In a message dated 8/19/98 7:03:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << I am in the process of converting a PCB from Through Hole to SMT. Of particular concern is the fact that in use, the board is held along its edges while a connector is plugged into the PCB. I am concerned about PCB deflection which will result in stress to the SMT components and solder joints, causing hard and/or latent defects. >> Hi Mike! I know somebody who you can probably get some good information from, his name is Dennis Johnson of Onanon. His company does nothing but drill, route, and score PCB's. He does a few other things too, but mainly PCB's. A few years back, he was asked by 3COM out here if he would do a study to determine how close you could put a SMT capacitor to the edge of a score-line on PCMCIA panel, and it not suffer risk of fractured joints when depanelizing the board. From that study, he developed a easy to use chart to determine what score depth one should specify for varying laminate thicknesses, to ensure easy to separate panels after assembly, but yet don't fall apart when you're half-way complete building the darn things...I HATE it when THAT happens! (GRIN) I'm sure if there's anything about board flexing and solder joints you wanna know, Dennis be da man!! His number is: (408) 262-8990 Email: [log in to unmask] Web: www.onanon.com -Steve Gregory- ################################################################ 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's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information. For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 ################################################################