The popular tin (Sn) rich lead free solders are causing severe corrosion to many of the materials used in today’s Wave Solder systems. Users are experiencing higher maintenance frequency and reduced life of wave solder…
View MoreThe increasing use of lead-free solder has introduced a new set of process parameters when setting up wave solder equipment for effective soldering. Determining the proper flow characteristics of the solder wave for adequate hole…
View MoreLead-free wave soldering requires tighter process control than soldering with lead based alloys. A key area of the machine that impacts the ability to solder lead-free alloys without defects is the fluxer system. A large variety of…
View MoreGrowth of electrical vehicles and 5G technologies may impact the landscape of soldering equipment used for printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies. These applications require large multi-layer PCBs that contain small surface mounted devices (SMD) together…
View MoreMiniaturization continues in all kind of electronic assemblies and thus also in the different soldering processes. Not only consumer electronic assemblies become smaller, but also in other areas like automotive, industrial and medical parts reduce…
View MoreAlthough reflow ovens may not have been dramatically changed during the last decade the reflow process changes step by step. With the introduction of lead-free soldering not only operation temperatures increased, but also the chemistry…
View MoreAn inert atmosphere opens the reflow process window. Reflow ovens that have a Nitrogen environment may have better yields because of the lack of oxidation during the process. The wetting properties are improved due to…
View MoreThe use of high velocity, heated air to remove residual water has become the predominant method for drying printed circuit boards in the in-line aqueous cleaning process. As lead-free circuit boards become more complex and component…
View MoreAssemblers surveyed report that cleaning misprinted circuit assemblies is a production gap that has not been adequately addressed. Traditionally, the industry has used stencil cleaning agents and equipment to address this rework need. One of…
View MoreNo-clean pastes have specific physical properties, which directly impact industry standard electronic assembly cleaning processes. This paper sets out to establish new benchmarks for cleaning no clean surface mount solder paste residues (including the most…
View MoreCleaning electronic assemblies, or PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), has been essential for many years. As PCB board density has increased and standoff height has decreased, so have cleaning challenges. Numerous technical studies published over the…
View MoreAs the electronics industry moves toward the implementation of Pb-free soldering, the impact on the assembly process must be considered. One process that is often over looked is the cleaning of assembled printed circuit boards.…
View MoreMoore’s Law infers that the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every two years. Consistent with Moore’s Law, high reliability electronic devices build faster processing speed and memory capacity using increasing smaller platforms.…
View MoreMost board assemblers strive to optimize their cleaning process to provide the best cleaning performance over a broad range of board assemblies. This paper presents the results from a designed experiment on fluid dynamics across…
View MoreAssemblers surveyed report that cleaning misprinted circuit assemblies is a production gap that has not been adequately addressed. Traditionally, the industry has used stencil cleaning agents and equipment to address this rework need. One of…
View MoreThis paper will focus on the requirements needed to implement a central database for printer recipes and minimize setup time required to begin production. The SMT process works best the more we minimize the human…
View MorePaste-in-Hole (PIH) printing, a.k.a. through-hole printing, pin-in-paste, intrusive reflow, etc., has always been a way to accommodate traditional through-hole components on a mixed-technology SMT assembly using reflow soldering rather than wave to make the through-hole…
View MoreIncreasingly fine pitch component patterns on PCBs, and ever-smaller passive components such as 03015’s continue to narrow the process window for PCB assemblers. The drive toward ever-finer pitches is driven by a number of factors,…
View MoreStencil printing is a critical first step in surface mount assembly. It is often cited that the solder paste printing operation causes about 50%-80% of the defects found in the assembly of PCBs. Printing is…
View MoreStencil printing technology has come a long way since the early 80’s when SMT process gained importance in the electronics packaging industry. In those early days, components were fairly large, making the board design and…
View MoreFine pitch/fine feature solder paste printing in PCB assembly has become increasingly difficult as board geometries have become ever more compact. The printing process itself, traditionally the source of 70% of all assembly defects, finds…
View MoreStencil printing today requires a higher degree of printer accuracy than ever before. Printer accuracy becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as demands for higher speeds and throughput test the limits of a printer’s capabilities, particularly…
View MoreProcess traceability and verification has become increasingly important as electronics assembly has moved to higher throughputs and volume requirements with tighter process windows. Ensuring repeatable, high yields requires an optimized process that is constantly in…
View MoreIn simplest terms, a faster printer logically means higher throughput. Overall speed, however, is dependent upon a number of factors including the individual cycle times for various steps in the print cycle (e.g., stencil wiping…
View MoreThe techniques described have proven to be robust and particularly well suited for detecting troublesome bridge and bridge-like features that span the gap between pads. This paper describes part of a research effort currently under…
View MoreThis paper will focus on the application requirements of solder printing small aperture designs, concentrating on 008004 (inch) / 0201 (metric) size components, and the results of a design of experiment printing these challenging apertures.…
View MoreUnder stencil wiping is the first defense against defects. Matching the wiper profile and frequency to the individual boards, where one size does not fit all.
View MoreToday’s unique assembly challenges are comprised of complex printed circuit board (PCB) panelization, involving identical PCBs with a goal of increased production capability, due to a reduced footprint of the production floor.
View MoreA new process has been developed for RF shielding on compact electronic communications devices using automated solder paste dispensing. The process is known as Shield Edge Interconnect (SEI). SEI designs enable parts to be processed…
View MoreAutomated dispensing of electronic materials in fluidic form is employed across the full range of electronics manufacturing, from board-level assembly to semiconductor applications. Materials dispensed can range from very low (water like) to very high…
View MoreToday’s automated dispensing for electronics manufacturing is a complex and precise process in order to meet the challenges posed by ever more demanding assembly and component technology requirements. Dedicated dispenser technology is key to success…
View MoreToday’s unique assembly challenges are comprised of complex PCB panelization, involving identical PCBs with a goal towards increased production capability, due to a reduced footprint of the Production Floor. Identical PCBs that are within the…
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