PCB Strain Gauge Testing
Automatic assembly of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) in mechanical equipment requires that PCBs do not get strained beyond specifications.
Use of smaller and smaller electronic components and more and more layers of PCBs, in addition to use of high density BGA components, call for even more stringent control of assembly parameters to ensure the assembled PCBs are not damaged during assembly. One of the effective ways to ensure the survivability of the PCBAs during assembly is to instrument the PCBAs with strain gauges (strain gages) and perform multiple trial runs to control the process parameters, or comply to international standards.
Furthermore, many computer and component manufacturers specify strain tests to be done according to JEDEC-9704A, which requires very specific strain measurements, strain gauge placements as well as principal strain calculations with respect to strain rates and principal angles.
Invicom is helping assembly process integrators and manufacturers to measure and document PCB strains during assembly for the machine set up and calibration.
Our vast experience in strain gauging (strain gaging) printed circuit boards (PCB) or printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) ensure tight schedules and precise strain gauge placements are achieved with reasonable cost. All the processes of surface preparation, strain gauge bonding, protective coating, wiring and balancing are done either at our facilities or customer’s with strict control in precision and quality.
Strain gauges are selected based on customer requirements, size of measurement points, type of test (static or dynamic) and available international standards. We mainly use finest quality strain gauges manufactured in Germany, USA or Japan.
For such measurements, it is generally required to use the strain rosettes owing to undetermined direction of strain as well as changes in principal strain direction during assembly. Principal strains in orthogonal directions are calculated with respect to the principal angle and rate of change of strain (Strain rates).
Our in house measurement systems have built-in evaluation for principal strains, principal angles, strain rates and von-Mises stress levels on the fly during the measurement and results can be obtained immediately for pass/fail criteria, as well as for tuning of actuator. Our measurement procedures and test reports comply to JEDEC-9704A, and able to meet any additional customer specific criteria and calculations.
Our state of the art synchronous multi-channel measurement systems are annually calibrated to traceable international standard laboratories and able to cater for hundreds of measurement channels at any time.
Here are some of the gauging examples of PCBA for assembly.
