There are several things that can be done. Shortening the lead length should eliminate bridging between lead. We had done a project several years ago where the customer had shortened the leads to almost flush to the board, preventing any chance of component bridging. Another possibility is adding solder thieves to the board, preventing the bridge.
If you are gluing any component on the bottom side of the board, you can add glue dots in between the leads you are attempting to solder. Because solder won’t stick to the glue and it will help to break the bridges.
Last but not least, we are a fixture fabricator and one the project with the short leads, we actually had to bow the board down to assure complete solder fill. On a different project, we were actually able to eliminate the bridging with thin webs of material in between the leads, preventing the bridge.
In addition to leaving the material between the lead to break the bridge, we can also mask test points that can some times pick up solder and cause shorts.
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