Should You Use Filled Or Untreated Vias For Your PCB - Miracle Electronics

Most manufacturers are opting for the surface mount technology for building PCBs, rather than the through hole technology, so as to allocate lesser space on the board, making them smaller and easier to install. But, with the rising use of surface mount technology components, more vias are being used too. Vias are holes for electrically connecting stacked pads on different circuit layers. 

While all vias essentially perform this same function, there can be different types of vias, depending upon their appearance on the PCB surface, namely through vias, blind vias, and buried vias.

Treating the vias

In order to improve the thermal performance of the PCB, there can also be done some additional treatments on the vias, such as filling, covering, capping, plugging, or tenting. Such treatments can help eliminate several assembly issues like shorting between component pads, or wicking down of the solder through the hole of a via. It can also eliminate expensive troubleshooting and reworking.

Filling – This treatment fills a regular or encroached via with non-conductive epoxy paste. These filles vias have the solder mask stopping short of the pad by a few mils, making it a good compromise for medium-density PCBs, as the presence of the solder mask reduces the likelihood of the solder bridging between the via and neighbouring pad.

Plugging – This treatment plugs one or both ends of the via with a non-conductive epoxy paste to prevent solder flow-through or wicking during soldering. But, in order to allow the epoxy to plug the hole effectively, the diameter of the via should be limited to a maximum of 20 mils.

Tenting – This treatment covers both pads at the end of the hole with a non-conductive solder mask, effectively sealing the openings. A dry film with a 4-mil thickness is adequate for covering even large holes effectively, without breaking down much. But today, manufacturers are opting out of the traditional dry film, and choosing modern LPI solder mask instead, which is only one-tenth the thickness of dry films.

Advantages of filled vias

Filling the vias can have several advantages over untreated ones, some of the benefits being high routing density, better conductivity (both thermal and electrical), and EMI reduction. Being very small in size, micro-vias allow high routing density on the PCB, allowing substantial reduction in the overall PCB size, and lowering the number of layers. All of this ultimately reduces the cost of the PCB. With a smaller size, there is also reduction in the distance between the components, which in turn reduces the overall resistance of the tracks, resulting in better electrical conductivity. This high conductivity in turn helps to lower the EMI reduction. Hence, filled micro-vias are particularly helpful for conducting a large amount of heat away from a hot component. The metallic nature of the filling wicks heat naturally away from the chip to the other side of the board for further dissipation by a heat sink.

If you want to take advantage of such filled micro-vias, you can always get in touch with Miracle Electronics to get your preferred customized PCB assembly from India. Get in touch and explain all your requirements and purposes, and you’ll get the most apt PCB assembly for your application, reliable and safe.

 

Should You Use Branded Or Non-Branded Connectors - Miracle Electronics

We see lots of products from brand names that we know about, and then, we also see imitations of such products that look just the same, also feel/taste/function the same, but are available at much lower costs, only because they aren’t a well-known brand yet. This applies to almost every product category like eatables, cosmetics, accessories, and electronics. In the case of electronics, we’ll speak about connectors in this blog.

Which connectors to use – branded or non-branded?

Connectors are specified on customer drawings. But, which connectors should one use – branded or non-branded ones? Well, the form, fit, and function can be the same for both branded and non-branded connectors. The non-branded connectors are referred to as substitute or equivalent components, having several benefits like local availability and cost reduction. However, not every electrical component can be substituted, which makes it very important to review the product application and design details before opting for such substitutes.

What all to consider?

Before deciding on using a substitute connector, it is important that the application, industry, and qualification requirements are assessed. For instance, critical industries like military, aerospace, and medical cannot afford to use downgraded quality products. Moreover, such industries can encounter challenges in using equivalent connectors. When deciding for less critical industries like industrial applications and consumer products, the decision to allow substitute connectors generally falls on the end customer or the individual with design authority. And, if you’re unable to decide, you may always consider consulting your cable assembly manufacturer to review the impacts and constraints of employing an equivalent connector.

Considerations while opting for an equivalent connector

When you decide on using an equivalent connector, again there are quite some considerations you ought to make. Some of the considerations are pin length, pin diameter, pin count, pin pitch, material compatibility, interface tolerances, footprint, polarization, electrical rating, flammability rating, and planned obsolescence.

Benefits of using local component sourcing

It is generally advised to choose local component sourcing for electrical manufacturing. Doing so can help reduce supply chain risk, as well as lower the effective product cost. Other than cost advantages, it can also impact the lead time. It’s always best to plan for samples and mechanical fit checks, so as to have a proper verification of all interconnects and mates. Although it isn’t always advisable to opt for suitable equivalent connectors for every project, but the benefits that they provide can offer tremendous value, when used in the right applications.

Where can you get what you’re looking for?

Miracle Electronics is one of the best cable harnessmanufacturers in India where you can get almost any and every kind of cable harness, both standard as well as customized, along with connectors of all types, such as circular connectors, D-Sub connectors, military specific connectors, and D-38999 circular connectors. With more than two decades of experience in the field, Miracle Electronics knows what it is providing, which is why every product is certified and approved by DGAQA and MSQAA for platform specific applications, and each product is tested well before being delivered to the clients.

 

Wire Harnesses & Cable Assemblies – The Manufacturing - Miracle Electronics

When you want to build an electrical system, you’ll need lots of wires and cables, which makes it better to replace them with fewer harnesses or assemblies. Wire harnesses or cable assemblies will hold multiple wires together, optimizing space, as well as protecting the wires against climatic and environmental conditions like heat, moisture, vibration, etc. Thus, errors and faults are eliminated, helping the functioning of the system to run smoothly.

Are wire harnesses and cable assemblies the same?

So, when we speak of having wire harnesses or cable assemblies, do you realize the difference between the two? Generally, as a layman, you may consider both of them to be the same, but when you get down into the details, you’ll notice that they are actually two different things. Let’s help you with understanding the differences.

•         Wire harnesses involve wires that are individually sealed, and then wrapped in another casing. But, these are not as durable, and are thus used in small electronic applications and internal systems.
•         Cable assemblies, on the other hand, are bundles of wires or cables in a single heavy casing. This equipment can be easily used in harsh environments because of the heavy-duty thermoplastic rubber or vinyl used for the casing, which helps hold up against outside elements like extreme temperatures, moisture, friction, abrasion, and compression/expansion.

How are harnesses and assemblies made?

•         Planning – The first and foremost step is planning, both the design and construction. Without a pre-plan, no product can be successfully made. In the case of harnesses or assemblies, the type and size of wire needs to be determined, to be used between each connection.
•        Prototyping – A test version is first created depending upon the plan. It helps engineers know how the final product will look like, while identifying any errors or gaps that need to be rectified before building the actual product.
•     Wire cutting – Once the prototype is approved, it’s time to move on to the actual product making, which involves first cutting the wires to the required length. Wire-cutting machines can be used here to automatically cut the required wires in bulk.
•       Wire stripping – After cutting, the casing is stripped back to reveal the core, which is then fed into the necessary connectors. Crimping and soldering the wires into their proper connections can be automated with the help of machines.
•        Assembling – The prepared wire-connector devices are gathered up and crafted into a harness, which is done majorly with the help of manual labour. This is because each wire needs to be fed through the harness, taped off, and measured to make sure that the distances match the design specifications.

Partnering with the right manufacturer

Manufacturing harnesses and assemblies is a time-consuming task, especially because of the intensive manual labour required in the last stage of assembling the equipment together. And, in order to not waste any more time, you need to get hold of a manufacturer who knows the job well so that there is no time wasted in making errors and rectifying them. Moreover, the manufacturer you should must have the right machines to make the process as automated as possible, and the right tools to use to speed up the processes that require manual labour invested. Some of the most basic tools that a good manufacturer must have are an injection mould machine, wire cutter, wire stripper, crimper, positioners, die sets, insertion and extraction tools, and all sorts of testers for testing the assemblies before delivering them to the customers.

Miracle Electronics is one of the best cableharness manufacturers in India you can approach to have your harnesses and assemblies made, as they have the right tools and machineries, skilled engineers, and the best testing facilities to build and test your products. Moreover, they are also skilled at manufacturing customized wire harnesses and cable assemblies  if you wish, each product being certified and approved by DGAQA and MSQAA for platform specific applications.