Save Time and Money with BGA Rework or Repair

Material constraints continue to be one of the biggest issues facing electronics industry OEMs. The engineering team at SigmaTron’s Union City (UC), CA facility is helping address that challenge with its BGA rework/reballing services. This whitepaper looks at the rework and reballing process and discusses typical project composition.

There are two key reasons to consider a rework or reballing process:

• Cost – BGA reballing provides a high quality solution in cases where high dollar, salvageable components could be reused instead of scrapped. The process can also be used to rework packages other than BGAs.
• Availability – Reballed or reworked units meeting the customer’s requirement can be delivered within days to weeks.

Read the full whitepaper here.

Capabilities Spotlight: BGA Rework/Reballing Services

Empty shelves are every product manager’s worst nightmare. The engineering team at SigmaTron International’s Union City, CA facility is helping companies avoid that outcome with its rework/reballing services.

The capability was originally developed in 1996 to address situations where high dollar, salvageable components could be reused. With lengthening component lead-times, the service has gained popularity as companies utilize this option to keep products with component availability issues in stock. The decision point for many customers is pretty simple. Wait 90 weeks for a new component or have a reballed unit that meets the requirements in 6-8 weeks?

The team provides multiple service options:

• Interposer – where a part such as a QFN is converted to a BGA and either installed on a customer’s printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) or shipped to a vendor as a component
• Rework – where working high dollar parts such as FPGAs are removed from scrap PCBAs for reuse
• PCBA upgrade – where a BGA is replaced on an older revision PCBA, enabling the PCBA’s functionality to be upgraded with minimal need for new components.

Each project is unique. The UC team reviews the customer’s requirements and develops appropriate tooling and processes which meet those requirements. There are four stations for BGA removal and reballing. Reballed components are placed utilizing SigmaTron’s regular SMT lines. The facility’s 5D x-ray laminography equipment helps validate the process parameters and inspect finished units for acceptable solder joint structural integrity. While industry-standards are used in developing each process and units are inspected to IPC-A-610 or J-Std-0001, process development also considers the unique constraints associated with each project.

For more information contact: curtis.campbell@sigmatronintl.com.

SigmaTron Source Q2 2022

This quarter’s issue of the SigmaTron Source looks at the Union City, CA team’s BGA rework/reballing services and Industry 4.0 enhancements to the Tijuana, Mexico facility’s production lines. Links to SigmaTron’s latest whitepapers are also provided. Read the full issue here.