Download, read and pass along
Engineering teams are constantly challenged to speed product development with fewer internal resources. As a prototype assembly house we are regularly called upon to fix issues driven by compressed product development cycles and thought it would be valuable to create a “Top Ten” checklist of issues that we see on a regular basis. Feel free to keep this as a reference list for your product development process. Download top_10_issues_that_cause_bad_prototypes.pdf
While QFN (quad flatpack, no leads) and DFN (dual flatpack, no leads) packaged parts are becoming more and more common in new component releases, they aren’t getting much easier to use. The advantages of the form factor are pretty clear. It allows smaller geometries, better grounding and improved thermal properties over other types of surface mount packages. Download qfn_layout_guidelines.pdf
Via in pad seems to be one of the hot topics these days. It's a bit of a tough one too. The smt guys pretty much always say: "don't ever do it." However, with certain parts, the component manufacturer strongly recommends it. You gotta love those mutually exclusive requirements. Rather than just telling you "no, never", we’re going to do our best to give a few guidelines on how to do it properly. Read the complete PDF. Download via_in_pad_guidelines.pdf
Have you ever had an LED or other diode placed backwards? By us? By someone else? By yourself? We don't like it when that happens and we're sure you don't either. Screaming Circuits strives to place every component, from the largest, highest pin-count logic chip down to the smallest passive components, correctly every single time. A key element of that accuracy is our understanding of your board and the component markings. Download led_markation_guidelines.pdf
