Our recent surveys have shown that 55% of all respondents are still having some sort of PCB solderability issues.

The “What is the most common PCB problem?” survey showed that 29% of all respondents had problems with solderability finishes and 26% were having shorts and opens related issues. The above findings could be possibly linked to the Class 1 PCBs – the most common type on the market where the quality of solder joints or component positions is not a top priority and expected not to last very long, but this would need further research.

Only a small part of the survey participants (5%) indicated delamination as a common issue. This could mean that the structure of the PCB and the quality of adhesion on multilayer PCBs have vastly improved for the past few years. Cosmetic faults scored a substantial 25% of all issues, but this type of defect has only visual impact on the PCB and doesn’t affect its functionality or connectivity.

Pie chart: What is your most common PCB problem?

The “What PCB surface finish do you most commonly use?” poll revealed that almost half (43%) of the Printed Circuit Board had gold (hard, soft and flash type) finish now, one quarter (24%) had tin finish followed closely by solder levelled types (22%). Silver and copper finishes corresponded to only 11% of all manufactured PCBs.

Pie chart: What PCB surface finish you use most commonly?

The “When specifying PCBs to IPC what Class do you require?” survey showed that the most common type of PCB is Class 2 (66%), typically requested for non-critical electronic assemblies where longer term reliability is desirable, rather than essential. According to the same survey, one quarter (25%) of attendees had manufacturing requirements for Class 3 PCB types – the highest IPC standard, and aim at more critical PCB assemblies, and Class 1 only related to 14% of all PCBs.

Pie chart: When specifying PCB's to IPC what Class do you require?