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Date: | Thu, 09 May 1996 11:51:12 -0700 |
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Jim Williams wrote:
>
> Some designers make an effort to maintain a web of soldermask between
> the solder pads on SMT devices, where pad spacing permits. When the
> spacing of fine pitch devices preclude the web, it is omitted. I have
> heard that the webs are used to reduce solder bridging.
>
> Thinking through this issue, I find webs being used where pad spacing
> is large enough so as to make solder bridging unlikely, while webs are
> omitted when the pad spacing is close enough to make solder bridging
> most likely.
>
> I am interested in any factual data that supports the reason for, or
> the value of, soldermask webs.
...don't have any factual data for you, but here's one comment:
I would think the greatest benefit of soldermask webs is during wave
soldering, and many mixed-technology boards are still wave-soldered, right?
But from my experience most fine-pitch assemblies use reflow and solderpaste,
so a soldermask web is of little value. In fact, very thin webs between
fine-pitch parts can just crack and flake off under high heat, so what's the
point? Anyone disagree?
Jack
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