What is the difference between SMT and DIP?

Publish Time: January 05,2019

SMT (Surface Mount Technology) and DIP (Dual In-line Package) are two common packaging technologies for electronic components, and they play an important role in the electronics manufacturing industry with some significant differences:

1. Packaging Method:

SMT: In SMT, the pins of an electronic component are soldered directly to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) through reflow soldering. This type of packaging makes the components more compact and is suitable for high-density circuit board designs.
DIP: In DIP, the pins of the electronic components are inserted into the holes of the PCB and the pins are soldered on the other side of the PCB using wave soldering. This type of packaging is suitable for larger, older electronic components such as integrated circuits and chips. (Learn more: Difference between wave soldering and reflow soldering)

wave soldering line

2. Scope of application:
SMT technology is particularly suitable for miniaturized and miniaturized components, such as chip resistors, chip capacitors, etc. These components are small in size and light in weight. These components are small in size and light in weight, and can realize high-density mounting, thus reducing the area and weight of the circuit board, which is very suitable for the pursuit of thin and light and high performance of modern electronic equipment.

DIP technology is mainly used for large, traditional components, such as pin resistors, capacitors and so on. These components are large in size, have long pins, and need to be connected by jacks, so they cannot be mounted at high densities like SMT.

reflow soldering

3. Production efficiency:
SMT: SMT technology is usually more productive than DIP because it can be produced efficiently with automated equipment. sMT also allows for high-speed, precise placement and soldering, which is extremely productive.
DIP: DIP assembly usually requires more labor, as the insertion of traditional plug-in components is usually done manually. This results in lower productivity for DIP technology, which is suitable for low volume production or specific applications. However, Tecoo Electronics has introduced new automated odd-form component insertion machine and general insertion machines to replace manual hand insertion, increasing the productivity of the DIP process and optimizing the overall cost while improving insertion accuracy.

odd-form-component-insertion-machine1

▲General insertion machines

4. Thermal performance:
SMT: Since SMT components are directly attached to the PCB surface, thermal performance may be limited. In applications requiring high thermal performance, additional thermal solutions may be required.
DIP: DIP components typically have a larger pin space, making heat dissipation easier to achieve, but their layout on the board may take up more space.

Tecoo SMT wave soldering line

As a global leader in high-end Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Provider, Tecoo has specialized in the EMS industry for more than 20 years, providing professional Electronic Manufacturing Services to tens of thousands of companies around the world. and supports OEM and ODM services. To learn more about SMT and DIP knowledge and services, please feel free to contact us.