Wave Solder Process characterization in PCBA

Electronics products are integrated part of our daily lives. Given examples of electronics components which will be assembled onto a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for enabling of AI application in all aspect of human daily life, example in automobile for self-driving, E-Commerce, education etc. In order to manufacture an electronic product, two types of assembly technologies used in PCBA industry namely Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Thru-Hole Technology (THT). SMT can be applied to very small size and high signal counts components on Small Mount Device (SMD) which does not require strong mechanical interconnection. where components are placed automatically by SMT placement machine to the PCB top or bottom surfaces with SMT solder paste then goes through SMT reflow process to form mechanical and electrical interconnections. On the other hand, THT is applied for Pin- Through Hole (PTH) components which insert through holes component leads into the drill-holes of PCB. Then the end of the leads on bottom side of PCB will be spray with wave solder flux, follow by passing through a bath of molten solder, with this process is called as wave soldering process. In wave soldering process, the common failure encounter is insufficient solder barrel fill inside the PTH. This paper discusses and share the process characterizations defined for wave soldering with consideration of wave flux distribution and penetration, preheat rate and temperature, wave solder pot temperature, wave solder contact time and conveyor belt speed effects. The developed wave soldering process characterization have significant improved and overcome barrel fill insufficient solder challenge.