Have you ever wondered why sometimes you have poor Solder joints on your PCB’s!

One of the main reasons is that the Solder Paste flows away from the pad on the PCB during Reflow, this is known as Solder Escape, Solder Wick or Solder Drainage.

Why does this happen, well there are a few reasons but inevitably they are all the result of Thermal Dissipation during the Reflow process. Basically, the heat flows away from the pad on the PCB to a larger Thermal conductive area that’s connected to the pad and unprotected by a Soldermask Dam, these include:

• Via Holes
• Copper Areas
• Larger Tracks

Below is an example (animation) of a Via Hole that is too close to a SM pad and therefore has no Soldermask Dam to stop the Solder Paste escaping into the hole.

There are several solutions to this issue and Eurocircuits is developing a PCB Assembly Guideline to help Designers understand and creating PCB layouts that may create potential Assembly issues.

Please visit our PCB Assembly Guidelines section on Solder Escape/Wick for more information on how to avoid this issue.

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

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For many years Eurocircuits have provided you with important News & Information about our services, products, free to use smart tools and the Electronic Manufacturing World. Take a peak at what we offer:

  Eurocircuits company update. This section contains updates and information about the Eurocircuits Group. As a valued partner you will receive updates and news covering our company activities, team news and business developments etc.

  Events & Workshops. Eurocircuits is an active participant of events and exhibitions, it also organises events, seminars and workshops, especially concerning technical topics

  Tips & Tricks.The electronic value chain starts with a design and then converting it to a digital form. This section covers all design related issues, their influence on manufacturing.

  Electronic Manufacturing Technology. Eurocircuits goal is to inform all Electronic Designers about Electronic Manufacturing Techniques and processes. Whilst, this may start with PCB manufacturing it also covers the Assembly, Testing and Housing etc…

  Online Smart Tools – Services & Products. All Eurocircuits customers have access to an online customer account and through this, access to our Smart Tools and services. This section covers User Guides, updates and new features and tools etc. It will help you to optimise your knowledge, use of these tools and the electronic manufacturing services and products we offer.

  Customer Applications & Student Projects. Eurocircuits actively encourages its customers to share their experiences with other customers. In addition to this, we support many student projects and inspire them to write about their adventures and the technology they have designed.

  eCvelo. Next to being an Electronics Manufacturing Company, Eurocircuits also has a heart for clean mobility. As result we have developed and are building trike and quad cycles with a covered frame. Keep updated by opting in to this section.

It has been over a year since we launched our Prototype & Small series Assembly service.

One question that we are often asked is, what information must you our customer supply for the Assemble service.

To answer this question, we need the BOM (Bill of Materials) and CPL (Component Placement List) data.

These files are usually generated by the CAD system and output in an ASCII format, the format varies from one CAD system to another however, it is the information contained within these files that is important.

The BOM must contain the information below:

• MPN (Manufacturers Part Number) or Supplier Part Number.
• Full Description of the Part (including value where applicable)
• Component Reference Designations that use this Part.

Addition information that is also very useful:

• Manufacturer
• Supplier

Below is an example of a BOM file.

It is important that each line that contains a Component Reference Designator also contains the required part information.

Using the CPL we automatically superimpose the components listed in the BOM to the PCB, allowing the verify the component placement on the PCB.

The CPL file must contain the following information:

• Component Reference Designator (e.g. C1, L2, R3 etc).
• X and Y Position of the component Center.
• Orientation
• Side (Top or Bottom).

Great news for KiCAD and Eagle users as this information is already contained within the .BRD or .KiCAD file.

Below is an example of a CPL file.

For more information concern BOM and CPL files please visit the Eurocircuits PCBA Visualizer – user guide and the Eurocircuits Guide on How to Upload or Import BOM & CPL files into the PCBA Visualizer.

Should you have any questions about any of our services, please feel free to get in touch via email, telephone or instantly with our online chat during office hours. We will be more than happy to help.

Why not follow us on our social media, keeping up to date with all of our latest news?

For many years Eurocircuits have provided you with important News & Information about our services, products, free to use smart tools and the Electronic Manufacturing World. Take a peak at what we offer:

Eurocircuits company update. This section contains updates and information about the Eurocircuits Group. As a valued partner you will receive updates and news covering our company activities, team news and business developments etc.

Events & Workshops. Eurocircuits is an active participant of events and exhibitions, it also organises events, seminars and workshops, especially concerning technical topics

Tips & Tricks.The electronic value chain starts with a design and then converting it to a digital form. This section covers all design related issues, their influence on manufacturing.

Electronic Manufacturing Technology. Eurocircuits goal is to inform all Electronic Designers about Electronic Manufacturing Techniques and processes. Whilst, this may start with PCB manufacturing it also covers the Assembly, Testing and Housing etc…

Online Smart Tools – Services & Products. All Eurocircuits customers have access to an online customer account and through this, access to our Smart Tools and services. This section covers User Guides, updates and new features and tools etc. It will help you to optimise your knowledge, use of these tools and the electronic manufacturing services and products we offer.

Customer Applications & Student Projects. Eurocircuits actively encourages its customers to share their experiences with other customers. In addition to this, we support many student projects and inspire them to write about their adventures and the technology they have designed.

eCvelo. Next to being an Electronics Manufacturing Company, Eurocircuits also has a heart for clean mobility. As result we have developed and are building trike and quad cycles with a covered frame. Keep updated by opting in to this section.