The Reliable HASL PCB Manufacturer in China

PCBMAY – Your HASL PCB Expert

In the PCB industry, the HASL PCB surface finish is known for making solder joints strong and reliable. HASL PCBs also have a reputation for a long product life span.

PCBMay has been manufacturing HASL PCBs safety for an extensive amount of time. In our plant, we make sure that the surface finishing process of all our HASL PCBs is up to industry standards.

• PCBs are properly submerged in an approved molten solder mixture
• Solder thoroughly covers all PCBs’ exposed copper surfaces
• All excess solder eliminated—no residue leftover
• The surface of all PCBs are leveled

Because we have been in the PCB business for over ten years, we have a proven track record. You can trust us to produce for you quality-assured HASL PCBs that fulfill your business requirements. All our PCB products pass IPC standards 2 or 3. In addition, we are UL certified in the US and Canada.

Aside from HASL PCBs, we also surface finish PCBs with ENEPIG, ENIG, Immersion Gold, and Immersion Silver. As for multilayer PCB production, we are capable of making up to 40 layers, thanks to our tireless professional staff.

If you’ve got questions about PCBMay’s high standards, we are open to a third-party audit before committing to a long-term partnership. Truly, we value your business: your success is our success too.

We accept custom orders of your HASL PCB. If you already have designs fabricated, just send us your Gerber files. Engineers who have been with us are experts in their job—they will process your PCB design with great skill.

As for customer service, our sales team is available 24/7 to take your calls. You can call us at your convenient time since our sales staff are on standby. You can also email us or use the chatbox on this website.

Contact PCBMay now!

HASL PCB: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

In printed circuit boards, HASL PCB surface finish is considered one of the most desirable PCB surface finishes. Here, to remove extra solder from circuit boards, heated air is used to melt the tin/lead alloy.

PCBMay has been manufacturing PCB for a long time. HASL PCB is a topic on which we are receiving more and more inquiries lately. We hope that our FAQ guide will provide you with all the information you need.

What Is HASL PCB?

Leveling using hot air is the process of covering the pcb board surface with lead-free tinned solder and then leveling it with hot pressurized gas to generate a coating of copper oxide protective layer on the surface after the solder has dried.

Although HASL delivers anti-oxidation at a cheap cost and quickly, the laborious process results in exceedingly uneven surfaces, it is necessary to ensure that the solder used does not contain lead to conform with RoHS regulations.

HASL was a superior surface finish in PCB. However, the emergence of complicated surface mount technologies has shown its flaws. Manufacturers have just understood its limits.

HASL PCB

What Are The Different Kinds Of HASL PCB?

There are two fundamental varieties of HASL PCB: those that include lead and those that do not. Lead-free circuit boards are often coated using solder, mainly composed of tin, and contain only trace quantities of silver and copper.

Lead-based circuit boards are often covered with eutectic tin-lead solder, either with filler metals, to protect them from corrosion.

However, the great majority of HASL PCBs include high levels of lead and extremely harsh flux chemicals. This can result in a wide variety of health and safety hazards for anyone who deals with HASL in an inadequately controlled environment.

Lead HASL PCB And Lead-Free HASL PCB

What Is The Process Of  HASL Plating On PCB?

HASL (Hot Air Solder Leveling) PCB is a surface treatment for PCB, safeguarded against corrosion. The following steps are involved in HASL plating on PCB:

In HASL, the copper is immersed in molten solder. The surplus solder is then removed, and the surface finish is leveled with a succession of pressurized hot-air knives before the solder hardens and cools completely.

HASL Coating On PCB

This results in a very effective covering that shields the copper from corrosion while simplifying the assembly procedure. Because of these advantages, HASL is among the most widely used contact plating techniques in the world today.

The simple junction created by HASL makes it popular for hand-soldering. Bonding is easy if the soldering composition is near the HASL alloy, and the junction is vital because the metals desire to interact molecularly. HASL’s robust joint makes it appropriate for more significant applications.

You will see in this video how the plating on the HASL PCB is done.

What Are The Materials Used In HASL PCB?

HASL PCB coatings are solder, with a tin-to-lead ratio of roughly 63 percent and lead content of approximately 37 percent. With relatively modest modifications to the process, HASL may likewise be utilized to manufacture PCBs in lead-free form.

When it comes to appearance and use, lead-free HASL is comparable to conventional HASL. Nevertheless, the soldering in this instance has a mixture of 99.3 percent Tin and 0.6 percent Copper.

Composition Of HASL PCB

Is HASL PCB RoHS certified?

According to European Union Directive 2002/95/EC, RoHS is product compliance. When using products compatible with this regulation, be sure that they do not include any of the banned compounds. Lead, mercury, cadmium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) are listed.

Except for HASL, which includes lead, all PCBMay surface treatments are RoHS-compliant. However, lead-free HASL PCB is RoHS compliant.

RoHS Compliant Lead-Free HASL PCB

What Is The Difference Between HASL PCB And ENIG PCB?

There are two primary kinds of surface finishes available on the market. The following are the findings of the HASL vs Enig comparison:

ENIG PCB

• ENIG is a time-consuming and challenging plating process. Hence ensure it is more costly.
• Because it does not employ potentially harmful substances like lead, ENIG is RoHS compliant.
• ENIG is very difficult to repair if damage has been done to it.
• High temperatures are no match for ENIG’s thermal diffusion properties.
• When dealing with plated through holes on your board, ENIG is the better choice.

HASL PCB

• HASL is a simple, low-cost procedure.
• It is impossible to apply HASL coating on RoHS compliant items since it contains Lead and needs particular treatment.
• Reworking a HASL PCB is simple.
• However, HASL can not resist high temperatures, which means faulty circuit boards are likely if you use them.
• Because of this, HASL should not be used while working on a board that has plated-through holes.

What Is The Thickness Of HASL Plating In PCB?

HASL is among the most affordable surface finishes for circuit boards. The average coating thickness ranges from 100 to 1000 µin, with an average fine pitch of 150 to 300 µin.

The coverage on a big area ranges from 15 to 40 inches. On discrete pads, the range is 40-1000 µin, with an average of 80 µin. The board thickness can be as thick as 200 mils, and the panel size can be as large as 24 by 28 inches.

HASL PCB Thickness

What Is The Difference Between HASL PCB And OSP?

The distinction between OSP and HASL PCB are:

OSP PCB

OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative) is a thin anti-tarnish organic coating that manufacturers place over exposed copper. OSP prevents surface oxidation.

OSP forms an organometallic layer on copper before soldering by using a liquid organic chemical. OSP is much more eco-friendly than other standard lead-free surface treatments.

OSP is widespread in the electrical sector because of its simplicity and low cost.

OSP also provides a flat, reworkable surface devoid of lead. OSP surface finishes typically vary from 4 to 24 micro-inches thick (0.024 mils).

OSP PCB

HASL

HASL is the most affordable form of PCB surface treatment available.

It is readily accessible and very cost-effective. It is first immersed in liquid metal to level the board and then flattened using a heated air knife. It is possible to get good results with HASL when employing through-hole or more extensive SMT components.

Nevertheless, this is not the best option if your board has smaller SMT components below 0805 or SOIC. When working with tiny components, the surface may not be entirely level, which might pose complications.

Tin-Lead solder is the most often used kind of solder. This signifies that it does not comply with the RoHS directive. RoHS approves HASL lead-free compared to Lead HASL. For those concerned about the quantity of lead in their products, Lead-Free HASL can be a better option than the standard version.

What Is The Manufacturing Process Of HASL PCB?

HASL is an abbreviation of Hot Air Solder Leveling. HASL is a standard surface treatment for printed circuit boards with a long and illustrious history of success.

The PCB will be immersed in molten material (tin/lead) to achieve the HASL finish. This solder will completely cover all of the copper surfaces that are exposed. Pressurized hot airflow over the surface after the solder is removed from the board surface via air knives. It levels the solder layer and removes any surplus solder from the exposed surface.

HASL produces a solder junction that is very reliable and has a long shelf life. Because of the thickness of the HASL coating, the surface planarity may not be acceptable for fine-pitch components. Tungsten and lead are combined to form the HASL deposit, which is composed of a eutectic mixture.

What Are The Advantages Of HASL PCB?

Whereas the sophistication and components density of a circuit board allows, HASL finish has become the dominating surface finish in the electronics sector. The procedure involves submerging the pcb in a molten Tin-Lead alloy (solder). Some of the benefits of HASL PCB are:

• By blasting thin hot air over the board, air knives remove superfluous solder.
• For Lead-free boards, producers use a non-lead molten alloy. This highlights any possible delamination concerns far before the installation of any pricey part on the board.
• The HASL coating has a long shelf life and makes the board reworkable.
• The components are readily accessible, and the technique is straightforward.
• They are also inexpensive, which is a bonus.

What Are The Limitations Of HASL PCB?

Even though the list of advantages is enormous such as providing a low-cost and corrosion-free surface finish, HASL PCBs have some limitations. The list is as follows:

• The surface is not even.
• HASL with lead violates the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Act.
• HASL PCB process at a high temperature (about 260-270 degrees Celsius).

Uneven PCB Surface

What Are The Factors To Consider When Using An HASL PCB?

HASL PCB is challenging to produce. Minor mistakes can affect your PCB in the long term. So you should check out the factors so you can choose the absolute best HASL PCB for your device.

In the case of lead-free HASL, you may first pick it for its cost-effectiveness and the RoHS compliance, but you may subsequently discover that it lacks coplanarity when opposed to other finishing techniques.

When researching the different PCB surface treatments, it is essential to keep the following considerations in mind.

Price

The sort of surface finishing you pick has an impact on how much money you spend on it. The pricing is influenced by the finish quality as well. Even while HASL PCB  finishes are less expensive than ENIG kinds, they may not match the exact quality requirements that you want.

The cost of producing the board component will also be taken into consideration. PCBs for businesses such as consumer electronics are far less expensive to produce than PCBs for other industries, allowing you to use more costly finishes to get higher-quality outcomes.

The Amount of Material

The amount of production you have may significantly influence the kind of surface modification you employ. If you are working with a small quantity, it may be preferable to use a finish such as immersion silver.

In the case of an immersion tin surface finish, the tarnishing will commence immediately after the finish is applied to the copper printed circuit board. Using a large amount of PCBs, on the other hand, may help you prevent tarnishing.

Make-up

Processes such as HASL as well as OSP generally have higher visual appeal than ENIG, which is another factor that might impact your decision on which kind of process to choose.

Do you need a gleaming surface that is less vulnerable to creep corrosion, whiskers, and other related problems? You may wish to avoid working with materials such as silver or tin and instead go for alternatives that are less prone to cause severe corrosion.

Corroded PCB

What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Lead-Free HASL PCB?

Like conventional HASL, but without the lead… It does not utilize tin-lead.

You can use it instead of Tin-Copper-Nickel Germanium. The lead-free HASL is also RoHS compliant. But, like HASL, it is not suitable for tiny parts.

Immersion coatings are ideal for circuits with smaller parts. They are a little more pricey but better suited. The advantages and disadvantages of lead-free HASL PCB are as follows:

Advantages:

• Good solderability
• Low-cost
• Larger processing window
• Excursions thermals

Disadvantages:

• The distinction in pad thickness and topography
• 260-270°C processing temperature
• Not suitable for 20 mils SMD & BGA
• Fine pitch bridging

HASL PCB Fine Pitch

What Are The Soldering Issues Of HASL PCB?

Over several decades, HASL coating has been among the most durable finishes available. After cleaning and applying flux to bare circuit boards, the boards are dumped into a lead-free or lead solder pot, where the excess solder is blown out.

To facilitate soldering, HASL pads are pre-formed with intermetallic, thus reflowing the solder is required to complete the operation.

But there are several downsides to HASL finishes, including a loss of uniformity on the pads as well as a scarcity of high-quality HASL finishes, that must be considered.

Two important failure mechanisms for HASL joints have been identified with extensive expertise with long-term solder joint failure studies.

Solder joint fracture caused an electrical opening due to inadequate wetting of solder to HASL surface integrity on PCB plates during soldering.

Meanwhile, numerous standard solder joint failure scenarios were utilized to demonstrate how the two different types of failure mechanisms manifested themselves. The features of the HASL surfaces and the crack in the solder junctions were revealed using a metallography lens and a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

HASL PCB Soldering Issues

EDX analysis was used to identify the chemical compositions of the HASL pad surfaces. The low-quality HASL finishes, which resulted in poor solderability, are the underlying cause of the poor wetting performance.

It was challenging to moisten exposed copper-tin IMC on the faces of HASL coatings during reflow because it oxidized. When a solder joint cracks, it is because the integrity of the solder joints was insufficient to sustain the overstress that caused the fracture.

How Does HASL PCB Get Oxidized?

Oxidation occurs when the alloys in the pads react with oxygen and moisture. In other words, oxidation is synonymous with Rust. PCB pads oxidize when they are left unprotected or open for an extended period, just the way our automobiles rust when the protective coatings have been removed.

Also possible is the presence of contamination. Oil and debris can be transferred to the pads by the operators if they contact them with their bare fingers.

When pads get oxidized and polluted, cleaning them thoroughly is the best method to get them back in working order.

To prevent oxidation, treat the boards with care, which is decided by the kind of finish on the pads on the boards in question. Some circuit board surfaces are more tolerant than others, depending on the board finish.

For instance, HASL PCB can withstand higher levels of exposure for a prolonged time than OSP or gold-plated pads.

Oxidized PCB

No matter what kind of board surface you are using, there are a few measures you can do to prolong the lifespan of the board surface you are now employing.

• Before using the boards, keep them wrapped in vacuum-sealed containers with desiccant until you can utilize them.
• Once the boards have been assembled, the double-sided boards are processed via a bottom-side approach, after which they are piled in racks and completely unprotected for many days, if not weeks, before being recycled. Those boards will oxidize, regardless of the kind of board coating that was used.
• Whenever possible, utilize a “dry box” while opening and storing the boards.
• Handling the boards as few as possible is recommended.
• Do not use your bare fingers to contact the solderable surfaces. Gloves that are changed regularly can help to keep contamination away from soldered surfaces.

What Is The HASL PCB Shelf Life?

Shelf life is the period a product can be kept before it loses its use, consumption, or value. HASL PCB has a high shelf life, which allows it to be stored for an extended period. PCB has a shelf life of around 12 months on average. According to the kind of material used in HASL PCB, the shelf life might differ.

Where OSP, Immersion Silver PCB, and other surface finishes PCB have a shelf life of six months or less, HASL PCB has one year or more.

HASL PCB Shelf Life

What Are The Best Practises For Working With HASL PCB?

Every business has its must-have actions or notions. Aside from requirements, there are issues about life quality and safety. Industry best practices are based on design ideas and procedures. In HASL PCB, such concepts include:

Grid spacing

A PCB with many grids is much more likely to fail. Working on several grid shapes may appear intriguing. Making your HASL PCB the same polygon helps eliminate spacing difficulties.

As vital as form, adhering to spacing requirements prevents shortness. It also reduces EMI concerns.

HASL PCB Grid Spacing

Label Silkscreen

Amongst the most critical PCB practices has nothing to do with function. In designing traces, component placement, grids, and grouping, you must also consider silkscreening. Silkscreening simplifies manufacturing, user interface, testing, service, and engineering.

With proper silk screening techniques, you may improve your life and the lives of others. Though concealed behind components, silkscreen markings did their job nicely.

Surprisingly, when naming your silkscreen surface, you can discover design defects you had not anticipated. Using silkscreen on both ends of the HASL PCB speeds up manufacturing.

Ground and Power Planes

Power planes are flat copper plates linked to the power source. The ground plane also has a power supply ground connector. These two planes are required to charge and connect your PCB design.

Power planes offer three huge architectural returns. They enhance circuit decoupling and current carrying capacity. Heat and current are limited in traces. Their smaller size implies less heat buildup and hence better resistance.

PCB Design Tools

It is also critical to have good HASL PCB design software. Beginners may often locate free software versions. Professionals must utilize industry-standard software.

How To Choose The Best HASL PCB Manufacturer In China?

One of the considerations taken during the design process of a pcb in China is the surface treatment to use. There is no “optimal” HASL PCB board polish, and each has benefits and drawbacks. Choosing a surface quality is a tradeoff that best matches the intended usage.

Maintain a Timeline

You probably want to choose a HASL PCB assembly firm swiftly to get your project going, deliver your product to clients, and optimize profit while reducing costs. However, skipping this vital step might result in time lost rather than gained. Take your time to fully comprehend a company’s offerings before committing to a partnership.

Consider Expertise

You should also engage with a supplier that has expertise with your project.

• Do they have expertise with surface-mount, through-hole, or both technologies?
• How big are their batch sizes?
• What items and components did they assemble?
• Which industries did they serve?
• What else do they do?

Rank Quality

When selecting a PCB assembly partner, make sure the end output is of good quality. It is tough to judge quality until you have seen the result, but there are strategies. Make your initial purchase with a new firm a prototype or short run, then order a more extensive run if you like the results.

PCB Quality Check

Examine Their Test Options

Whenever a PCB assembly company works with you, they should provide testing services. A failure may cost you time, money and ruin your reputation. Ask about testing possibilities before partnering with a firm.

Look for organizations with extensive testing and quality control methods. They should give both visual and more in-depth assessments.

Inquire About Customer Service

Customer service is as important as technical expertise and product excellence. If an issue arises, you want a company that will quickly resolve it. You can generally tell a lot about a company’s customer service merely by chatting to its staff. Note their helpfulness, knowledge, and courtesy, as well as their response time.

Price Check

Cost is often a factor. You want to maximize value while minimizing cost to enhance your bottom line while giving excellent items to your consumers.

Conclusion

HASL PCB is a more complex kind of surface finish to work with. As a result, HASL PCB is in high demand all over the globe.

PCBMay manufactures low-cost HASL PCBs while keeping the highest levels of quality available in China. It is our pleasure to serve as your resource for procuring a HASL PCB for your next project.