When it comes to ensuring the quality and reliability of electronic components—especially printed circuit boards (PCBs)—IPC standards are the industry benchmark. Whether you’re producing rigid boards, flexible circuits, or high-reliability aerospace electronics, compliance with IPC-6012, IPC-6013, and related specifications is often mandatory. But how do you actually prove compliance? One of the most important tools […]

When electronic or mechanical components fail, identifying the root cause is critical. One of the most precise and revealing techniques available to engineers is mechanical cross sectioning — a cornerstone of failure analysis used across industries like aerospace, automotive, medical devices, and consumer electronics. In this guide, we’ll walk through what mechanical cross sectioning is, […]

If you’re exploring mechanical cross sectioning as part of your failure analysis or quality assurance process, you’re not alone. At Cross Section Lab, we work with engineers, quality managers, and procurement leads every day who have important questions before moving forward. This post answers the most common customer questions to help you feel confident in […]

In failure analysis (FA), seeing the symptom is just the start—understanding the cause is what actually prevents future failures. Tools like CSAM (C-mode Scanning Acoustic Microscopy) are excellent at identifying internal anomalies—like voids, delamination, or cracked die attach—but they don’t always reveal the full picture. That’s where mechanical cross sectioning comes in. If you’re stopping […]

When components fail in the field or during testing, surface-level inspections often leave more questions than answers. That’s because many defects—especially in PCBs, capacitors, and integrated circuits (ICs)—are internal and invisible without the right tools. At Cross Section Lab, we specialize in using mechanical cross sectioning to reveal the hidden failure mechanisms that other methods […]