Hi Joe, Actually, most chip capacitors that crack, and do not have prior damage up to placement, crack as the result of too rapid cooling in combination with large solder fillets (see Klein Wassinks book). A study in Germany, published at NEPCON West'96 or 95, showed increase in reliability of chip capacitors with off-set attachments, because of the resulting smaller fillets. You may want to make the soldering pads narrower—the width of the CCs ar slightly less and check how fast you are cooling after the solder wave. Werner Engelmaier Engelmaier Associates, L.C. Electronic Packaging, Interconnection and Reliability Consulting 7 Jasmine Run Ormond Beach, FL 32174 USA Phone: 904-437-8747, Fax: 904-437-8737 E-mail: [log in to unmask] ################################################################ TechNet E-Mail Forum provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ################################################################ To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TechNet <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TechNet ################################################################ Please visit IPC web site (http://jefry.ipc.org/forum.htm) for additional information. For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 ################################################################