Purpose

The purpose of this white paper is to provide Ecliptek Corporation customers with guidelines on shipment, packaging and handling procedures for crystals and crystal oscillators.

Ecliptek Corporation recognizes that quartz crystals and quartz crystal oscillators are fragile and have specific vibration and mechanical shock requirements which may not be exceeded without causing the possibility of immediate or latent defects.

This white paper is not all encompassing in which all possible defect causes and prevention practices are listed. Specific defect causes and prevention practices must be determined by the customer for its own specific environment and operating conditions.

Specifications

The very nature of quartz crystals, as used in Ecliptek Corporation products, dictates the careful handling of these products. Quartz crystals are very thin and fragile; thus they can fracture when subjected to excessive mechanical stress. Each product specification sheet found on our website provides the exact mechanical shock and vibration requirements.

Ecliptek customers need ample forethought and planning on how to transport, store, and handle these products. Due to their design and construction, crystals and crystal oscillators are susceptible to damage and subsequent failure due to mechanical shock and vibration. Units should not be dropped onto hard surfaces such as counter tops or floors. The use of rubber floor mats can greatly reduce the risk of damage. There are several failure modes which result from dropping these devices, including broken interconnects, damaged packages, broken crystals and broken glass seals.

Storage, Packaging, And ESD Guidelines

Ecliptek has engineered storage, packaging, handling, and ESD methods that afford adequate protection for its many products. All Ecliptek products are shipped in ESD protected packaging and should be handled as ESD sensitive devices. All customer personnel should take proper precautions to avoid device exposure to ESD during storage and handling. The components should be handled at static-safeguarded workstations. Precautions should be taken to remove and prevent static build-up or charge through grounding metal trays, conductive containers, and personnel via conductive floors, conductive table mats and conductive wrist straps. Unit packaging for crystals is comprised of one of the following configurations: Bulk in bags, Tape & Reel, and Foam Padding. Unit packaging for crystal oscillators is comprised of one of the following configurations: Bulk in tubes, Tape & Reel, and Foam Padding.

Shipping Guidelines

Ecliptek has engineered shipping methods that afford adequate protection for its many products. The supplied packaging and packing materials protect them from the normal conditions of transportation.

Users need to insure that packages that they receive are free of damage that may have been induced by a transportation company. Ecliptek Corporation recommends the documentation of all damaged packaging for use with cause and corrective action activity.

Handling Guidelines

Store all products in areas that protect the parts from being hit and dropped. This includes main inventory areas as well as storage areas on the manufacturing floor.

Select containers to insure the safety of these products. Give due consideration in placing parts into and taking them out of the storage area. Plan processes and methods to minimize mechanical shock and vibration.

When the products move within the customer's facility, ensure that they do not receive undue shock or vibration by securing the products in a manner that restricts movement. Verify packaging methods of unit packaging, intermediate, and outer packaging. Products that endure transportation mishandling can exceed its mechanical shock and vibration requirements and thus may result in damage.

Production engineers should review all automatic handling and mounting machine processes to insure methods minimize mechanical shock and vibration. Assemblers, technicians, and anyone else who uses these products must think about handling practices. Most often, products receive irreparable damage from unconscious acts of mishandling. For example: tossing parts into an assembly bin; accidentally dropping a unit from a worktable onto the floor; or forcibly inserting parts into circuit assemblies. All devices should be stored in a dry environment and should remain in their packaging until ready to be mounted on boards. Static free finger cots should be worn whenever crystals or oscillators are handled. When not in the supplied packaging, units should have their leads placed in foam or in a tray in a single layer, leads facing upwards. Should pre-mount lead forming or cutting become necessary, a leak test should be subsequently performed to insure package integrity. If incoming inspection is required at the customers facility, Ecliptek recommends the use of zero insertion force sockets to eliminate the possibility of lead damage, or glass to metal seal interface damage or lead plating damage. The units should be handled by the case/cover and not the leads.

Damage induced to the device may occur immediately or it may occur at a later time in the product life cycle. Ecliptek Corporation recommends that all devices subjected to suspect mishandling be removed from inventory and placed in a separate area for quality assurance material review.

Training

It is recommended that the customer use this document or create their own operating procedure to train all personnel on the packaging and handling of crystals and crystal oscillators.

It is important that a representative from each department take responsibility in training personnel on this procedure. Periodic retraining and auditing is also recommended. Here is the key content for customer product training:

• Due to design and construction, crystals and crystal oscillators are susceptible to damage and subsequent failure caused by mechanical shock and vibration.
• A broken crystal will not oscillate and will most likely be detected in the production test department.
• A fractured crystal may or may not oscillate.
  • The defect may be so great that it is easily detected at the production facility
  • The defect may not be so great that it is undetected at the production facility
    • The unit will be delivered to a customer and will most likely prematurely fail

3 Stages of Product Use

• Transportation
• Storage
• Handling

Transportaion

• Packaging
  • Foam, Tubes, Tape & Reel, Boxes, and Bags
  • Limit shock, vibration, and exposure to internal components
  
  
• Packing
  • Dunnage, Isolators, Boxes, and Wraps
  • Limit shock, vibration, and exposure to packages items
  
  
• Receiving Inspection
  • Verify that incoming containers have no damage
  • If there is damage:
    • Contact the transportaion company if there is damage to the shipping container
    • Contact Ecliptek for assistance in assessing product reliablilty
  
  
• Transfering parts within a facility
  • Restrict the movement of parts during location transfers
    • DO NOT:
      • Drop or dump parts into boxes
      • Toss boxes onto shelves or tabletops
      • Allow transfer racks to vibrate due to rough floors or defective wheels

Storage

• Store parts in a protective container
  • Box, bag, tube, tape & reel, or foam
  • Limit shock, vibration, static electricity, dirt, and humidity
  • Limit movement

Handling

• Design equipment and processes to minimize mechanical shock and vibration
  • Periodically check equipment and processes to insure the continued effectiveness of the design
  
  
• Protect quartz crystals and crystal oscillators from being:
  • Tossed into boxes
  • Dropped onto workstations
  • Shaken out of containers
  • Hit by other objects