Technical Library | 2011-02-24 19:20:14.0
In the selective soldering process, dross can be detrimental. Dross (and I use this term to encompass all surface contamination) is created in conjunction with the presence of Oxygen in two different areas of the process, and by separate means. Each must
Technical Library | 2020-07-29 20:12:52.0
Aluminum is a metal that it is hard to solder due to the high surface tension difference between it and molten solder alloy. This occurs because aluminum rapidly forms a tenacious oxide layer whenever it is exposed to oxygen in the air. The oxide layer is responsible for the high surface tension difference between the aluminum and the solder and impedes the solder from spreading evenly on an aluminum surface. There are hundreds of aluminum alloys available in the marketplace; it is important to identify the form of aluminum that is being soldered. Once this is done, an appropriate soldering technique can be chosen for soldering the specific aluminum alloy under consideration. Direct aluminum soldering eliminates using expensive plating techniques to prepare the aluminum surface for soldering.
Technical Library | 2021-09-29 13:35:21.0
In PCB circuit assemblies the trend is moving to more SMD components with finer pitch connections. The majority of the assemblies still have a small amount of through hole (THT) components. Some of them can't withstand high reflow temperatures, while others are there because of their mechanical robustness. In automotive applications these THT components are also present. Many products for cars, including steering units, radio and navigation, and air compressors also use THT technology to connect board-to-board, PCB's to metal shields or housings out of plastic or even aluminium. This is not a simple 2D plain soldering technology, as it requires handling, efficient thermal heating and handling of heavy (up to 10 kg) parts. Soldering technology becomes more 3D where connections have to be made on different levels. For this technology robots using solder wire fail because of the spattering of the flux in the wires and the long cycle time. In wave soldering using pallets the wave height is limited and pin in paste reflow is only a 2D application with space limitations. Selective soldering using dedicated plates with nozzles on the solder area is the preferred way to make these connections. All joints can be soldered in one dip resulting in short cycle times. Additional soldering on a small select nozzle can make the system even more flexible. The soldering can only be successful when there is enough thermal heat in the assembly before the solder touches the board. A forced convection preheat is a must for many applications to bring enough heat into the metal and board materials. The challenge in a dip soldering process is to get a sufficient hole fill without bridging and minimize the number of solder balls. A new cover was designed to improve the nitrogen environment. Reducing oxygen levels benefits the wetting, but increases the risk for solder balling. Previous investigations showed that solder balling can be minimized by selecting proper materials for solder resist and flux.
Technical Library | 2022-10-11 17:27:08.0
Lead-free flux technology for electronic industry is mainly driven by high soldering temperature, high alloy surface tension, miniaturization, air soldering due to low cost consideration, and environmental concern. Accordingly, the flux features desired included high thermal stability, high resistance against burn-off, high oxidation resistance, high oxygen barrier capability, low surface tension, high fluxing capacity, slow wetting, low moisture pickup, high hot viscosity, and halogen-free. For each of the features listed above, corresponding desired chemical structures can be deduced, and the impact of those structures on flux residue cleanability can be speculated. Overall, lead-free flux technology results in a greater difficulty in cleaning. Cleaner with a better matching solvency for the residue as well as a higher cleaning temperature or agitation are needed. Alkaline and polar cleaner are often needed to deal with the larger quantity of fluxing products. Reactive cleaner is also desired to address the side reaction products such as crosslinked residue.
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