×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Shorted components

Shorted components

Shorted components

(OP)
I have no circuit design experience and have a manufacturing/mechanical background, so this question may sound stupid. Is it common practice(or done at all) to design a board so that two components are shorted(on purpose)? Or is this most definitely a manufacturing error?
The components on the board are positioned so close together it leads me to believe that this might be intentional.
Also we returned the board to the vendor for a functional issue(we determined the board caused our system to malfunction) and the vendor returned the board to us,saying no problem found. If this was an error, it would seem this would be the first thing the vendor would check if the design was for no short(since the components are placed so close, it seems that this has to happen all the time).

RE: Shorted components

(OP)
I wish to add, that I don't have the print for the circuit.

RE: Shorted components

Any sign of damage to the components due to shorting (heat/melt/black/smell)?
Did you point out this potential fault to them? In person? With the board in your hand?
Did you try to get the guy to admit "gee they ARE close together"?
Do you know what the components are? Shorting a resistor has a different effect from shorting a diode or capacitor.
Just because they can do one test that finds no fault, doesn't mean that you won't put in service that can't cause a fault.

STF

RE: Shorted components

Might need to clarify what you mean by "shorted". The way you describe it, the components just sound like they're connected in parallel. Are they side-by-side, both two-terminal components? That would be a parallel connection which is very common between a resistor and capacitor, for example. Maybe post a photo - as far as you've described it, it doesn't seem unusual.

If a board were returned to us with a functional error, we'd test for that function. Hunting for shorts would be less reliable. Components can happily live very close together, if they were designed to operate that way.

RE: Shorted components

(OP)
I will post a photo when I have the board in front of me.

RE: Shorted components

So... do you have a schematic/netlist to check against?
Did this "vendor" design/layout the board for you? or are they just a board assembly house?
Why are you involved in this?
Where is the EE/board designer?

RE: Shorted components

Resistors may be shorted on some boards. This is a cheap way to adjust some boards or have multiple uses. A trace between the two components can then be cut when added resistance is needed.

RE: Shorted components

If you are shorting them by placing them close together (i.e., the leads are touching), this is most definitely a board design or manufacturing issue. Shorted traces that are later cut have already been mentioned, and these are "legal"... but poor component placement can be a problem for a few reasons. One would be an overworked PCB design guy and an overworked QA department... another might be EOL component replacement with larger/differently-shaped components.

Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

RE: Shorted components

We should wait and see the photo, but as OperaHouse mentioned --

It's old technology, but some of the products I deal with still have traces that are to be cut or bridged to configure a permanent parameter.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources