Average Temperature/Humidity for an Electronics Assembly Facility?

I'm the Production Manager for a contract manufacturer. We do mostly thru-hole circuit boards and limited SMT with the small pick and place we have.

In the summer time the humidity reaches 85 to 95% and the temperature runs 78 to 82 degrees inside the building. I say it should be cool and dry-but the President doesn't think there's a temperature or humidity problem. I know there is.

What should the average temperature and humidity level be in an electronic assembly and manufacturing facility?

S.H.

Expert Panel Responses

Of course, it is best to have a temperature and humidity controlled environment for any electronics assembly environment. Ideally, the temperature would be in the range of 70-77 F and the relative humidity would remain in the range of 35-65%. The question really comes down to a cost-benefit analysis based on the facts in your particular case.

Lack of humidity and temperature control can influence defect levels in wave soldering and SMT applications. Of these two processes, the one that is more susceptible to added defect levels is probably the SMT process, based on the materials and components that are used in this area. Lack of temperature and humidity control can have the following effects on the SMT process (among others):

•Low humidity: Solder paste solvent evaporates quicker than expected, causing the paste to dry out. This creates poor release from stencils and insufficient solder joint defects.

•Low temperature: Paste viscosity increases, creating poor printing behavior (rolling, release, etc.). This can cause insufficient solder joint defects.

•High humidity: Solder paste accepts water and may begin to slump, creating additional bridging defects. Solder paste accepts water and may exhibit poor coalescence, resulting in solderballing defects. Moisture-sensitive components stored in this area will have shorter shelf life, possibly creating defects and/or damage to the components during processing. Excess water absorbed by the entire system (boards, components, paste) can out-gas during reflow and increase the size and incidence of voiding underneath BGA components.

•High temperature: Solder paste viscosity decreases, possibly creating an excess of paste smearing, slumping, etc. This can cause bridging or solderballing defects. Higher temperatures in the factory induce extra oxidation of solder, boards and components prior to soldering, meaning that solderability can be compromised with higher factory temperatures.

It's worth noting that some solder pastes have wider operating windows than others. If controlling the environment is not an option, selecting a more forgiving material may help improve soldering results.

Given all of this, the company needs to determine the cost of upgrading the temperature and humidity control versus the costs that could be saved by reducing the defect levels. Also, what amount of additional business would your company have a better chance of capturing within the EMS market if your factory exhibited better environmental control?

In most cases, I advise companies to take control over the environment rather than operate in extreme temperature and humidity conditions -- this is certainly the best strategy from a defect reduction standpoint. However, the decision in your company would still need to be analyzed from a cost-benefit approach given your defect levels, type of boards being assembled, customer expectations and other factors.

Brian Smith
General Manager - Electronic Assembly Americas
DEK International

Mr. Smith has been supporting customers in the electronics assembly industry since 1994. His expertise is focused on solder paste printing and reducing soldering defects. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Marketing. He has authored several papers in trade magazines and at industry conferences. He is an SMTA Certified Process Engineer.

Most electronics manufacturers I know of aim to keep the temperature in the 15C (59F) to 25C (77F) range, with humidity in the 40-70% range to be a) ESD safer and b) more comfortable to your operators.

Ideally, the fluctuation in temperature should be as small as possible - temperature affects the properties of most liquids... including solder paste, adhesives and conformal coatings to name but a few - the bigger the swing, the greater the difference in behavior, the more time you spend playing with equipment parameters... And time is money after all.

Phil Kinner
Global Business Director conformal coatings division
Electrolube

Phil Kinner - Electrolube - Global Business Director conformal coatings division.

Humidity levels should be maintained around 60%RH. Too low and you have ESD issues (think winter time). Too high and you have issues with lifetime of solder paste on the screen and increased potential of popcorning.

Temperature levels can be slightly above controlled conditions, so I would say 74-78 is an acceptable range. As someone who assess EMS providers for a living, I would not recommend an EMS shop to my clients that does not have some level of climate control.

Dr. Craig D. Hillman
CEO & Managing Partner
DfR Solutions

Dr. Hillman's specialties include best practices in Design for Reliability, strategies for transitioning to Pb-free, supplier qualification, passive component technology and printed board failure mechanisms.

Typically in the normal human comfort zone. 68-75 degrees F with a Relative Humidity of 45-55%.

Edward Zamborsky
Regional Sales Manager
OK International Inc.

Ed Zamborsky is a Regional Sales & Technical Support Manager for Thermaltronics, located in New York. His position requires frequent customer visits throughout North America and the Caribbean and his position encompasses not only sales but the role of trainer and master applications engineer for all of Thermaltronics products. His expertise includes such specialties as hand soldering, convection and conduction reflow techniques, array rework, fluid dispensing equipment, and fume extraction. Ed has authored many articles and has presented many papers on topics such as; Low Volume SMT Assembly, Solder Fume Extraction, SMT Rework, BGA Rework, Lead-Free Hand Soldering, High Thermal Demand Hand Soldering, Lead Free Visual Inspection and Lead Free Array Rework.

Both temperature and humidity affect the workers comfort, equipment and the process. High temperatures can make equipment run hotter which can cause failures and of course make people uncomfortable.

The humidity however not only makes the people uncomfortable but causes problems with the solder paste, SMT glue and the circuit boards will absorb the moisture which will lead to blow holes during wave soldering. The temperature should be kept at 74 - 78 F and the humidity between 45 and 60%.

Greg Hueste
Senior Applications Engineer
Speedline Technologies

Greg joined Electrovert in February 1984. Based out of the Electrovert applications laboratory in Camdenton Missouri, Greg has been in the process applications support role since 2000. His primary responsibilities include providing process and machine applications support for the wave soldering lines as well as process, machine and operations training. He also provides applications support for the reflow and cleaner lines. Greg is a PBET certified trainer and holds two patents on wave solder nozzle design.

In addition to the issues mentioned by the experts on this subject, there may be requirements, if your company is attempting to meet industry standards. Specifically, J-Std-001 section 3.6.2, "Temperature and Humidity." It suggests 18°C (64°F) to 30°C (80°F) and humidity 30% to 70%. It also indicates that this range may be tighter and indeed considered a "defect," depending on the "class" you are wanting to meet.

Paul Austen
Senior Project Engineer
Electronic Controls Design Inc

Paul been with Electronic Controls Design Inc. (ECD) in Milwaukie, Oregon for over 39 years as a Senior Project Engineer. He has seen and worked with the electronic manufacturing industry from many points of view, including: technician, engineer, manufacture, and customer. His focus has been the design and application of measurement tools used to improve manufacturing thermal processes and well as moisture sensitive component storage solutions.

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