Retronix is evolving - Consistency | Innovation | Quality | Precision

Retronix is changing. 

With the efforts being put in, we have the right processes, the right people and we are at the cusp of a great opportunity to present Retronix as being evolved into a sharp, efficient and a quality service provider. 

Retronix is undergoing a change in branding with the philosophy we believe in and for the future of this company.

Retronix provides services to highly important sectors such as Military, Aerospace, Oil&Gas, big OEM's and IC manufacturers therefore our message to our customers will be ruled by the following four values:

CONSISTENCY : Signifying control and repeatability

INNOVATION : Signifying customised solutions and flexibility in our services

QUALITY : Signifying excellence and value

PRECISION : Signifying accuracy and care

We aim to make Retronix as a one word definition for the above four values and every step of the way Retronix will reflect these values.

We take the first step today with a slight change in the logo tagline

The Retronix IC Recovery process: Why it will change the landscape of the IC recovery market.

The philosophy of the Retronix IC recovery process is built around industry standards, adopted by the largest IC manufacturers. For them, when you are soldering ICs to PCBs, temperature and time are your enemy. The higher the temperature, and the longer the profile, then the more likely damage is to be caused. Think of passing your wet finger through a candle flame, no damage. Then think about holding it there for a minute! IC Manufacturers state (as a rule) no more than 3 or 4 reflow cycles should be carried out on an IC, but up to that number is fine:

Micron - "The maximum number of reflows is defined as three...product guarantees may be invalidated" (Ref 1.)

Xilinx - "Pg.11 JEDEC STD-20 compliant Packages capable of withstanding high reflow temperature rating (245 C-260 C) for 3 reflow cycles" (Ref 2.)

INTEL - "Many BGAs (including Intel BGAs) are rated for 3 reflow cycles" (Ref 3.)

Intel specifies two more points which are relevant, in the above referenced document, point 9.4.4.1 specifies, that the profile goes above 154 deg. after approx 1.9 minutes, and does not come below 154 deg. again till about 6.4 minutes. So it is above that temperature for approx. 4.5 minutes, moreover some profiles are even longer than this.

Keeping the above standards in mind, the Retronix IC Rescue process is different and unique as it manages to stay within all the stated manufacturers specifications, much shorter in terms of temperature and time, safe and well below stated reflow profiles.

Following comparison shows the traditional method  to the Retronix method, and how the Retronix IC recovery method is changing the landscape of the component recovery market.

The first time the component goes onto a PCB it has gone through a reflow profile, therefore the count starts from 1.

As can be seen from the comparison above:

The Retronix IC Rescue method is well within the manufacturers specifications, the process is automated, controlled and completely safe. 

Additional benefits of Retronix IC Rescue method include an automatic wash which makes sure each IC is clean, a mechanical test to verify functionality, including curve trace test, key functional test and memory test. A solderability test and XRF test to verify composition of leg or ball.

Watch a video on the IC recovery process: 

For more information on the reflow profiles and on our IC recovery process do contact us and we will be happy to set up  a meeting to discuss more on this process - (Click Here)

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Know more about IC Rescue  -http://www.retronix.com/ic_bga_recovery

Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

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LCC on PCB caused thermal imbalance and it lead to solder joint failures

A customer was experiencing a high failure rate, during accelerated life testing on one of their PCBs. The same fault was causing the problem each time. 

The problem was of cracking solder joint(s) on a Leaded Chip Carrier (LCC) which was soldered directly on the PCB. It was discovered that the LCC created a lot of heat, with no space under the component to dissipate the heat. The thermal imbalance between the IC and the PCB caused the solder joint to fail. 

To fix the problem Retronix fitted Plastic Core Solder Spheres (PCSS) to the pads, which don't collapse.

The PCSS created enough 'standoff' between the IC and the PCB which allowed the heat to dissipate. Also having the exact same spheres on the exact same pads also guaranteed the RF inductance on the part.

This solution reduced the failure rate on the PCB by a factor of 10, eliminating the issue as a weak spot on the component.

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Know more about Application Specific Balling and Reballing  -http://www.retronix.com/application-specific-balling-and-reballing

Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

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What are tin whiskers and why are they a problem?

A lot has been talked about the problem of tin-whiskering and the way it could lead to problems in different electronic components. This could especially lead to big problems if the electronic components are deployed in high reliability environments such as avionics, and harsh environments such as oil rigs deployed deep sea; where failure is not an option.

But what are Tin Whiskers?

Tin whiskers are electrically conductive, crystalline structures of tin that sometimes grow from surfaces where tin (especially electroplated tin) is used as a final finish.

What are the mechanisms by which Tin Whiskers form?

The mechanisms by which tin whiskers grow has been studied for many years. But unfortunately no single, widely accepted explanation of this mechanism has been established. But there are certain agreed factors in tin whisker formation. Tin whisker growth is primarily attributed to stresses in tin plating; the stresses may be from various sources which include :

• Residual stresses in the tin resulting from the plating process.
• Electro deposited finishes are considered most susceptible due to stresses built into the finish as a result of the plating process.
• Formation of intermetallic compounds especially within the tin grain boundaries.
• Compressive stresses such as those introduced by torquing of a nut or a screw.
• Bending or stretching of the surface after plating
• Scratches or nicks in the plating introduced by handling.

What are the commonly reported characteristics of Tin Whiskers?

The vast disparity in the observations reported by different experimenters is evidence of the complications associated with understanding and controlling tin whiskers. The following provide a very basic overview of some of the observed characteristics of tin whiskers.

Whiskers may be straight, kinked, hooked, or forked. Their outer surfaces are often grooved. Some growths may form as nodules or pyramidal structures.

All of the above characteristics have been known to cause problems, for example causing a short circuit in a satellite leading to blacking out of several important services. Therefore it is very important to understand tin whiskers and work on a solution that leads to tin whisker mitigation. A solution that has worked for mitigation for tin whiskers is re-tinning of components.

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Know more about Re-Tinning -http://www.retronix.com/alloy_conversion_re-tinning_rohs-compliant 

Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

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Failed PCB's - What happens to the electronic components mounted on them?

It is a fact that there will always be a certain number of failures when PCB's are manufactured and this is normal due to the nature of manufacturing processes. Typical causes that can cause failures are:

1) Paste issues

2) Raw PCB faults

3) Rogue Solder joints

These faults mentioned above are the first indicator that the components mounted on these PCB's may be good, since they have nothing to do with the faults. Therefore in all probability the ICs may be brand new, unused and in perfect working order.

But sometimes company policy states that these failed PCB's be send straight to landfill and recycled, this leaves a lot of potential threats, as certain people with vested interests may get the opportunity to counterfeit these components by using the scrap material from these landfills, also in some cases be sold faulty or completely degraded to unsuspecting customers who buy and implement them in their supply chain leading to  huge problems later to deal with.

  Picture used for representation purposes only

Companies were taking this risk of sending the failed PCBs straight to landfill since there was no safe way of recovering these perfectly good components from PCBs for re-use. However recently there is a process developed that can recover these components for re-use in a very safe manner and without reflow cycles, and this is certainly a much better and economical way to recycle them than to throw the full unit away.

When new components are scarce, as is often the case, their recovery becomes even more important and even more profitable. The risk of dealing in counterfeit components has increased with the 2012 US National Defence Authorization Act. As this global issue becomes more and more of a problem, the ramifications, sentences and fines are becoming increasingly severe. Therefore the best option is to recover this ICs in a safe manner for re-use.

Here is a small demonstration of the process :

          

By recovering electronic components, up to 50 times the value can be realised from the scrap. The treated scrap, with components removed, could then be sent to any recycler, thereby also eliminating counterfeiting and the re-circulation of faulty and degraded parts.

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Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

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Retronix carries out successful underfill removal from a cellphone pcb

Retronix recently carried out successful underfill removal from a cellphone pcb that had to have a chip replaced, however the pcb was underefilled. Also the chip was under a can and was densely populated

We removed the can, then the damaged chip, then the underfill that was under the chip, and surrounding it.

After cleaning up the pads we replaced the chip and tested the pcb. When it passed we replaced the underfill, replaced the can and retested it to ensure the fix was successful

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Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

Know more about our IC Tests (Click here)

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Implementing faulty/counterfeit ICs in the supply chain can be dangerous. What are the options to avoid this?

It is well known that it can be difficult to find a genuine and reliable supply of electronic components particularly when they are scarce or out of production by the original manufacturer. Although refurbished components are sometimes frowned upon for being 'unsafe' and therefore are not a part of the PCB repair process, sometimes this can be the only solution to get around components which are scarce or hard to source.

Especially for a component supplier or broker, the biggest risk is loss of credibility; should a faulty, substandard or counterfeit IC be sold to one of the customers, and hence to avoid or substantially reduce the risk of this to occur; component test is advised. But what are the different tests that can be performed? Listed below are a few of the important tests that are done on a sample or even the whole batch at times to determine authenticity:

Visual Inspection : This is a very effective component testing method, by using optical inspection it can be determined if the components are in good condition, whether there are any damages or any minute defects.

XRF Analysis : This is a non-destructive method to determine what alloy the termination consists of. This is particularly useful for businesses belonging to the high reliability industries such as defence, medical, aerospace, Oil & Gas sectors.

Solderability Test : This test verifies whether the component is re-solderable and also if it is good enough to be placed back on a PCB with reflow.

Electrical Test: Also known as BEST (BGA & Electrical Silicon Test) used to check the electrical parameters of every pin to pin e.g. current, voltage, diode resistivity, and silicon connectivity. 

Key Function Test : Some devices may need tested by creating a circuit to ensure that they are operating as expected. With the help of the component datasheet, a circuit can be created and the key aspects of the IC can be checked. For example MOSFETs can be tested to confirm that they still meet the manufacturer's specifications.

Flash Memory Test / Memory Programming : Components can be programmed to check for counterfeit programmable components. Device ID codes can confirm if the devices were blank or programmed. Already programmed FLASH parts can be erased back to factory default settings.

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E   - info@retronix.com, sales@retronix.com

Contact us - http://www.retronix.com/contact-us

Know more about our IC Tests (Click here)

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