Feature: PCBs
ChatGPT’s answers to assembly failures
By Ray Rasmussen, Managing Partner, The Occam Group I
was recently playing around with ChatGPT (Chat), the artifi cial intelligence (AI) program that seems to have taken the world by storm. Since its launch, Google and Microsoſt have also rushed to
the market with their AI off erings. Following a few basic questions, I
wondered how Chat could do with industry-specifi c topics. At Occam we’re introducing a solderless component assembly system, so I wanted to check AI’s ‘thoughts’ on the reliability challenges facing the electronics industry. I wondered if Chat could logically identify a major cause of failure in assemblies and off er a solution. I started out with a few ‘big picture’ questions, then narrowed the focus. Here’s what happened:
Q: What are the primary causes of failure in electronic products? A: “T e primary causes of failure in electronic products can vary depending
on the type of product and its application, but some common causes include: • Environmental factors: Exposure to extreme temperatures, humidity, moisture and vibration, which can cause electronic components to fail.
• Electrical stress: Overvoltage, overcurrent and electrostatic discharge, which can cause electrical stress on components, leading to failure.
• Mechanical stress: Shock, vibration or bending can lead to failure.
• Wear and tear: Over time, components may degrade or wear out, leading to failure.
• Manufacturing defects: Defects introduced during the manufacturing process, such as contamination, soldering defects and incorrect assembly, can cause failures.
• Design fl aws: Inadequate design or design fl aws such as improper thermal management, insuffi cient power supply and inadequate protection can lead to failures.
32 October 2023
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
• Soſt ware and fi rmware errors: Errors in soſt ware and fi rmware can cause electronic products to malfunction or fail.
• Environmental hazards: Exposure to chemicals, radiation or other environmental hazards can cause electronic components to fail.” Overall, no surprises. T e answers
made sense and people in the industry would agree for the most part. However, I do want to point out that
over a third of the failures listed by Chat actually relate to solder. So, I reformulated my question to see if I could narrow this down a bit:
Q: What is the number one cause of failure in an electronic product? A: “It’s diffi cult to pinpoint a single top cause of failure in electronic products, as it depends on various factors, such as the specifi c product, its components and its usage environment. However, heat-
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