Electronic – Why would one mount components above the PCB

automotivecrystalpcbpcb-assembly

Inside of an automotive ECU I noticed that all three crystals are mounted about 1/4" above the PCB. What is the advantage of doing this versus mounting the case flush with the board? This seems like it could lead to vibration cracking the solder joints over time. Is there a thermal issue – crystals don't really dissipate much heat? Manufacturing constraint? Some of the capacitors are mounted in a similar way, although this looks more normal to me.

Crystal mounted above PCB

Best Answer

The bent leads set the component height during wave solder. It does four things:

During wave soldering:

  • retains the component in the board with spring tension
  • limits the solder wicking to just the pad
  • provides thermal relief to improve soldering

After soldering:

  • provides extra lead length to reduce mechanical stress on the component.

The extra lead helps prevent cracking at the lead/component junction in high-vibration environments by spreading the flex over the lead, rather than concentrating flex at the component itself.

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