Extending Insight About Solder Beading Effect Under Surface-mounted Electrolytic Capacitors

The aim of this paper is to extend the understanding of solder beading (referring to larger sized solder balls) of surface-mounted electrolytic capacitors. Solder bead can violate electrical clearance on electronics assemblies, while the detection under such component is only possible via X-Ray. Therefore, understanding and preventing such failures are a great concern in high-reliability industries (such as automotive and aerospace) to maintain a reliable and cost-effective manufacturing technology. This study analyses the solder paste position offset and cold and hot slump behaviour. The experiments are executed in a surface mounting factory environment, using automatic inspection methods, optical and X-Ray imaging for analysis. The results give an understanding of the failure mode of the solder beading, which can be used to ensure a preventive design and process parameters.