Surface mount technology (SMT) has largely replaced older through-hole (TH) methods in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. In fact, pretty much all modern day equipment and devices rely on SMT rather than through-hole methods.
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That is because this technology enables manufacturers to produce devices that are far smaller and simpler than the older counterparts.
But this is not the only benefit of choosing SMT. In the guide below, we're going to take a look at the advantages of using SMT assembly when manufacturing electronics, so you can make the right choice for your business.
One of the biggest advantages of SMT assembly is that the automated PCB construction process is far more efficient than the alternative. This means that it is quicker to create these circuit boards than it is with through-hole assembly.
Not only that, but the process has nearly totally eliminated the need to drill holes in the board. Which again, increases the production speed, enabling manufacturers to produce larger quantities of these electronic devices in a shorter space of time.
As a result of this increased efficiency and the ability to produce more PCB devices in a shorter space for time, the cost of producing each unit is lowered. Not only that, but as accuracy is increased, the need to fix weak or faulty boards decreases.
Therefore, this is a great way for manufacturers to save time and cut costs on the production of their electrical goods.
As SMT components and boards are much smaller than traditional methods, you can pack more of these parts onto the smaller board.
This ability to add more components onto this smaller space increases its density, which leads to increased performances and advanced functionality. All of which is good news for businesses and users.
Following on from the last point, as a result of the smaller components, the signal paths are shorter. As well as reducing lead inductance and increasing frequency capabilities, these shorter pathways can massively help to improve electrical performance.
This means that these devices will be more reliable and less likely to break at a later stage. The automated production process also helps to ensure better results. This is because it reduces the need for manual intervention for component placement, leading to more reliable PCBs, but we'll look at this in more detail later in the guide.
As we've mentioned already, the production process and smaller components lead to smaller circuit boards overall. This means they can be used in more compact and mobile devices than every before, making it perfect for the technological wave we are currently riding.
These smaller boards can be used for a whole range of lightweight devices, whilst still providing reliable technology. This is perhaps why they have become the preferred method of manufacturers and businesses alike.
The easy assembly and smaller parts of these devices mean that both sides of the board can be used without the hole limitations that currently hamper through-hole construction methods.
But more than this, these components can actually be attached alongside TH components where required, on the same board. The two have the ability to co-exist.
Finally, we have one more advantage of SMT assembly as mentioned earlier and that is the possibility to fully automate the process. From assembly through to inspection and testing, it is now possible to automate the process from start to finish.
This offers the perfect opportunity to optimise production and tackle time-consuming and labour-intensive task, whilst still ensuring high-quality goods.
It's easy to see that SMT assembly can have a huge range of benefits for businesses and manufacturers. The ability to automate the process can increase efficiency and output, whilst simultaneously cutting costs.
Not only that, but SMT assembly allows for small, lightweight devices that don't require drilling or too much human intervention, and are therefore, more reliable.
While through-hole elements may still be required in some cases, it looks increasingly like SMT will become the norm.
Surface mount technology is a part of the electronic assembly that deals with the mounting of electronic components to the surface of a PCB. Electronic components mounted this way are called surface-mounted devices (SMD).
SMT was developed to minimize manufacturing costs while making efficient use of board space. The introduction of surface mount technology has enabled manufacturers to fabricate smaller size complex circuit boards. There are various advantages and disadvantages of surface mount technology which we will discuss over the course of this article.
Surface-mount technology was developed in the s and was broadly used in the s. By the s, they were used in most of the high-end PCB assemblies. Conventional electronic components were redesigned to include metal tabs or end caps that could be attached directly to the board surface. This replaced typical wire leads which needed to pass through drilled holes. SMT led to much smaller components and enabled component placement on both sides of the board. Surface mounting enables a higher degree of automation minimizing labor costs and expanding production rates that results in the development advanced of boards.
SMT allows electrical components to be mounted on the board surface without any drilling. Most electronic applications prefer to use surface mount components since they are compact and may be installed on either side of a printed circuit. They are suitable for applications with higher routing densities. These components have smaller leads or no leads at all and are smaller than through-hole components.
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The process involved in SMT assembly is:
In through-hole technology, the component leads are inserted into the drilled holes on the board. These leads are then soldered to pads on the opposite side using wave soldering or re-flow soldering tools. Since through-hole mounting offers strong mechanical bonds, it is highly reliable. However, drilling PCBs during production tends to increase manufacturing costs. Also, through-hole technology limits the routing area for signal traces below the top layer of multi-layer PCBs.
SMT has many advantages over conventional through-hole technology:
Ensure the manufacturability of your circuit design using the Better DFM tool.
Even though SMT has several advantages, the technology also comes with it certain disadvantages:
The majority of products manufactured at this time utilize surface mount technology. But SMT is not suitable in all cases. Consider SMT considered if:
Here are some recommendations for SMD placement to maintain good signal and power integrity for your board.
To facilitate the assembly process ensure that all component names, polarities, orientations, and placements are marked properly in the assembly drawing. The footprints present in the drawings should match with the actual parts. Consult your manufacturer for their kitting guideline if you are considering consigned assembly. Prepare your BOM accordingly.
Solder reflow and wave soldering are widely used to mount components onto the board. Depending on the nature of the components, the designer can choose one of these methods for surface mounting technology.
Wave soldering: Since the solder will flow through the holes to form a connection, wave soldering is mostly used for through-hole components. You can use wave soldering for most of the surface-mount components also.
Solder reflow: This process is generally preferred in SMT. Here, the solder on one pin melts and reflows faster than the other. The only disadvantage is that it causes a tombstoning effect, where the component peels away from the non-melted pad. This effect is common for surface mount components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
SMD packages come in a broad range of shapes and sizes as given below:
Common passive discrete components: These components are mostly resistors and capacitors and are a part of most electronic devices available today. Given below are SMD package details for capacitors and resistors.
Transistors: The common type of packages for transistors are as follows:
Integrated Circuit (IC) packages
Integrated Circuit packages come in a wide range as given below:
Small Outline Package (SOP)
TSOP (Thin Small Outline Package) is thinner than SOIC
Quad flat packs are generic square, flat IC packages.
BGA packages include an arrangement of solder balls on the chip underside in the place of pins. The ball spacing typically is 1.27, 0.8, 0.5, 0.4, and 0.35mm
The chip is enclosed in a plastic mold. It can either be square or rectangular in shape.
Surface mount component standards are specified by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC.org). JEDEC is an independent semiconductor engineering trade organization and standardization body that has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, United States.
You can measure SMD size in inches in the Imperial system and millimeters in the Metric system. For the imperial components, the dimensions are 0.02 x 0.01 inches. For the metric components 0.2 x 0.1 mm.
Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of surface mount technology is essential to comprehend its role in the electronics industry. This will always help in optimizing your design and assembly skills. Follow the guidelines listed in this article to completely benefit from the SMT process for component placement. Please comment below if you have any queries on employing surface mount technology for your design. We will be happy to help you.
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