IPC Inspection to A-610 Rev E

This is a class 2 inspection of a printed circuit board (PCB) using the IPC-A-610 Rev E. There is a bubble between the two solder joints of the opposite polarity battery terminals.

These enclosed mini-environments are known repositories for ions which will conduct when a voltage is applied. The leakage current drain is often dependent on the amount of moisture present in the atmosphere since the inside bubble environment will equilibrate with the surrounding atmosphere. These bubbles are unacceptable and this would be a reject. In class 3, (military use, aviation, and critical applications), such defects cannot be allowed under any circumstances. They have been known to drain batteries, cause leakage current in continuous circuits, and cause corrosion which drops out the circuit altogether.

Gideon Analytical Labs can inspect PCBs to known specifications (IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies, or a number specifications published by IPC) for acceptance, evaluation (new suppliers are brought on-line) or qualification, where the process is debugged and final approval is at hand.

Gideon consults and performs all analysis. We are especially concerned about single source vendors approved for manufacturing parts for class 3 applications and they lose their process techniques.