Product Overview
The printed circuit industry has achieved maturity and universal accep tance. No known interconnection technology threatens to render it obso lete in the foreseeable future. It offers two unique advantages that are important for any assembly technology: quality (reliability) and economy. The mode of component attachment to printed circuit boards, however, is undergoing a radical change. Technical and economic pressures are forcing the industry to convert some or all of its assembly to surface mounting techniques. We are moving away from the traditional large through-the-hole connection with its mechanical security. It is being re placed by a small surface butt and/or lap joint, sometimes with no added mechanical support to the solder. This change requires a complete reas sessment of design, production, and inspection techniques. A major por tion of this book is devoted to the changes imposed by surface mounting. This recent development is an extension of the established hybrid (thick and thin-film) industry. Yet when it is applied to conventional printed circuits, there are major differences. One must view the printed circuit board as a planar surface designed to provide interconnections between electronic devices. The electronic in dustry is using them for mass-production techniques to join discrete, integrated, and special components (leaded and leadless). This book ap plies to all board variations including single-sided, double-sided, multi layer, and flexible circuits.
