SPC controls the solder

Solder height on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is crucial to how well that board performs as it ultimately affects how well components sit on the finished board.

So when one manufacturer of PCBs realised that a proportion of its finished boards were failing final quality inspection due to inconsistent solder height, it turned to NWA Quality Analyst’s Statistical Process Control (SPC) software to help out.

SPC uses statistical methods such as control charts, capability analysis and exception reporting to monitor and control a process by enabling engineers to graphically analyse systems behaviour. This allows the impact of process improvement decisions, regulatory compliance and cost reduction to be gauged.

The variations within the process identifies where quality improvement could be made. SPC also shows how the process functions over time so it's possible to monitor the effect of improvements and predict how the process will run in the future, based on how it ran in the past.