Wallisch, It all depends on how much rework you do for BGA's. Generally it is a required practice to leave a gap of 2 to 4mm for tall smt components for inspection and rework. It could be that a 3mm clearance is a compromised solution if your rework tool can be fitted to remove/install a BGA and if there are no tall smt/th components adjacent to the device. Maybe you should initiate a rework program for your design groups where a few of them come down and do a real practical work of fiddling with BGA's for a couple of weeks. That will make them rethink about board real estate. They should not ignore completely the manufacturability of board. Just my opt. regards Matthew Park NII-Norsat International Inc Surrey, BC. >>> "Wallisch, Ernst" <[log in to unmask]> June 11, 1998 8:05 am >>> Fellow Technetters, I have been debating with my design groups about the usefulness of leaving 0.150" to 0.200" of clearance around BGAs to facilitate rework, if required. The design groups wish to use this real estate for other devices, ignoring rework requirements. My question is this: Is it better to have a "keep-out" area around BGAs for rework, or use up all available space around the BGA for a preferred design? Thanks in advance, Ernst Wallisch Manufacturing Engineering Computing Devices Canada [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 ################################################################ ################################################################ 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 ################################################################