Top Side Hole Filling

As the complexity of PCB assemblies continues to increase, many electronics assemblers are seeking a solution in a wave soldering system. The types of complexities encountered may include the following:

  • Need to increase topside hole fill on difficult-to-solder PCBs;

  • Multiple heavy ground planes with poor thermal relief;

  • High-mass multilayer PCBs;

  • Thick pallets;

  • Selective pallets;

  • OSP finishes on PCBs that have been double-sided reflowed;

  • Increased throughput in lead-free applications.

Electrovert has developed solutions to lead-free soldering issues in demanding production environments:

UltraFill™ Nozzle technology (patented)

  • Improves soldering results with lead-free alloys;

  • Nozzle placement increases wave contact time;

  • Increases hole fill and top-side fillets;

  • Reduced bridges or solder shorts via Lambda wave exit characteristics;

  • Easy switching between air and nitrogen environments

DwellMax™ Plus (patented):

  • Wide chip wave designed for difficult to solder assemblies;

  • Includes nitrogen tunnel over solder pot;

  • Nozzle design increases production throughput capability;

  • Nozzle design reduces defects and improves topside hole fill at faster conveyor speeds;

  • Significant cost savings through reduced dross and longer intervals between maintenance.

FloLift™ Technology:

  • Increases upward force of wave as the PCB is traveling over the wave;

  • Improves topside hole fill;

  • Software and recipe controlled.

Nitrogen Tunnel (Short and Full Tunnel)

  • Available with UltraFill nozzle;

  • Nitrogen tunnel standard with DwellMax Plus;

  • Significant cost savings through reduced dross and longer intervals between maintenance;

  • Improved wetting in nitrogen tunnel;

  • Available with an optional Oxygen analyzer;

  • Available as a field upgrade (check with the factory with serial # for configuration and compatibility verification).

Other Advantages of Electrovert Wave Soldering:

  • All new wave systems come with a lifetime warranty on the solder pot casting (applies to original owner).

  • Multiple preheat configurations available (all preheat types field upgradable)

  • Multiple fluxing configurations (ServoSpray™, ServoJet™, OA ServoJet™, ServoSonic™ and Foam Fluxer).

 

Wave Soldering Machines:
DeltaX Wave Solder Electra Wave Solder 
VectraElite Wave Solder VectraES Wave Solder

As board assemblies become increasingly complex and difficult to solder, board manufacturers are looking for wave solder machines that can provide closed-loop process control and automatic features.

Of the many flux products developed for soldering applications, most electronics assemblers prefer to use no-clean, low solids formulations, in part because they eliminate the post-reflow cleaning or defluxing process step.

In the demanding environment of lead-free soldering, it is important to understand the different characteristics of lead-free materials. Wetting times for lead-free alloys are slower than those of tin/lead, and flow characteristic are more viscous.

As PCB designs become more complex, thicker, and denser, through-hole soldering is becoming more difficult. The introduction of lead-free alloys compounds these problems because lead-free alloys don’t wet as well as lead-bearing alloys, and deeper holes (due to PCB thickness) make thorough hole-filling less certain in many cases.

Award-winning wave soldering technologies have long met the demanding throughput and process control challenges of applications such as lead-free wave soldering.

Even though most SMT soldering is achieved through reflow, some assemblies require that some of the Surface Mounted Devices (SMDs) on a board, such as chip components, must be wave soldered.