In order to ensure that a manufacturing line is living up to set quality standards, Process Monitoring can be used. Process Monitoring is for production product with stable build schedules. Its goal is to promptly identify when a process may be veering from the expected standard. To perform this, ion chromatography tests are run on boards that go through the normal production process. The results are compared to a stated baseline performance and consulting on remedial actions is included, if necessary.

We are often asked if white residues are detrimental to product performance. This article, published in Circuits Assembly January 2006 issue, discusses that there are a myriad of causes for white residues . . . and encourages good testing protocol. Because not all white residues are a reliability risk.

In this photo we see heavy, no-clean flux residue that has absorbed moisture and reacted with the active circuitry, causing a leakage failure but forming no dendrites. This no-clean residue shows the effect of flux residues that are partially heat activated, causing a leakage path and poor performance in the field - but not a hard short.