I have come across this resistor in some boards and mostly, from the Internet. My mind was thinking, why, of all things, do you need a zero resistance component on a circuit board? This weird component comes in both through-hole and SMD packages too. But for this post, I am concentrating on the surface mount version.
So, why use it? It really does nothing and does not affect the circuit as a whole. And I can assure you, it has nothing to do with reducing component count.
I learnt something new today
After reading this article and watched a few YouTube videos, the amazing Zero Ohm resistor is actually a Godsend! I have been enlightened and now sees this as a wonderful invention.
It saves production cost
Using the zero ohm resistor as a jumper is much more cost and labour effective. A normal jumper would require drilling out two holes, solder a jumper/ wire and then insert the jumper.
It increases production speed
As most PCB manufacturing is automated, the Zero Ohm is no different from a normal SMD resistor and therefore, the pick-and-place machine just picks it up like any other SMD component. There is no need for the board to go to another production line for jumper insertion and so on.
It is more reliable
Imagine losing the small piece of plastic jumper or it becoming loose when the circuit board is knocked around (in the worse case scenario). Worse is when the jumper pins themselves are corroded.
If you hate KopyKats
Imagine coming across a SMD with some marker placed on top of it. You will have to remove the ink carefully to see the markings. And when it is blank, you’d think you have screwed up. So, you need to remove that component and using the various tools, determine/ test it to reveal its actual value or even its function. Imagine how much time has been wasted just for one Zero Ohm resistor. Now, imagine if there is about 10 of them with some ‘camouflaged’ around the board.
It helps with Circuit design
A Zero Ohm resistor at some point, helps in current flow around a circuit by providing a low resistance path.
It is a circuit bridge
In some cases, such as in a compact design where there is the need for a trace to cut across, the Zero Ohm resistor allows the trace to cut through below it. This is a boon for me as I like to design compact circuits to the point where sometimes the EaglePCB’s autorouter gave up.
