Bridging is an unwanted solder connection between neighbouring pads, pins or traces. It shows up on fine-pitch ICs and connectors from excess or slumped paste, misprints, misplaced parts, missing mask dams and, in wave soldering, trailing pins with no solder thieves. AOI and X-ray catch most bridges, and repair is done with flux and solder wick or a drag tip.
Bridging on the TSSOP pins 7 to 9, wick it, and tell the line to wipe the stencil more often.
Also heard as
- solder bridge
- bridge
- solder short
Related terms
Soldermask
Thin polymer coating over a board's copper that leaves pads exposed and keeps solder where it belongs.
Stencil
Thin laser-cut metal sheet used to print solder paste onto board pads before parts are placed.
Wick
Braided copper desoldering ribbon that soaks up molten solder, and the verb for using it.
AOI
Automated optical inspection: camera system that checks boards for missing, shifted or badly soldered parts.