Plated through holes (PTH) and vias are structures that interconnect signal circuits at different PCB layers. They are typically categorized as through vias (or PTH), blind vias, and buried vias. Due to the higher I/O density and smaller electronic packages evolving in the past decades, the demand for high density interconnects has increased significantly.
Product lifecycle simulation is an effective tool for determining how long electronics in automotive and other applications will perform before failing. However, there are four distinct categories of electronics with disparate levels of lifetime expectations:
Failure is a possibility with any component on any PCB. In many cases wearout is the culprit, leaving engineers to deal with the aftermath of dissecting what went wrong and possibly re-engineering the component to avoid recurrence.
Nearly one-fifth of electronics designs that are tested fail. That means nearly one-fifth of electronics designs are reworked or scrapped in favor of a new design. The resulting production delays and cost overruns mount, further threatening profitability in an automotive industry that’s already grappling with the margin-shrinking impact of increasing price-based competition.