PCB Quality Control

1. DRC Check

The Design Rules Check (DRC) is an essential step in PCB quality control. When we receive a new PCB order from a customer, we will use an automated tool to verify that the layout has no specific placement, routing, or other addressable layout errors.?

2. 100% Electrical Testing

Prototype Orders: We offer Flying-Probe E-Test for small volume and prototype orders. Your circuit board (PCB) is checked through a Flying-Probe E-Tester device. The Flying probe testers we use have few restrictions on access, require no test fixtures, and can test boards with a virtually unlimited net. The Tester will check for short circuits and open circuits and make sure the nets of the PCB we made are the same as the nets in your design. After testing is complete, will the fail rate of your boards be less than 1%?

Production Orders: We use Testing fixtures to test production orders. A bed of nails tester is a traditional electronic test fixture with numerous pins inserted into holes in an Epoxy phenolic glass cloth laminated sheet (G-10) aligned using tooling pins to make contact with test points on a printed circuit board.

The fixture contains an array of small, spring-loaded pogo pins; each pogo pin makes contact with one node in the circuitry of the DUT (device under test). By pressing the DUT down against the bed of nails, reliable contact can be made quickly and simultaneously with hundreds or even thousands of individual test points within the circuitry of the DUT.

The Tester will check for short circuits and open circuits and make sure the nets of the PCB we made are the same as the nets in your design. After testing is complete, will the fail rate of your boards be less than 0.1%?

3. AOI(Automated optical inspection)

We use an AOI to check the inner layers of multi-layer PCB. AOI visually scans the surface of the PCB. The board is lit by several light sources and observed by a scanner or several high-definition cameras. This enables the monitoring of all areas of the board.

AOI for a bare PCB board inspection will detect these features:

* Line width violations

* Spacing violations

* Excess copper

* Missing pads? I.e., a feature that should be on the board is missing

* Shorts circuits

* Cut traces or pads

* Hole breakage. ( Breakout ) ? i.e., is a drilled hole (via) outside of its landing pad?

This inspection is much more reliable and repeatable than manual visual inspection.

We are ISO 9001:2008 certified. And we briefly describe our quality control system as such:

* Our quality policy is a formal statement from our management closely linked to our business and marketing plan and customer needs. Our quality policy is understood and followed at all levels and by all employees. Our employees will use measurable objectives to work towards.

* All Quality control data is recorded. Records will show how and where raw materials and products were processed, allowing products and possible problems to be traced to the source. Our quality control system is regularly audited and evaluated for conformance and effectiveness.

*Our quality control system records the customer requirements and creates a system for communicating with customers about product information, inquiries, contracts, orders, feedback, and complaints.

* We regularly review the performance of our quality control system through internal audits and meetings. We determine whether or not the quality system is working and what improvements can be made. We will deal with past problems and potential problems. Our system keeps records of these activities and the resulting decisions and monitors their effectiveness.

* We documented the procedures for dealing with actual and potential non-conformances (problems involving suppliers, customers, or internal problems). Our system makes sure that all product(s) deemed “BAD” are quarantined and that no one can use the lousy product until we can determine what to do with the said wrong product; we will seek and deal with the root cause of the problem(s) and keep records to use as a tool to improve our system.

4. UL: E475833

Our products comply with UL safety certification 94V-0. Our UL number is E475833. All our PCBs meet a flame rating of 94V-0 and satisfy all UL requirements. The flame rating per UL 94 defines a polymeric part‘s resistance to fire. Typical ratings for PCB material are 94V-1 or better. The lower the number, the higher the flame rating (e.g., 94V-0 has a higher rating than 94V-1).

We are UL-certified, and our company logo can be traced back to UL‘s authorized PCB manufacturers list. To be authorized in this category, a PCB manufacturer is subject to independent UL inspections of its manufacturing process and materials. 

5. RoHS

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, or RoHS, was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union. The RoHS directive took effect on July 1, 2006, and must be enforced and become law in each member state. This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in manufacturing various electronic and electrical equipment types.

From July 1st, 2006, electrical and electronic equipment introduced onto the European market must not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, flame retardants, or biphenyl or polybromide diphenyl ether.

All our lead-free finishings, such as lead-free HAL, immersion silver, ENIG, and OSP, comply with the RoHS requirements.