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Material Queries

This lesson covers queries for extracting material property data from AP 210 datasets.

Query: Find All Materials in a Design

Goal: List all materials used in the design with their properties.

Algorithm:

FOR EACH md IN Material_Designation
  material = md.definitions[1]
  properties = FIND Property_Definition WHERE definition = material
  FOR EACH pd IN properties
    rep = NAVIGATE pd → pdr → representation
    FOR EACH item IN rep.items
      COLLECT {
        material: md.name,
        property: pd.name,
        value: item.value,
        unit: item.unit
      }
    END
  END
END

Output:

[
  {material: "FR-4", property: "dielectric_constant", value: 4.5, unit: "dimensionless"},
  {material: "FR-4", property: "loss_tangent", value: 0.02, unit: "dimensionless"},
  {material: "Copper", property: "conductivity", value: 5.96e7, unit: "S/m"},
  {material: "Solder Mask", property: "thickness", value: 0.025, unit: "mm"}
]

Material in Context

Materials in AP 210 are associated with:

  • Stratums - Each PCB layer has a material

  • Components - Package bodies, terminals, die attach

  • Interconnects - Conductive traces, plating, solder

Common material properties queried:

  • Electrical: Dielectric constant, loss tangent, conductivity

  • Thermal: Thermal conductivity, specific heat, CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion)

  • Mechanical: Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, tensile strength

  • Chemical: RoHS compliance, flame retardancy rating

Practical Applications

Material queries support:

  • Signal integrity - Dielectric constant affects impedance

  • Thermal analysis - Conductivity determines heat flow

  • Compliance - RoHS substance restrictions

  • Manufacturing - Material selection drives process parameters