COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN USING THERMAL CONDUCTIVE PASTE

There’s a bit of a trick for everything, even with PCB assembly processes that follow an otherwise straightforward and to-the-point approach. This blog post has been designed with a similar standpoint – a glance into the common mistakes that should be avoided when using thermal conductive paste. With factors listed here, you can prevent various process issues and make your overall operations much more productive.

Mistake# Ignoring electrical conductivity

While thermal conductive paste is available in various varieties like diamond based, silicon based, carbon based and ceramic based compounds, metal based paste is widely considered to be the most suitable, owing to its excellent thermal conductivity parameters and affordable price. However, metal based compounds also have an inherent capability of carrying a charge which can end up damaging your PCB components if left unaccounted for. So, if you are using a metal based thermal conductive paste, make sure you do not apply it in too copious quantities.

Mistake# Not cleaning the surfaces before application

The reason of applying thermal conductive paste is to remove irregularities and lessen the distance between the circuit board and the heat-sink, to ensure a better, cleaner and a more constant connection between the two. Therefore, while applying the paste, you should make sure that both surfaces are completely free of contaminants, dust, dirt, grime or any other form of residue. The most common method used to clean surfaces is rubbing alcohol which can carefully remove all impurities without causing any damage to the board and its components.

Mistake# Applying too much or too little paste

Too much thermal conductive paste can detract from its effectiveness and performance as a thick layer will increase the distance between the circuit board and the heat-sink, thereby hindering the heat transference process. Too little paste will also not fulfill the purpose as air pockets and gaps will remain behind. The idea is to apply an even, optimal layer of paste, covering as much surface area of the board as possible.

Use the above information to tweak your method of thermal conductive paste application and get the most from your device performance.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS YOU CAN RECYCLE FROM PCBs?

Rising electronic waste and its ill-effects on the environment are quickly becoming some of the biggest challenges that our generation is currently facing. Thankfully, options like recycling PCB components are becoming widely available and are allowing manufacturers to reduce their carbon footprint and steer the industry towards a more sustainable future. This blog post will help explain the viability and value derived from PCB recycling.

Here is a list of all the elements that you can effectively recycle from a PCB.

Dross: Soldering of components can often produce a lot of oxidized waste alloy that can no longer be used on the PCB being manufactured. This oxidized metal, known as dross, can be effectively refined and purified for reuse through recycling of PCB components.

Precious metals: Most electronic components and circuit boards make use of precious metals like gold, silver, palladium, platinum and such for various purposes and applications. Scrap PCBs can be effectively recycled through electrolytic refining processes for extracting residual quantities of these metals which can later be used again in further manufacturing/processing.

Other metals: The large variety of industrial components found on a PCB can also be recycled to reclaim metals like tin, bismuth, lead and different alloys. Reclaiming of these metals involves careful processing of parts like radiator drips, scrap alloys, solder paste and more.

Anode butts: High metallic return is usually expected from the recycling of this part of a PCB. The part of the anode that is left behind post completion of the electroplating process is usually free from contaminants and can yield residual metals in an extremely cost effective manner.

The law now completely prohibits the dumping of printed circuit boards in landfills to prevent the ill effects of residual metals on the ecology. With the option of recycling PCB components, there is now a viable means to extract true value from this scrap and prevent further damage caused to the environment.

THE CHALLENGES IN SOLAR CELL TABBING

Solar panel is an assembly of solar cells that synthesizes the sunlight into electricity. As a solar panel is an assembly of many solar cells, it requires internal connections/wiring between these solar cells known as tabbing. In order to get the highest possible output from a solar photovoltaic installation, it is necessary for the solar cells to be tabbed with care. In this blog, you will learn about the challenges in solar cell tabbing.

Challenge #1: Positioning

The tabbing ribbon or wire, including the bus ribbon or wire, has to be positioned precisely on the solar cells. Tabbing wires collect the power generated in the cell and send it to the bus ribbon – which means that achieving the optimum area of collection for each tabbing ribbon would help achieve the maximum output from the solar panels. One solution to this is using computerized operations.

Challenge #2: Continuity

It is important to achieve seamless tabbing which is continuous. Breakage in soldering tabbing wire onto a solar cell can result in poor efficiency. Challenging as it is, fair amount of concentration can help you get tabbing right.

Challenge #3: Quantity

Getting the right amount of tabbing wires on each cell helps optimize collection of current. Too much tabbing results in wastage of cell area that could otherwise have produced electricity.

While solar panel assemblies can be challenging, above mentioned simple tabbing solutions can help optimize the process.