Bob Arciolla asked - About two weeks ago I questioned whether clipping leads (and possible fractured joints) was a problem if there was a good fillet on the component side of the board. The main input I received back is that there is a chance of corrousion to the leads. Last week I asked if this would still be a problem if the PCB was totally encapsulated and a vacuum pulled on the units. Any input????? - Reply: Bob, lots of words were generated by your question. My vote would be that the fractured solder connection will have a much greater impact on reliability than the exposed lead end (possible corrosion). Masking the problem of fractured leads with conformal coating, encapsulant or embedment compound will do just that, mask the problem. Depending on the nature of the structure being encapsulated, the encapsulation may in fact mature the failures more quickly than if the unit were not encapsulated. Check the thermal coefficient of expansion of the encapsulant and determine how much movement, mechanical force, the encapsulant will exert on the assembly (including fractured connections) when the product goes into service in it's intended use environment (what sort of temperature cycles/extremes are anticipated). Hope the above clarifies my original intent (fractured solder connections are bad medicine). Regards, Jim Moffitt, Technical Director, Electronics Training Advantage