Deployment of a reflow process model to support quality and reliability in PCA manufacturing

Reflow is a critical process in the manufacture of Printed Circuit Assemblies (PCAs) as it has an important impact on product quality and reliability. Tools that support the configuration of this process and ensure the design of products suit the process are therefore required. Such tools have been proposed in the past, including a tool previously proposed by the authors: INMOST. The capability of INMOST to provide an assessment of manufacturing systems and design support for manufacturability has been proven for processes in the manufacture of surface mounted technology PCAs, including solder paste printing. In this paper, an extension to this tool to cover the reflow process is presented. The main contribution consists of the development of a reflow model as part of the integrated modelling framework underpinning INMOST, which encompasses information regarding products and processes. The implementation of the model within the software tool expands its coverage to the reflow process, contributing to the holistic approach provided for manufacturing systems' evaluation and, as a result, providing support for product and process design that will enhance the system performance. A case study is presented to demonstrate the support that can be provided by the software in a real industrial situation case.