{"id":2571,"date":"2023-12-20T08:06:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T00:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/?p=2571"},"modified":"2026-10-02T17:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T09:33:49","slug":"reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/blog\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit\/","title":{"rendered":"An In-Depth Analysis of the Causes of Solder Paste Short Circuits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During the PCBA manufacturing process, short circuits can pose significant challenges. This article will explore a common yet often-overlooked issue\u2014solder paste short circuits\u2014and provide an in-depth analysis of their root causes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-8846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"An In-Depth Analysis of the Causes of Solder Paste Short Circuits\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/reason-for-solder-paste-short-circuit.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>The Cause of Solder Paste Short Circuits<\/h2>\n<p>At contract electronics manufacturing facilities, short circuits in BGA (Ball Grid Array) components are a common issue, and analysis of this problem indicates that it is related to the amount of solder paste used.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, the root cause of short-circuit issues is an excessive amount of solder paste, which in turn is caused by the solder mask and silkscreen layers being printed too thickly.<\/p>\n<p>In theory, if the thickness of the green paint and the screen-printed layer are inconsistent, this could indeed lead to uneven printing thickness and volume of the solder paste.<\/p>\n<p>When all other solder paste printing conditions remain constant, thicker layers of green mask and screen printing can cause an excessive gap between the stencil and the printed circuit board (PCB), thereby increasing the amount of solder paste deposited.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Data for Analyzing Short-Circuit Problems<\/h2>\n<p>To gain a deeper understanding of the issue, let\u2019s take a look at the basic dimensional specifications of BGAs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ball pitch: 0.65 mm<\/li>\n<li>Ball diameter: 0.36\u20130.46 mm<\/li>\n<li>Ball height: 0.23\u20130.33 mm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to the analysis report from the SMT (Surface Mount Technology) manufacturing facility, this circuit board involves two different suppliers. Actual measurements showed a 27.1-micrometer difference in the thickness of the solder mask and silkscreen layers between these two suppliers, resulting in variations in the amount of solder paste.<\/p>\n<p>Under identical solder paste printing conditions, the volume of solder paste on the circuit boards produced by these two different PCB manufacturers actually differed by nearly 16.61 TP3T. Consequently, the SMT factory concluded that the short-circuit issue was attributable to the PCB manufacturer. However, this conclusion raises some questions.<\/p>\n<h2>Analyzing the Complexity of Short-Circuit Problems<\/h2>\n<p>First of all, if the amount of solder paste printed has such a significant impact on BGA short-circuit issues, why wasn\u2019t this detected by the SPI (solder paste inspection machine) early in the production process? Why wait until after the reflow soldering process to review the X-ray inspection results? That seems a bit too late.<\/p>\n<p>Second, is the margin of error for solder paste printing too small? Can PCB manufacturers precisely control the thickness of the solder mask and screen-printed layers? Will similar issues continue to arise in the future?<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this 16.61 TP3T difference in solder paste volume can be resolved by adjusting the squeegee speed and pressure, since it is simply caused by the gap. The key is whether the SPI actually identifies critical issues before production begins\u2014such as what range the solder paste print volume should be maintained within.<\/p>\n<p>This involves not only the area of the solder paste print but also calculating the thickness of the solder paste and the total amount of solder on the entire pad to ensure quality control.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, PCB manufacturers need to standardize their printing capabilities regarding the thickness of the green solder mask and the screen-printed layers and incorporate these into their inspection procedures to avoid affecting future mass production yield rates.<\/p>\n<p>Although solder paste short-circuit issues may seem simple, their underlying causes can be quite complex. In PCB manufacturing, even minor variations can lead to significant problems, so quality control and process optimization are crucial.<\/p>\n<p>By identifying and resolving issues early on, PCB manufacturers can ensure they deliver high-quality electronic components that meet growing market demand.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>5 Common Questions (FAQs)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>How do solder paste short circuits affect the performance of a circuit board?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Solder paste short circuits can cause short circuits between components on a circuit board, which in turn can affect the normal operation of the device.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do the thicknesses of the green paint and screen-printed layers vary among different suppliers?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This may be related to the supplier's manufacturing processes and quality control and requires further investigation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How can solder paste short circuits be resolved?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Variations in solder paste volume can be addressed by adjusting the squeegee speed and pressure, while also strengthening SPI inspection and quality control.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the role of an SPI (solder paste inspector) in PCB manufacturing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SPI is used to inspect and control the print quality of solder paste, with the goal of identifying and correcting issues early on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Can PCB Manufacturers Improve Process Stability?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PCB manufacturers can improve process stability by standardizing processes, training employees, and enhancing quality control measures.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u5728PCBA\u5236\u9020\u8fc7\u7a0b\u4e2d\uff0c\u77ed\u8def\u53ef\u80fd\u4f1a\u5f15\u8d77\u5173\u952e\u6027\u7684\u6311\u6218\u3002\u672c\u6587\u5c06\u63a2\u8ba8\u4e00\u79cd\u5e38\u89c1\u4f46\u5bb9\u6613\u88ab\u5ffd\u89c6\u7684\u95ee\u9898 &#8211; \u9521\u818f\u77ed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"An In-Depth Analysis of the Causes of Solder Paste Short Circuits","description":"What causes solder paste to cause short circuits? This article provides an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms behind solder paste collapse and bridging in fine-pitch components such as BGAs, and explains the key data and analytical approaches to focus on during troubleshooting."},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-2571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-249"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19268,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571\/revisions\/19268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jingpengpcb.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}