Thermal cycle limit

How many thermal cycles can we expose a Class 3 printed wiring assemblies to before it will no longer maintain a Class 3 rating? In general how many thermal cycles should we allow at a given location on a circuit board, such as at a BGA site, before we should consider the assembly compromised and thus may be unreliable at any Class rating?

P. W.

Expert Panel Responses

You are mixing and matching terminologies. Class 3 is a manufacturing specification. Thermal cycling has nothing to do with manufacturing.

Dr. Craig D. Hillman
CEO & Managing Partner
DfR Solutions

Dr. Hillman's specialties include best practices in Design for Reliability, strategies for transitioning to Pb-free, supplier qualification, passive component technology and printed board failure mechanisms.

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