A good blank circuit board is similar to a good foundation for a building. If a builder starts with a superb foundation, i.e. the foundation has been placed on solid or compacted earth, drainage around the foundation has been corrected if necessary, the corners are square, the whole foundation is exactly level and horizontal and the plumbing connections in the foundation are where they should be; a competent builder will have little trouble building a structure that will perform well from the day the tenant moves in and for years thereafter.
On the other hand if the builder attempts to build a quality building on a shoddy foundation, no matter how good the materials and how good his skills, it will be virtually impossible to build a quality building that will perform up to the expectations of the tenant, nor will the structure stand up to the ravages of time.
The same is true with circuit board assembly. If we start with a superb blank circuit board, i.e. the board has been made with top quality copper clad material, processed in a board house that keeps its chemical processes in control, washed with DI water, masked carefully and cured appropriately, solder leveling applied carefully and finally tested to be certain that the board has no flaws. Then we will have little trouble building a quality product.
If the blank board has been etched so that there are ‘cat whiskers’ (tiny hair thin traces that did not get removed in the chemical etching process), shorts will result. Or worse, intermittent open traces, result from poor process control. Another hazard is poor solder leveling, which makes it difficult to place fine pitch parts without component leads not soldering properly. If the mask is poor, solder bridging can occur.
Any one of these things makes it necessary to touch up the board when it is discovered that the circuit does not function correctly when it is tested. Further rework, even if the board can be made to function, causes the board to be cosmetically inferior.
Global Manufacturing Services, Inc. after many years experience has narrowed the sources from which we purchase circuit boards to a few suppliers. These suppliers have consistent quality and delivery. Because we do a lot of business with them, we get favorable pricing.
Due to our attention to the basic building block of circuit board assembly, we can deliver a product of consistent quality.