Grant In terms of reliability I wouldn't bother too much. Cracks in the solderings of ceramic chip-components grow along the pad and along the cap in the meniscus. Both have different sources. - Cracks along the pad grow due to thermal mechanical stress caused by the CTE- difference of PCB and component - Cracks along the cap in the meniscus grow due to the CTE-difference of component and solder. The advantage of a meniscus is the longer distance a crack along the pad has to grow until an open occurs. However this is only theoretical since the perpendicular crack along the cap meets the one along the pad sooner than the latter will come to the end of the meniscus. Therefore I would dare to say that the lack of a meniscus is not a big risk. And anyway if the reliability of your product relies on the few cycles one could win by having a meniscus I wouldn't sleep well in your place. Best regards Guenter ############################################################## TechNet Mail List 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 To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################