A Review of Accelerated Ageing (Environmental Testing) of Printed Boards with Respect to Solderability

An electronic assembly may consist of a printed circuit and various types of electrical components. Soldering to make the electrical/mechanical connection is a critical process. Both printed circuit and component leads must promote acceptable solder wetting if high reliability is to be obtained. Bulk purchasing of these items can lead to long periods of storage often in poor conditions. This paper describes some of the work which simulates storage conditions by accelerated ageing so that a prediction can be made as to whether solderability will be affected. Due acknowledgement is hereby made to the EIPC for their permission to publish this paper which was presented at a recent EIPC seminar.