Despite the fact that appropriate design precautions and materialsselection procedures are implemented to ensure the safety of printedcircuit board equipment, fires, though rare, can and do occur. Designand manufacture for ultimate product safety reflects the fundamentalaspects of the quality process and minimization of the potential forfire during failure requires a high level of appreciation for howdesign, materials and manufacturing combine to determine productreliability. It is therefore important that equipment designers,manufacturers and component vendors understand the general mechanisms offires in printed wiring board (PWB) products and further determine howcircuit design and materials selection impact the flammability of PWBproducts. In this paper the author reviews the impact which printedcircuit board laminates, solder masks and design rules have on theinitiation and propagation of fires in electronic equipment as derivedfrom experimental observations. General recommendations for minimizingthe potential for fires in electronic equipment are presented
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