:: soldering SMD on its SIDE ?

[3roomlab]

just pondering ...

the whole purpose of using SMD is to save space (or maximize it)

as SMD values increase (ie capacitor farads) ... the size also increase definately ...

eg : 1206 commonly used ... goes up to about approx 10uF 50v. somewhere, you need to cross over into either something like giant 2220(5650) or SMD cans (2.2mm diam onwards)

in order to save space ... has anyone actually tried to layout your SMD ...  ON ITS SIDE ? ... so practically, the pads are kind of reduced by somewhat 33% - 50% ? this is especially the case for 2220 example, on its side, it actually saves about 2mm (assuming 5mm width now becomes 2.5-3mm thick) ... which seems alot if you are packing a tight board.

this would of course be rather impossible for pick and place

comments please

[Mr.B]

Never done it to save space.
i don't see why not, apart from the reduced mechanical strength.
I have put SMD LEDs on their side to save having to purchase the slightly more expensive 'side view' ones.

[pickle9000]

The primary reason for smaller components is lower cost. That includes packaging, weight, raw materials.

[zapta]

It may not hold in the reflow oven.

[VK5RC]

Some rf smd caps are put on their side to reduce stray capacitance to the ground plane. Rarely I think.

[Evil Lurker]

In the case of MLCC caps it would likely cause an unacceptable rate of failure due to stress fractures caused by uneven pressure being exerted on the ends of the package when the solder cooled  and subsequently contracted. 

In essence it would be like breaking a Kit-Kat candy bar in half.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Large value ceramics up to about 1210 often have a near-square cross-section anyway so wouldn't make much difference.
May be some mechanical issues, as well as difficulty of assembly of course

[jusbour]

Honestly, for a one-off it might be ok, but there'll be all kinds of hurdles to jump through with what is basically a tombstone part.  Some people will probably argue with me, but from my experience, I don't think its really worth it.

[KJDS]

Some rf smd caps are put on their side to reduce stray capacitance to the ground plane. Rarely I think.

Very common in high power RF, and a few other very high performance applications.

[3roomlab]

"tombstone" package variant added to eagle footprints ...