Product failure analysis

In many laboratories, MALDI-MS has become a routine tool for polymer characterization. This is evident from an increasing number of pubUcations in polymer Uterature (i.e., Macromolecules) which indicate the use of MALDI-MS as a tool for characterizing newly grafted or synthesized polymers. In an industry deaUng with polymeric materials, MALDI-MS is often combined with other analytical techniques to provide detailed analyzes of a polymeric system. In some cases, MALDI-MS is the only technique that can provide the information required to solve a practical problem. One example is in the area of product failure analysis... 

Product failure analysis is a complex subject. It is though comparatively easy to establish the main reason of product failure. However, when changes in the product are required to avoid the problem, several possibilities exist choice of material, type of grade, product design, mould design, processing parameters and service conditions. Any change in one aspect or property of the material would, on many occasions, lead to compromise on another aspect of the product performance. Hence, careful consideration of different possibilities is required. 

Most standards that define acceptability have roots traceable to the various Department of Defense (DoD) military standards established in the 1960s and 1970s. The advent of complex electronics systems required a standardized approach to acceptability based on lessons learned through testing and product failure analysis that was accomplished by laboratory or research activities. The resulting definitions for acceptance became very restrictive, and although the requirements were initially intended only for harsh environment exposure or products that have a significant consequence for failure, they were used successfully to increase performance of all soldered electronic assemblies. Most commercial production did... 

The most useful application of ISS is in the detection and identification of sur-fece contamination, which is one of the major causes of product failures and problems in product development. The surface composition of a solid material is almost always different than its bulk. Therefore, surface chemistry is usually the study of unknown surfaces of solid materials. To better understand the concept of surface analysis, which is used very loosely among many scientists, we must first establish a definition for that term. This is particularly Important when considering ISS... 

However, if suppliers data were to be applied without a complete analysis of the test data for each property, the result could prove costly and embarrassing. The nature of plastic materials is such that an oversight of even a small detail in its properties or the method by which they were derived could result in problems and product failure. 

The process of analyzing designs includes the modes of failure analysis. At an early stage the designer should try to anticipate how and where a design is most likely to fail. A few examples of potential problems due to loading conditions on products are reviewed. 

There is the microtoming optical analysis test. In this procedure thin slices (under 30 tixri) of the plastics are cut from the product at any level and microscopically examined under polarized light transmitted through the sample. Rapid quality and failure analysis examination occurs by this technique. This technique has been used for many years in biological studies and by metallurgists to determine flaws, physical and mechanical properties. Examination can be related to stress patterns, mechanical properties, etc. 

Section C Failure analysis 2.3.1 Case study Cl Medical products... 

I need to emphasize that this company didn t ever put failures like these aside, by blaming either their admittedly overworked and underpaid production staff, or the humidity, or a random bad part, or even the Gods. They were invariably known to send every failed part to their respective vendors for an immediate failure analysis report. Call them paranoid if you... 

Tensile testing or a hardness test is a basic requirement of most metal specifications. Some product specifications also require impact-testing, bend and other ductility tests, proof testing, flange or flare tests. The size of the sample may limit which tests can be performed. Macro, superficial, and micro-hardness tests are routinely done in failure analysis even if the original product specification did not require them. 

Similarly, the use of a failure analysis approach for unexpected changes in final product or in process controls markedly help both the analysis and documentation requirements at each step. Finally, the use of a written and continually revised process development document is most helpful. The early identification of data requirements, special studies, and comparability decisions for use in process planning is important, especially with budget constraints. 

Recording the entire process and control data allows the easy performance of investigations for failure analysis and production optimization. 

Computer algorithms can also be useful to predict product failure. Actually the dreaded analysis of pointing to not the light but the destined abyss is just as important, if not more so, for both industries. Historically the pharmaceutical industry has a track record of failure or attrition rate that is more astronomical in comparison. More than 90% of the industry s drug candidates fail because of one reason or another [1], If the industry can improve their failure analysis such that they can predict and avoid just 10% of the eventual failures, it can bring significant cost savings to the industry. 

The chemical spatial resolution of state-of-the-art scanning AES systems coupled with the surface sensitivity of the technique make them uniquely capable for characterization of modern microelectronic devices. This will mean greater dependence on AES for both failure analysis and process development. The demands of greater production... 

Residues. During failure analysis or as a process control, it is frequently of interest to determine whether residual solvents or potential offgassing/outgasslng products exist in coatings applied to components or assemblies. Application of a modified commercial purge and trap apparatus (Hewlett-Packard, Model 7675A) has proven effective for this type of investigation. 

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