For 01005 parts, some apertures are better than others.

Continuous reduction in component size has been at the forefront of electronics product innovation, assembly process development and the industry conversation for years. Readers will no doubt recall the papers presented, tools developed, and processes modified to accommodate the “coming soon” metric 03015 and 0201 components. That preparation is essential. In my opinion, however, it is more likely than not that widespread use of these ultra-small chips is far in the future; it will come, but probably not in the next generation.

Another reality presents, perhaps, a more immediate challenge: increasing component density beyond current norms. Realistically, for next-generation mobile phones and wearables, the primary consumers of the most miniaturized components, board designs will continue to incorporate the 01005 chip (metric 0402). There are a gracious plenty of reasons for this, not the least of which are cost and component availability. The challenge for product designers is how to get the most function from chips that may be larger than they would prefer. What’s the solution? Squeeze the 01005s closer together, of course!

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