A Systematic Analysis of Printed Circuit Boards Bending during In-Circuit Tests

When performing In-Circuit Tests (ICTs) of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), there are certain phenomena related with strain analysis that must be known in order to obtain stronger and more accurate testing results. During testing, PCBs are often subjected to mechanical bending efforts that induce excessive strain. This study focuses on the building of a Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) methodology that prevents excessive bending strain in critical points of a PCB during an ICT. To validate this methodology, a set of experimental tests, matched with a set of FEA, were carried out. Thus, companies, before the development of an ICT machine (fixture), will be able to use this FEA methodology to predict whether the maximum strain of a PCB under study, when subjected to its ICT, will damage it, thus reducing unnecessary production costs. A guideline was thus designed to enable the creation of the most representative Finite Elements Model (FEM) for any PCB, based on its amount and direction of copper traces.