AN103 - HAND SOLDERING LARGE RADIAL LEADED CERAMIC CAPACITORS

High Voltage Ceramic Capacitors are typically larger components requiring additional handling and care when soldering onto a board or making sub-assemblies.  Due to the nature of the larger mass of ceramic materials, care and considerations should be given to avoid Thermal shock of the component.

Application Note 103 is intended for Manufacturing engineers and Technicians to help understand general guidelines and protocols for proper soldering techniques. Additional Application Notes are located on our web site for other types of soldering techniques such as Wave solder, Infrared, etc.

Handling Ceramic Capacitors - Application Note 112

There are a number of reasons Ceramic Capacitors are used in a variety of applications, but the care and handling of any electronic component are critical.  Proper handling guarantees the performance and long term reliability of the capacitor.  High Voltage Ceramic Capacitors offered by CalRamic Technologies, are typically larger than most found in the low voltage industry, which is attributed to the voltage design requirements.  These types of larger ceramic capacitors require proper handling to eliminate any thermal and Mechanical  stresses that may occur.

Ceramic capacitors are complex mechanical structures that can be easily damaged or contaminated if they are not handled with care. Undesirable results can occur through a multitude of circumstances and although the majority of issues may be obvious and addressed through intended inspection protocols and cleaning techniques, a small percentage may escape detection and may represent a latent failure condition that may not be evident until sometime after the part / system is out in the field. CalRamic Application Note 112 is intended to provide general guidelines for handling of ceramic capacitors. It reviews the importance of basic handling techniques and provides recommendations that when followed, will help to prevent associated problems from occurring.

CalRamic Rep at Del Mar Electronics Show

Our Southern California Sales Rep, Paul Quigley from Wes-K, will be available to answer your high voltage ceramic capacitor technical questions during the Del Mar Electronics and Design Show.  A full display of our products will be available May 4th and 5th at Booth #452.

Also, present will be our Partner Company, Voltage Multipliers Inc; manufacturers of high voltage diodes and power supplies. 

Our next show will be in San Francisco, July 5-9, at the IEEE 2016 International Power Modulator and High Voltage Conference.

If you have any questions regarding in-stock and custom designed hv ceramic capacitors do not hesitate to call or email us.

Jayson Coffman: CalRamic Employee Recognition

Jeff Day, CalRamic founder, and Press Technician, Jayson Coffman, perform quality control on recently pressed ceramic capacitors.

During a routine service on our Dorst America compaction press our Press Technician, Jayson, suggested we use a new technique to increase output in our current press operations.  Nearly 1-million components pass through the compaction press each year.   Jayson’s initiative and creativity has resulted in a 28% output increase, which helps CalRamic guarantee quick and efficient production times.

CalRamic HV Ceramic Capacitor Educational Series 109-6

Testing / Screening Requirements

Ceramic capacitors are considered to be highly reliable, effective components, which offer a number of advantages compared to other capacitor technologies and as such are often employed in a wide variety of extremely demanding applications. That said, like all manufacturing environments, there tends to be a certain amount of variation inherent to the process that will result in differences in the performance characteristics of each device. In truth, even though a lot of capacitors may have been manufactured at precisely the same time, using the same batch of material, tooling and equipment, no two capacitors within that lot are “exactly” the same. Fortunately their differences tend to be inconsequential and certainly well within the acceptable limits of the system or application for which they are intended.

So if manufacturing operations for ceramic capacitors tend to produce highly consistent results, why test at all? There are in fact several reasons, not the least of which would be to ensure that the theoretical design meets customer expectations. In addition, it is important to ensure that some unintended process variable has not inadvertently been introduced to the system, which could alter the anticipated result. Testing also provides confirmation that the materials used to manufacture the capacitor are within specification and that the equipment will operate properly.


The complete application note can be read at: http://calramic.com/Design/Assets/PDF_files/AN109-6.pdf

The entire series can be viewed on our web site at www.calramic.com.

CalRamic HV Ceramic Capacitor Educational Series 109-5

Performance Characteristics

The following Application Note defines the various characteristics that affect performance of the capacitor. Information provided here will give the reader an appreciation for how a capacitor may behave when operated within their intended operating environment. Topics covered include:

• Capacitor Equivalent Circuit page 1
• Equivalent Series Resistance page 2
• Dissipation Factor page 2
• Quality Factor page 3
• Equivalent Series Inductance page 3
• Impedance page 3
• Insulation Resistance page 5
• Working Voltage page 7
• Dielectric Strength page 8
• Aging page 8
• Temperature Coefficient page 9
• Voltage Coefficient page 11
• Voltage – Temperature Coefficient page 12
• Dielectric Absorption page 13
• Piezoelectric materials / Electro-Mechanical Coupling page 13

The complete application note can be read at: http://calramic.com/Design/Assets/PDF_files/AN109-5.pdf

The entire series can be viewed on our web site at www.calramic.com.