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Does seem a bit strange, but the original article[1] in German, translated using Google Translate, reads as follows: > “It's definitely a hardware problem. It

by jchw 3y ago

Does seem a bit strange, but the original article[1] in German, translated using Google Translate, reads as follows: > “It's definitely a hardware problem. It is a design and construction weakness . The entire soldering process of the SSD is a problem,” says Häfele. A hard drive has components that need to be soldered to the circuit board. “The soldering material used, i.e. the solder, creates bubbles and therefore breaks more easily.” > “In addition, the components used are far too large for the layout intended on the board,” says Häfele, explaining the technical problems: “As a result, the components are a little higher than the board and the contact with the intended pads is weaker. All it takes is a little something for solder joints to suddenly break.” It sounds like what they're saying is that the solder pads are too small for some of the components. Not sure about what they're saying about the solder though. [1]: https://futurezone.at/produkte/sandisk-ssd-ausfaelle-western-digital-attingo-datenrettung-problem-hardware/402664391 https://futurezone.at/produkte/sandisk-ssd-ausfaelle-western...

jeffbee 3y ago
> It sounds like what they're saying is that the solder pads are too small for some of the components The converse is also possible. Instead of being a design flaw with the pads too small for the component, it could be that a larger component was substituted during manufacturing. Even terrible freeware EDA packages have design rules that will flag improper solder pad layouts, so it seems like what might have happened is the physical part does not resemble its model.
- exmadscientist 3y ago
  > Even terrible freeware EDA packages have design rules that will flag improper solder pad layouts No, they don't. EDA software doesn't really know what size the terminations are. It knows how big the pad itself is, and is very good at keeping those out of trouble, but it doesn't know what size the solderable area is. You might tell it, or give it a 3D model, but make a mistake there and you're right back here. As well, there are so many different kinds of terminations (pop quiz: what kind are these?) that even if it does know what size they are, it doesn't necessarily know what size or shape the pad should be. Also the CM will totally edit this stuff and not tell you. Which they're not supposed to do, and are probably better at if you're a huge customer, but they still do it. EDA sure doesn't know about that.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
exmadscientist 3y ago
> Not sure about what they're saying about the solder though. There's more than one solder alloy in use. There's more than one class of solder alloy in use. Some are easier to use, some are harder to use. Some are high-performance, low-tolerance, some are low-performance, high-tolerance. Some are expensive, some are cheap. The most troublesome family is SnBi. These are relatively new. They have a big "greenwashing" problem in that they solder at lower temperatures, which is "environmentally friendly" (and cheaper to run). Also the base metal is dirt cheap. (Wonder why manufacturers are interested?) It's also very, very brittle. It also happens to be a low-temperature alloy... so it's much easier to get hot enough to desolder during operation. Lots of trouble all around and in general a very high field failure rate. Not recommended... oh wait but it's cheap and greenwashable. Sigh.
- userbinator 3y ago
  I won't ever forget the widespread BGA failures caused by the RoHS-forced switch to lead-free solder. No doubt massive amounts of additional ewaste were created, but at least it's "environmentally friendly" ewaste? Military/aerospace are still exempt and continue to use leaded solder.
  - qiqitori 3y ago
    I don't want to pick a fight, but here's my rando opinion on that: Almost all electronic devices end up as e-waste after a few years. If a couple % fail prematurely, that doesn't create a massive amount of additional ewaste, but rather a _very_ slight increase in e-waste. And it's relatively benign e-waste. You could shred the board and sprinkle it over your field and it wouldn't be a huge problem (* don't take my word on this; there's flux residue and somewhat toxic stuff used in other components, the plastics will probably leak BPA and other stuff, etc.)
  - imtringued 3y ago
    If you are talking about Nvidia's flip chip problems. Those were actually caused by the glue holding the chip onto the substrate, not the solder. The glue expanded at a different rate from the solder balls and caused them to crack. This was especially the case on consoles. People kept reballing and doing other useless repairs that solved the problem by accident by melting the solder balls between the substrate and the silicon chip. Some even managed to remelt the solder balls simply by replacing capacitors, which then made everyone think the capacitors were the problem and everyone swallowed it because replacement capacitors were cheap.

by jchw 3y ago

jeffbee 3y ago

> It sounds like what they're saying is that the solder pads are too small for some of the components The converse is also possible. Instead of being a design flaw with the pads too small for the component, it could be that a larger component was substituted during manufacturing. Even terrible freeware EDA packages have design rules that will flag improper solder pad layouts, so it seems like what might have happened is the physical part does not resemble its model.

exmadscientist 3y ago
> Even terrible freeware EDA packages have design rules that will flag improper solder pad layouts No, they don't. EDA software doesn't really know what size the terminations are. It knows how big the pad itself is, and is very good at keeping those out of trouble, but it doesn't know what size the solderable area is. You might tell it, or give it a 3D model, but make a mistake there and you're right back here. As well, there are so many different kinds of terminations (pop quiz: what kind are these?) that even if it does know what size they are, it doesn't necessarily know what size or shape the pad should be. Also the CM will totally edit this stuff and not tell you. Which they're not supposed to do, and are probably better at if you're a huge customer, but they still do it. EDA sure doesn't know about that.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

exmadscientist 3y ago

> Not sure about what they're saying about the solder though. There's more than one solder alloy in use. There's more than one class of solder alloy in use. Some are easier to use, some are harder to use. Some are high-performance, low-tolerance, some are low-performance, high-tolerance. Some are expensive, some are cheap. The most troublesome family is SnBi. These are relatively new. They have a big "greenwashing" problem in that they solder at lower temperatures, which is "environmentally friendly" (and cheaper to run). Also the base metal is dirt cheap. (Wonder why manufacturers are interested?) It's also very, very brittle. It also happens to be a low-temperature alloy... so it's much easier to get hot enough to desolder during operation. Lots of trouble all around and in general a very high field failure rate. Not recommended... oh wait but it's cheap and greenwashable. Sigh.

userbinator 3y ago
I won't ever forget the widespread BGA failures caused by the RoHS-forced switch to lead-free solder. No doubt massive amounts of additional ewaste were created, but at least it's "environmentally friendly" ewaste? Military/aerospace are still exempt and continue to use leaded solder.
- qiqitori 3y ago
  I don't want to pick a fight, but here's my rando opinion on that: Almost all electronic devices end up as e-waste after a few years. If a couple % fail prematurely, that doesn't create a massive amount of additional ewaste, but rather a _very_ slight increase in e-waste. And it's relatively benign e-waste. You could shred the board and sprinkle it over your field and it wouldn't be a huge problem (* don't take my word on this; there's flux residue and somewhat toxic stuff used in other components, the plastics will probably leak BPA and other stuff, etc.)
- imtringued 3y ago
  If you are talking about Nvidia's flip chip problems. Those were actually caused by the glue holding the chip onto the substrate, not the solder. The glue expanded at a different rate from the solder balls and caused them to crack. This was especially the case on consoles. People kept reballing and doing other useless repairs that solved the problem by accident by melting the solder balls between the substrate and the silicon chip. Some even managed to remelt the solder balls simply by replacing capacitors, which then made everyone think the capacitors were the problem and everyone swallowed it because replacement capacitors were cheap.