Are You a PCB Design Expert? Test Your Knowledge with This Quiz!
Quizzee Rascal
Created 6/20/2024

Think you know all there is to know about PCB design? Put your skills to the test with this tricky quiz and find out how many gotchas you can avoid!
1. What is a common cause of PCB failure related to poorly manufactured components?
Improperly insulated tracks
Cold soldering
Incorrect drill speeds
Physical damage and connection issues
2. What defect occurs due to a technician not heating the solder enough?
Tombstoning
Plating voids
Cold soldering
Copper corrosion
3. What environmental factor can cause corrosion, rust, and oxidation in PCBs?
Excess moisture
High voltage
High frequency signals
Electromagnetic interference
4. What are 'slivers' in the context of PCB manufacturing?
Narrow wedges of copper or solder mask
Excessive flux residues
Incorrectly placed components
Insufficient solder paste
5. What does a Design for Manufacturability (DFM) check aim to catch?
Insufficient copper-to-edge clearance
Incorrect BOM components
Design layout conformity
All of the above
6. What is a common PCB issue caused by temperature changes?
Electromagnetic interference
Ground loops
Soldering joints and board damage
Acid traps
7. Which of the following can clog a PCB and cause it to overheat?
Incorrect drill hits
Dust buildup
Cold solder joints
Chemical residues
8. What problem do 'starved thermals' in a PCB usually indicate?
Poor component quality
Insufficient thermal relief in soldering pads
Excessive hole tolerances
Bad mask alignment
9. Which defect can be caused by poorly cleaned materials after drilling?
Acid traps
Shadowing
Tombstoning
Residual flux
10. Why is residual flux on a PCB harmful?
It causes physical damage
It disrupts solder mask alignment
It leads to major damage requiring repairs
It adds unnecessary weight
11. What problem can be caused by incorrectly set solder mask settings?
Plating voids
Bad soldering
Electromagnetic interference
Open circuits
12. What is a common issue that a thorough DFM check usually catches?
Acid traps
Open circuits
Insufficient copper-to-edge clearance
All of the above
13. What issue does poor soldering often lead to in PCB design?
Cold solder joints
Excessive flux residues
Over-heating components
All of the above
14. What defect occurs when copper is too close to the edge of the board?
Bad soldering
Cold solder joints
Insufficient copper-to-edge clearance
Tombstoning
15. What can cause a short circuit in a PCB?
Incorrect thermal relief
Exposed copper making contact with conductive material
Residual flux
Dust buildup