How to Calculate Bow and Twist Allowance

The bow and twist requirements will be different for designs with surface mounted
components and designs with no surface mounted components.

The maximum allowable bow and twist for a rigid portions of printed boards shall be 0.75%
for boards with surface mounted components, and 1.5% for all other applications.

This standard requirement is detailed in the IPC-6013 and IPC-6012 Section 3.4.3. The test
method for validating the manufactured part is described under the IPC-TM-650, Method
2.4.22

Calculating Bow
General rule of thumb – Allow for a maximum of 0.0075 inches of bow per inch of length
with surface mounted components. Allow for a maximum of 0.015 inches of bow per inch of
length with no surface mounted components.

The maximum allowed bow in a CCA or PCB will be measured in both the length and width
direction of a four-sided card. More complex boards may require more measurement
directions – this will be directed by the design authority, and can be due to types of mounted
components, shape of board, critical mechanical packaging requirements, etc.

Where:

Length = The span of CCA or PCB you are measuring for bow across
B = The maximum allowable bow percentage (either 0.75% or 1.5%)

Example:

Let’s take a rectangular shaped CCA with surface mounted components. In this case, the
width of the CCA is 3.5 inches and the length is 4.5 inches. The two width edges are
constrained on a flat surface acting as a datum, and we need to calculated what the maximum
allowable bow gap is.

First, we know this CCA does include surface mounted components, so we will use the 0.75%
standard bow percentage.
Second, we know the length edges are being constrained, so we will be calculating the bow
allowance across the length of the CCA.

The formula:

So, for this board, a bow of approximately 0.03 inches is acceptable across the length.

Calculating Twist

General rule of thumb – Allow for a maximum of 0.0075 inches of twist per inch of length
with surface mounted components. Allow for a maximum of 0.015 inches of twist per inch of
length with no surface mounted components.

The maximum allowable twist will be measured between two corners of the CCA or PCB.
Again, for more complex boards, this requirement may be further directed by the design
authority.

Because the testing procedure assumes the board is measured in a constrained position, a
factor of 2x is added to the equation. This accounts for the actual twist acting in two
directions.

Where:

D = The diagonal length span of the CCA or PCB you are measuring for twist across
T = The maximum allowable twist percentage (either 0.75% or 1.5%)

Example:

Let’s take the same board example we used above, but this time remove all surface mounted
components. The three corners labeled “A” are constrained to a flat surface acting as a datum,
and we need to calculate what the maximum allowable twist gap is at corner “B”.
First, we know the board does not include any surface mounted components, and thus is less
at risk of damage due to twist. We can use the 1.5% standard allowable twist.

Second, we see the diagonal span we are measuring twist with respect to is 5.7 inches.

The formula:

So, for this board, a twist of approximately 0.17 inches is acceptable across the diagonal span.