We have had the following problems Thin Nickel Porous Gold Peeling Gold Nickel Creep Skip plating (due to BGA area having remnant electrolyte in the vias) Nickel passivation Discolouration And currently poor solderability where the tests performed by the supplier say the board is perfect but NPL say it isn't and our process definitely say it isn't. Currently the cause is unknown apart from the accusation that we caused the problem. These problems have been with different suppliers some of which have supplied for years without a problem and then they will throw in a curve ball just to remind us that ENIG is the pits. We do not buy at the lowest price although cost is very much on our minds. We do inspect at GIG, we do a tape test which really shouldn't find problems but does. We inspect for the other visible problem. If I was free to add a test I would add a coalescence test on a salvedges coupon (1st & 2nd side). That would indicate in a quantative way any change in solderability. Regards Rex PS Thanks to those on the forum that have emailed me directly concerning our problem. If there is bottom to it, I will see if I can share :-) -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stadem, Richard D. Sent: 03 August 2011 19:27 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Steps to take to prevent ENIG issues Boy, I cannot tell all of you how much I appreciate all of your responses. Now for the tougher part of the question: What methods can be used to DETECT the ENIG plating issues in-house, before the PWB ever gets to the manufacturing floor? Some things I can think of are: Use EDS/XrF testing per Appendix 4 of IPC 4552 to determine the thickness of ENIG. This would help indicate that there may be issues Use a solder test coupon of a particular design (board from Hell) with SMT parts on both sides plus subsequent through-hole parts to be hand-soldered and a single component to be hot-gas reworked to simulate the conditions that the production boards will go through, such that if one or two coupons are quickly assembled, reworked, and hand soldered with a couple of bakes thrown in, and no issues are seen, one can reasonably assume the rest of the production lot will also be good. Use a coupon and run it through two reflow profiles, a selective solder pass, and then solder only a handful of PTH and SMT components, and then subject it to 15 thermal cycles of say -40 to +125 C to test for issues before releasing the lot of PWBs. This would detect the failures of delayed P-rich level, which typically show up later after soldering and test are complete. Any other ideas? Tell me your thoughts. Yes, I know some cost is involved, but I need to know what tests would provide the best cost versus assurance. For those of us who either must use or prefer to use ENIG, but want to prevent any issues from showing up, well, we all benefit here. From: Reuven Rokah [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2011 12:17 PM To: TechNet E-Mail Forum; Stadem, Richard D. Subject: Re: [TN] Steps to take to prevent ENIG issues Choose a reliable source and not jump from source to source searching for better prices only... Reuven On Wed, Aug 3, 2011 at 6:16 PM, Stadem, Richard D. <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: I have a client who is switching PWB fabricators for ENIG finishes. They are fully aware of ENIG issues such as Black Pad, Brittle Nickel, etc., and want to know whatever steps can be taken to prevent ENIG PWBs from reaching production with these issues. Does anyone have any suggestions? ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 16.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives For additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or 847-615-7100 ext.2815<tel:847-615-7100%20ext.2815> ----------------------------------------------------- -- Best Regards, Reuven Rokah Mobile: 972-52-60-120-18 Tele-fax: 97239360688 <http://www.rokah-technologies.com/>[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]<mailto:reuv [log in to unmask]> www.rokah-technologies.com<http://www.rokah-technologies.com/> [http://royiro.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/6/9/6369812/4511319.jpg?303] ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. 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