State the features of surface mount technology.
Answers
SMT allows engineers to design boards with components on both sides of the board material. By eliminating or reducing the need for drilling and component holes, there is no restriction on placement of circuit elements on opposing sides.
Design flexibility is another advantage of SMT construction. There is no conflict in combining SMT and through-hole manufacturing methods on the same board. This gives PCB designers a free reign to create specialized circuits without the need for multiple boards, when one can provide the functionality needed.
Other distinct advantages of SMT printed circuit boards:
Size – reduced component size equates to more components being contained on a single board, and subsequently fewer boards being required for a product. With today’s demand for miniaturized products and lighter weight, such attributes are critical.
Dual-sided mounting – without the need to design for drilling and connecting through board materials, components can be place on both surfaces of the PCB.
Quality – Manufacturing processes that place components and perform soldering functions can actually improve placement reliability. Tolerance for placement is improved by the ability of surface tension of the soldering function to actually correct slight alignment issues.
Reliability – SMT connections are less prone to failure from the impact of vibration or shaking.
Speed of manufacturing – Especially when combined with adherence to design for manufacturing (DFM) when circuits are designed, SMT increases production efficiency through elimination or reduction of drilling operations and lower setup times.
Cost reductions – Many of the smaller-sized surface mount devices (SMDs) or components actually have a lower cost than their larger through-hole versions.