PEM Technologies

BRINGING TECHNOLOGY TO THE INDUSTRY

IMPROVING YOUR
WAVE SOLDERING
Igmar Grewar
Technical Director
PEM Technologies

Wave Soldering
Conveyor
PCB transported over
the wave

The 6 Basic Steps of

Wave/Selective Soldering

Component preparation
Insert components
Apply Flux
Preheat PCB
Soldering
Cool down

Preforming THT components

Cost saving
Higher production output
Quality

The effect of hole sizes

Hole size less than 1.5 times
lead thickness bend of
slightly less than 90

A dimple is formed on the

lead for hole size more than
1.5 times lead thickness

Raised from PCB to allow for

cleaning or heat dissipation

Selective Pallets

Stable support platform for PCB

Eliminate masking by hand
Eliminate glue dotting for SMDs
Reduce solder defects such as skips and bridging
Pockets and channels promotes solder flow
Standardize conveyor width reduce setup time
Multiple PCBs on a pallet higher throughput

The Wave Soldering Process

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Fluxing
Why do we need flux?
Prevents oxidation
Acts as a wetting agent

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Fluxing Wave Solder

Two common types of fluxing methods
in wave soldering:
Foam fluxing

Spray fluxing

Pictures courtesy of Seho

Foam fluxing Wave Solder

Picture courtesy of Seho

Flux control required

Ideal contact area = 20mm
Ideal flux stone pore size =
3um - 10um
Air pressure 2 - 3bar
Raise or lower the whole flux
station to achieve the right
contact
Never use a foam fluxer
without an air knife
Not suitable for water based
fluxes

Flux Control (foam fluxer)

Critical parameters:
Flux density (solid
content)
Water content
Temperature
Contamination from PCB
or compressed air
Replace flux in foam
fluxers completely every
40 hours
Cleaning of foam pipe

Spray fluxing - Wave Solder

Picture courtesy of Seho

Single side PCB requires 100 Micro

Gram per Cm2 of PCB surface
(Check Flux Data Sheet)
PTH PCBs will require 20% more
Check the spray pattern by
wrapping a piece of photo sensitive
fax paper around a bare PCB and
let it run through the fluxer
Combination of airflow, flux flow,
moving speed, distance of nozzle to
PCB
Paper must be evenly gray from
flux, not wet and certainly not
dripping

Advantages of Spray fluxing

Picture courtesy of Seho

Quantifiable application of
the flux deposit (SPC)
No in-process QC of the
flux
No thinner consumption
Direct application from
can
Reduced flux
consumption
No flux drippings over the
preheat zone

Conversion to Spray flux

The Plug n Spray sprayfluxer

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Stand alone fluxer

Picture courtesy of Seho

Incorrect Flux Volume

Too little flux can cause soldering
defects such as bridging and skips

Picture courtesy of Bob Willis

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Excessive flux can lead to solder

balling and unwanted and uncured
residue left on the PCB

Flux Classification - IPC-J-STD-004

Flux Types
Alcohol based (100% VOC)

Long history of reliability & process know how

Modest in preheat requirements
Can be applied by spray or foam
High residue safety and wide process window

Hazardous & flammable material

Contributing to the "green-house" effect

Flux Types
Low-VOC (40% water / 60%
alcohol)
Modest in preheat requirements
Safer to the environment
Can be applied by spray or foam
High residue safety and wide process window

Flux Types
Water based (100% VOC-free)
More soldering power
Environmentally safe
Non-flammable

Requires more preheat

Spray fluxing only
Some process adjustments required
Risk for corrosion if flux is not properly polymerized
by the heat of the wave (flux under pallets, on
topside or just too much flux applied)

Preheat
Functions of Preheating

Evaporation of the solvent in the flux

Activating the flux
Minimizing the Delta T between the PCB and the solder wave

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Preheat
Types of Preheating
Infra Red elements
Quartz elements

Forced Convection

Pictures courtesy of Seho

The Preheat Profile

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Preheat temperature is measured on the top side of the PCB

Typical max. preheat temperature Sn/Pb = 90C - 120C
Typical max. preheat temperature Pb-Free = 100C - 130C

Measuring Preheat Temperature

Temperature Profiler /
Thermocouples

Adhesive
Temperature
Strips
Infrared
Thermometer

Picture courtesy of TWS Automation

Picture courtesy of
www.tempstrips.com

Measuring Preheat Temperature

Incorrect Preheat

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Preheat too high or too long may break down the flux
activation system and cause shorts / icicles
Preheat too low may cause problems such as skips
or unwanted residues left on the PCB

Soldering Phase
Wetting Phase
Wicking Phase
Drain Phase

ing

in
Drain

Wick

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

ing
Wett

W
av
e

- >>
PCB

Soldering Phase

Nominal angle = 7
Contact Width = 20 to 40mm wide for Delta Wave
Contact Width = 15mm wide for Chip Wave
Dwell time Tin/Lead = 3.5 sec @ 235C solder pot temperature
Dwell time Tin/Lead = 2.5 sec @ 250C solder pot temperature
Dwell time Pb-Free = 2 to 5 seconds @ 260-270C solder pot
temperature, depending on the application
Conveyor speed = 0.8 1.5 m/min
Conveyor speed (m/min) = Contact width (cm) x Dwell time (sec)
Wave height = 1/3 2/3 of PCB thickness
High temperature glass plate is used to measure contact width and
parallelism to the wave
idth
w
t
c
a
Cont

Wave Nozzle Configuration

Delta Nozzle

Standard Nozzle for through hole components

Fast moving solder moving in the opposite
direction of PCB for wetting action
Small volume of solder moving along with the
PCB for wicking action

Picture courtesy of Bob Willis

Picture courtesy of Seho

Wave Nozzle Configuration

Chip Nozzle

Turbulent wave
Can be added in addition to the Delta Nozzle
High Kinetic Energy
Avoids shadowing

Picture courtesy of Bob Willis

Picture courtesy of Seho

Wave Nozzle Configuration

Dual Wave

Picture courtesy of Seho

Turbulent chip wave combined with a

slow moving horizontal wave
overcomes the limitations of other
wave types
Solution for overcoming the shadow
effect on SMT components not aligned
to the wave

Picture courtesy of Bob Willis

Picture courtesy of Seho

Wave Nozzle Configuration

Other Nozzles
For components requiring high wave
pressure or high flow dynamics
For PCBs with high thermal mass
To optimize contact time

Pictures courtesy of Seho

Solder Alloy
Lead Containing Alloy Sn/Pb

Contains Tin / Lead

Sn63/Pb37
Melting point of 183C
Solder pot temperatures from 235 - 250C
Eutectic alloy melts and solidifies at the same temperature
Low surface tension good wetting
Low viscosity great hole fill and top side fillet forming

Solder Alloy
4 Popular choices for Lead-Free

SAC (Tin/Silver/Copper)
SAC + X (Tin/Silver/Copper + X)
SnCu (Tin/Copper)
SnCuNi (Tin / Copper / Nickel)

Your choice of alloy will be dependant on your

specific requirements

Solder Alloy
SAC

Tin / Silver / Copper

Typical: Sn96.5/Ag3.0/Cu0.5
Melting point of 217 - 221C
Solder pot temperature 260C
High silver content
Solder joints looks different than Tin-Lead
Dull joints due to shrinkage

Solder Alloy
SAC + X

Tin / Silver / Copper + X

X = Co, Fe, Bi, Si, Ti, Cr, Mn, Ni, Ge, and Zn
Typical: Sn98.3 Ag0.3 Cu0.7Bi0.7
Melting point of 216 - 225C
Solder pot temperature 265C
Lower material costs vs higher silver SAC alloys
Performance and appearance similar to higher silver
SAC alloys

Solder Alloy
SnCu

Tin / Copper
Sn99.3/Cu0.7
Melting point of 227C (Eutectic alloy)
No silver content - lowers alloy cost
Lower tendency to leach copper - less loss of
conductive copper in tracks and pads
Poor fluidity at typical lead free temperatures
Poor through-hole filling and forming of solder
bridges between components

Solder Alloy
SnCuNi

Tin / Copper / Nickel

Sn99.25/Cu0.7/Ni0.05
Melting point of 227C
Eutectic alloy free of shrinkage
Solder pot temperatures from 265C
Does not contain silver - running costs are low
Small addition of nickel in to the SnCu alloy improves fluidity
Good fluidity less bridges and better hole filling
Dross rate equal or lower than tin-lead solder
Lower aggressiveness towards stainless steel
Bright smooth solder joints

Solder Bath Analysis

For Tin-Lead, every 3 to 6 months

For Lead-Free, every 4 6 weeks after initial fill during the first 6
months, thereafter every 3 to 6 months is recommended

Transition to Lead Free Alloys

Higher preheat
temperatures required

Corrosion of metal parts

Pictures courtesy of Seho

Solutions for Lead-Free

Pause the PCB in
the preheater

Coated parts available, pumps,

solder nozzles and solder pot
Pictures courtesy of Seho

Cooling Phase

Picture courtesy of Cobar/Balver Zinn

Forced cooling or not?

No improvement in joint quality
To speed up production

Nitrogen or Not?

Displaces oxygen
Reduced dross formation
Increase surface tension
Improved flow of solder
Better wetting

Pictures courtesy of Seho

Most common causes of problems

Skips
Component leads too long
Insufficient flux

Bridges

Insufficient
Hole Fill

Blowholes

X
X

X
X

Excessive flux
Flux density too low
Flux density too high

Solder
Balls

Moisture trapped in PCB

Preheat temperature too low

Preheat temperature too high

Conveyor angle too small

Solder temperature too low

Conveyor speed too low

Conveyor speed too high

Solder temperature too high

Solder is contaminated
Uneven or erratic solder wave

Solder wave height too low

Solder wave height too high

Solder mask properties

Poor solderability of the PCB or component

Thank you for your Attention

Any Questions?

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PEM Technologies
BRINGING TECHNOLOGY TO THE INDUSTRY

www.pemtech.co.za