So what exactly is BGA?
Ball grid array, or BGA for short, is utilized for packaging integrated circuits and is a kind of surface mount technology, (SMT for short). BGA is comprised of a large amount of circuits which overlap – there could even be a million or so of these within the BGA. The components of a BGA come in many different sizes and formations. A ball grid array has great qualities such as not being particularly inductive, being very dense and also having a rather elevated lead count.
Ball grid array is derived from PGA or pin grid array technology. The basic concept is that there is a grid of balls of solder / leads which conduct the electrical signals from the circuit board which is integrated. However where the ball grid array differs from pin grid array is in so far as the method of conductivity, solder balls as opposed to pins. These solder balls are put on the PCB which stands for printed circuit board. The PCB works by way of printed wires which conduct electricity.
Ball grid array is far better in a practical way than the pin grid array as with this type of alignment, the many many pins make soldering extremely difficult. The solder balls used within BGA are far easier to work with die to the fact that they can be spaced evenly whilst soldering so that they don’t fuse together. All BGA’s are known by the amount of sockets they have. For example a BGA 441 has 441 sockets.
What Is A BGA Stencil?
A BGA stencil is one which is flexible and which can handle temperatures of up to and including 350 °C. This is extremely useful as often electronics will heat up a great deal whilst they are in use. The BGA stencil sits in between the PCB and the BGA chip in order to help line it up. This also serves the purpose of not allowing any solder balls to join up.
There are many advantages of using BGA Stencils as they can be left completely in place which is impossible to do with a plain steel stencil. Furthermore using a BGA stencil is time saving as it makes BGA reflowing and reballing far more accurate and easy too. Labor time is significantly reduced when using this type of stencil and it is ideal for making a few products or even for creating a prototype amongst other things.
BGA chips are used in all manner of electronics, most commonly to facilitate electricity to flow between a computer processor and motherboard. BGA stencils are by far the component of choice when repairing or building a machine.
When you are searching for BGA Stencils, you can be assured that Soldertools.net can help you. With a full range of “how to” videos as well as an expensive array of parts and components, a visit to the site is very worthwhile and could save you carrying out lots of trial and error repairs.
