Investigating the drop impact of portable electronic products

One of the most common causes of failure for portable electronic products is from drop impact. Impact and shock to such products can cause significant functional and physical damage. They can cause external housing, internal electronic component or package-to-board interconnection failure. This paper examines the drop impact response of portable electronic products at different impact orientations and drop heights. A method whereby actual drop test using a cellular phone as an example is proposed. Of interest is the measurement of the level of shock experienced by the electronic components on the printed circuit board (PCB) during impact. A patent pending drop tester which allows drop impact of the cellular phone at any orientation and drop height is used. A high-speed video camera is also utilized to verify the impact orientation. The drop impact responses examined are the impact force and the strains and level of shock induced at the PCB. A better understanding of the shock induced at the electronic components and packages in the products can assist manufacturers not only in designing better components and electronic packages but also products which are more robust and reliable, to handle shock and impact loading.