Telephone Archives

Surface Mount Technology - Design Guidelines by Martin T. Pickering B.Eng. Why do multilayer ceramic capacitors crack or burst into flames? What size/shape copper pads should I use? How can I reduce the cost of solder by 60%? These notes were written a few years ago but the points considered remain valid today. They don't contain hard and fast "rules" but attempt to make the designer think logically about his design. Of course, there are some contentious points, which are bound to raise comments such as "Why should I change. I've always done it in such-and-such a way?" My answer is "Why not? You won't know unless you try it!" I worked for fifteen years as a designer and I didn't simply pull these ideas out of a hat. Hopefully you will find them interesting and thought-provoking.