Smd capacitors - flex?

[rp]

I'm wading into the waters of smd. One thing that I've come across is that you can get "flexible" or "soft-termination" ceramic c0g capacitors which have a layer of conductive epoxy between the electrode and the part to absorb the stress of thermal cycling and mechanical shock. This is intended to mitigate a problem with "regular" smd ceramic capacitors, which, if I'm understanding correctly, are brittle and can crack.

Does anyone have experience with these and recommend going one way or the other (flex/soft vs regular)?

I'm going to be hand-soldering, and it seems like flex might be the way to go, but my mechanical brain likes to avoid glue joints when possible.

 

[JohnRoberts]

No I never experienced mechanical failures in SMT caps, in fact SMD is more robust that TH technology .

While working on a high voltage design I noticed that small package SMT caps couldn't deliver full insulation resistance at high voltages. I had to use larger SMT packages to meet targets.

So maybe check the specs for high voltage tube designs.

JR

 

[john12ax7]

There are some harsh environments that need the extra flexibility, but that shouldn't be necessary for audio. Regular is fine.

 

[rp]

This is helpful. Thank you!