones.

Cultural collaboration, a fertile ground on which to cultivate knowledge and abilities, prerequisites for an effective opening up towards Open Innovation strategies, is promoted within the company. Based on the solid internal cultural network, PreventPCB aims to get access to new resources and opportunities that can contribute to the continuous creativity stimulation towards innovation.

Customers participation is of vital importance and is put as the highest management priority. The academic world is another essential source of creativity and innovation. University and Industry have always been complementary and mutually stimulating (at least for those who know how to understand them). In this scenario, close cooperation with the most innovative start-ups is crucial, as they are flexible creative organizations

where talents and creativity grow, creating new business models.Pursuing its Open Innovation purposes, PreventPCB follows with flexibility, depending on the scenario and the opportunity, one of the three following approaches: Need Seekers, Technology Drivers and Market Readers. To be valid, the strategy adopted must always be closely aligned with the company’s global strategy.

The Need Seeker strategy, looks for opportunities involving directly both, current and potential customers. This strategy aims to understand potential or hidden needs, and then proposes new products and alternative services. Working side by side with its customers, PreventPCB supports the customer company enabling it to become the first on the market with a new offer. The Technology Driver strategy leads to a medium-term planning, developing details of the technological road map to be followed by the company. The direction suggested by the assessment of the company technological abilities is normally followed, subsequently relying on investments in research and development to guide both, the ground-breaking innovation as well as the incremental

changes, seeking to implement new technologies where possible. With the Market Reader strategy, a specific segment of the market where the customer and its competitors normally operate, is monitored. The survey is done putting the same attention to all players operating in the scenario under investigation. The customer company is helped to implement the changes with a prudent approach and through small changes it is led to create value. Nonetheless, the customer company is prepared to take fast and strong actions if new opportunities arise.

As explained, the Open Innovation is an extremely dynamic world, where the ability to create a cooperative organization becomes a discriminating factor in fostering a path towards knowledge and the outside market. Collaboration encourages enterprises to create explorative paths towards both, internal and external innovative competence, overcoming the challenges that a business entail. Collaboration is also a potentiality to be exploited to the fullest in a volatile market carachterized by sudden changes.

10

WEEE: What is and How to handle itWhere waste is a resource and not a problem

The circular economy and metal recovering

Electronic equipment includes a large number of components and materials that can be recycled. The priority of a circular economy is to find technological solutions to intercept them before they become real waste. Waste ceases to be such, when it has undergone a recovery operation, which can be either recycling or re-use. However, some basic criteria must be met: it must have certain technical requirements , it must not have a negative impact on the environment and human health, and there must be a demand for it to be put back on the market. WEEE is the acronym for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Every year, hundreds of tonnes of this waste is collected in each country in the European Union . Recovery of materials that contain WEEE, give rise to a great saving on purchasing raw materials, while the treatment and recycling operations create new jobs opportunities, with the request of highly specialised professional figures . Another important factor is the lower emission of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for climate change.The implementation of Open Scope has extended the area covered by the WEEE system, resulting with the introduction of a new classification of EEE - going from ten specific product categories to six new categories, three of which are considered as being open. The latter include those types of equipment not previously specifically excluded. As a matter of fact, the goal is to eliminate those shady areas that left room for ambiguous interpretation. Products are classified according to a dimensional criteria basis rather than on a product criteria basis, except for the military and aerospace systems, potentially infectious electro-medical equipment and implantable devices, as well as means of transportation and large-scale fixed installations. The electric and electronic equipment sector has a further opportunity for

expansion by leveraging the growing recycling targets in a circular economy logic. The changeover to Open Scope has resulted in all EEE products being covered by the norm, except for the above mentioned exceptions . The extension also includes spare parts (including PCBA) and electric and electronic components sold individually, and used to replace or repair a product , unless exempted by the local authorities. The Directive also deals with the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility. In broad terms it

defines the responsibilities imposed on those who manufacture and market an item. It highlights how to take care of it and how it will be disposed of at the end of its working life cycle. In practical terms, when for various reasons an electronic device ceases to be of use, those who are to see to its disposal are certainly the ones who have used it, but above all, responsibility is of those who manufactured it and who put it on the market. This concept applies to all types of WEEE.

Unlike the linear (take-make-dispose) economic model, the circular economy is an economic system planned to reuse materials in subsequent production cycles, reducing waste as much as possible. The initiatives to incentivise the reduction of resources and energy consumed for production, no longer suffice to support the linear model. Therefore, a transition to a new scheme is required, which must not be seen as a merely environmental policy, but as an economic strategy that aims at embracing all opportunities to limit the amount of raw material and energy that goes into the production cycle. At the same time, the new system allows to minimise rejects and losses due to the end of the working life of products. In fact, the circular economy is designed to be able to regenerate itself autonomously, where flows of biological materials are reintegrated into the biosphere, while technical materials are given value again, without entering the biosphere.

In order to recover the materials and components, the equipment has to be necessarily disassembled. Disassembly by hand is

expensive, but it ensures greater recovery by separating the reusable components from materials that contain dangerous substances and basic materials. Remaining material must be recovered for further treatments. The technology used on the material recovery from a PCBA can be Pyro-metallurgical and Idro-Metallurgic or a mixture of both. When applying the Idro-Metallurgic process and starting with the mechanical separation, it will be possible to obtain gold, tin oxides, silver, lead Then, direct electrolytic refinement or smashing process is applied to recover copper.

It is possible to recover up to 95% of the metals in the PCBA with a purity of up to 95%.The agents used in the recovery process are mainly based on Nitric acid (HNO3), and the Nitric oxides (NOx) emissions can be recovered as new Nitric Acid and reused in the process. The complete cycle is done at room temperature with a low energy consumption.The process can be modified selecting the purity of the metals recovered, in order to meet an economic compromise following market demand.

Rare-earth metals or lanthanides are also recovered. These metals include a series of elements that have gained great industrial importance in recent years for the production of various high-tech electronic and optoelectronic devices. Rare-earth metals are recovered from permanent magnets and lighting devices using idro metallurgic process. These minerals are not so rare in nature, despite their name. However, the greatest reserves are in China, which has a monopoly for their mining and processing. For example, cerium is one of the most common lanthanides, and it is found in larger quantities than copper and lead. Other minerals are more common than tin and molybdenum, , with the exception of promethium (highly unstable), all other minerals are more available than silver.

This provides the electrical and electronic equipment sector with a further opportunity for expansion, applying leverage on increasing recycling goals, in line with a circular economy logic.

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