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Source:
http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0225_wave/index.html
Wave soldering
The wave soldering process
Materials
Fluxing
Preheat
The solder wave
Aspects of practical machines
Maintaining performance
Some of this text is currently undergoing revision. Watch for updates!
Introduction
In this topic we aim to help you understand:
the principles of operation of a wave soldering machine
aspects of the materials used that affect the process
how machine parameters affect the final joint
how problems may be both solved and (preferably!) prevented.
This part is divided into three main sections: after a preliminary reminder about
the process sequence and the materials used, the second section describes the
three main stages of the wave solder process. The final section gives some
information about practical implementation, machine parameters and set-up,
but is deliberately less detailed than a process engineer would need – wave
soldering is a complex process, and there are many options and trade-offs.
Although we do not explicitly refer to other processes that use liquid solder,
such as lead tinning, wire stripping and Hot Air Solder Levelling for PCBs,
much of the information on materials, equipment and control contained here
will also be found relevant in those contexts.
The advent of the printed wiring board made it much easier, quicker and
cheaper to assemble electronic equipment. The time saving benefit when
making multiple solder joints was found first with hand soldering. However,
bringing all the joints into a single plane, with the board as a barrier between
solder and components, also created a structure in which soldering could be
automated by solder dipping.
Exercise
Before reading further, think in some detail about your response to the question ‘What
are the potential problems in simply taking an assembly and dipping it in liquid solder?’.
In considering this, you should recollect any experience you may have had in hand
soldering (for example, reworking) or in tinning components by solder dipping. To jog
your memory:
Did you need to use flux to help create a joint?
What happened when the soldering iron came in contact with the flux?
What happened to the nice shiny surface of the solder on the bit after
just a few minutes exposure to the air?
Did you get a quickly wetted joint just by bringing iron and solder in
contact with the parts to be soldered, or did you need to move the
iron so as to scrub the joint gently with the solder and make sure all
the parts of the joint were exposed to liquid solder?
Did you experience any problems with spikes left on the joint because
of the way in which you moved the bit away whilst the solder was
still molten?
Our ideas on this can be found in the remainder of this section.
Probably you will have thought of most of the points below, which highlight
the challenges in developing any method of machine soldering:
Unless the surfaces are unusually clean, flux always has to be applied in
order to encourage wetting. When flux is heated, first its low-boiling
constituents evaporate, and then it starts to decompose, generating
smoke. It is easy to tin a component by dipping first in flux and then
in solder, because the vapour and fumes can escape easily. However,
just placing a flat fluxed board in contact with hot solder will trap
solvent vapour between the two surfaces, preventing even contact
between solder and joint, and resulting in solder skips
Within a short time of exposure to air, the surface of molten solder
grows a layer of oxide. Not only is this oxide unsolderable, inhibiting
wetting, but the layer impedes free flow of the solder
Unless the operation is very carefully carried out, it is difficult to avoid
leaving surplus solder or solder spikes, even when the joint is fully
molten when the source of solder is removed
Some degree of movement of solder relative to the surfaces to be
joined helps accelerate the wetting process, and is needed to make
sure that solder reaches areas of the joint that are difficult to access.
Solder spikes
Many of the first in-line machines used the ‘drag soldering’ principle, where the
board was moved across a static pot. The relative motion scrubbed the solder
across the board and allowed flux volatiles to escape, and solder peel-back from
the joint was enhanced by arranging for the board to exit smoothly at a slight
angle to the pot surface. Automatic machines fluxed the board before solder
immersion, and could incorporate pre-drying of the assembly to reduce the
quantity of flux volatiles. A cover layer of oil was generally used to reduce
oxidation, although this meant that cleaning was almost unavoidable.
Wave soldering, also known as ‘flow soldering’, was patented by Fry’s Metals in
1956 and by the mid 1960s had become commonly used as a way of enhancing
productivity and yield. Relative motion between board and solder is enhanced
by the movement of the solder wave, and the surface kept free of oxide by
drawing up fresh solder from underneath. By way of analogy, think how you
might be able to take (relatively) clean water from the body of a pond whose
surface is covered with algae!
Wave soldering is an in-line process, during which the underside of the board is
successively fluxed, preheated, immersed in liquid solder, and then cooled
(Figure 1).
As with reflow, there is a critical contact time for soldering to take place – that
is a minimum time a joint must be in contact with the solder to ensure a good
joint. This depends on the type of joint, the solder pot temperature, and the
board type – constructions differ in their thermal characteristics.
There is a corresponding optimum contact time for an assembly, which is just
long enough to ensure that all joints become fully wetted. This time will depend
on what joint types are in the assembly and must be as long as the longest
individual critical contact time. Generally contact times between 3–4s are
suitable for most applications, but 1–2s is used for boards with sensitive
components. Working backwards, contact time determines the required
conveyor speed and wave dimensions.
The methods most frequently seen are the first four in the list above, but the
choice will depend very much on the design requirement and equipment
available. For example, although requirements for low joint profile are now
more normally met by SM solutions, the heat shrunk plastic film method is still
used for assemblies where the leads have to be cut short prior to soldering.
Whatever the method, careful attention must be paid to static protection for
sensitive assemblies. Also, the component leads must project below the board
sufficiently both to ensure contact with the solder and to create joints where
good wetting allows the underlying termination to be seen. This so-called ‘pin
witness’ forms part of the specification requirement for all through-hole joints:
if solder is just ‘plastered’ over the surface to cover the lead, as can happen if
the solder temperature is too low, there is no guarantee that a proper joint has
been formed underneath.
A similar sort of situation exists where SM parts are closely spaced, making it
difficult for the solder to access the joint. There is no single solution: as you will
be able to deduce from your later studies, this problem is both addressed during
board design and tackled during manufacture by using waves with high
turbulence and an appropriate angle of attack.
The trend towards thinner packages might be expected to make gull-wing
formats easier to solder, because the angle of aspect is reduced. However, the
reverse is the case: usually the lead pitch also becomes finer, and the reduced
separation increases the incidence of bridging. Table 1 indicates the range of
SM components for which wave soldering is suitable.
The solder joint faults introduced by the wave soldering process are normally
‘major’ defects, that is they require rectification. Typical of these are bridges,
spikes and solder skips, excess solder defects being the most common. When
problems happen, they tend to affect wide areas of the board, and most test
systems have difficulty in dealing with a number of short-circuits on a single
assembly. It is therefore common practice to introduce a rework stage
immediately after wave soldering. If a cleaning process has been specified, this
rework is usually carried out after cleaning, but may sometimes be done
beforehand, provided that the board is not excessively contaminated by flux
and that care is taken to avoid the flux residues hardening and becoming more
difficult to remove.
Mixed technology (‘Type 3’) assemblies are often made by combining reflow
and wave soldering. A typical process is to apply solder paste, place surface
mount (SM) components on the top of the board, dry the paste, and then
reflow the paste to create the joint. Next leaded components are inserted, the
board is inverted, adhesive is applied, SM components are placed, and the
adhesive is cured. After inverting the board once more, wave soldering
completes the process.
Note that the SM parts are totally immersed in the solder wave. To avoid being
washed away, they must be firmly secured to the board by applying glue before
placement and curing the adhesive afterwards. Typical glues used are epoxies
that are heat cured, the process taking place in a belt oven similar to that used
for reflow.
Unfortunately, with wave soldering it is not easy to incorporate complex
components on the underside, which limits the freedom of the layout designer.
It also introduces a second type of soldering process, one that is
(comparatively) low yield and difficult to control. The alternative of using solder
paste and reflowing all the components is attractive, and cost reduction and
process simplification are major driving forces behind what is called ‘intrusive
reflow’ or (more descriptively) ‘pin-in-paste’. We will be exploring that theme in
Alternative techniques and off-board assembly.
Materials
Flux
Fluxes used for wave soldering (also referred to as ‘preparation fluids’) are
usually low-viscosity liquids, and consist of a flux base combined with:
activators
solvents (‘thinners’)
surfactants and foaming agents (where needed).
The trend to no-clean and water-soluble fluxes resulted from the CFC ban
following the Montreal Protocol agreement of 1987. There have since been
environmentally driven moves both to control the discharge of water used for
washing and to reduce the emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
The result has been a trend towards using water-based no-clean fluxes. Because
water has a higher boiling point and is relatively slow to evaporate, these fluxes
typically have a higher (10–20%) solids content, and generally require
modification to the preheat part of the process. This aspect is discussed at
greater length in Design for eXcellence.
Flux changes in composition when in contact with the atmosphere. These
changes take two forms:
Loss of solvents, which increases both the solids content of the flux
and its viscosity. These parameters are normally deduced from
measurement of the specific gravity (‘SG’) of the flux, and solvent
loss can be compensated for by adding replacement solvent
(‘thinners’). However, with rosin-based fluxes used in foam fluxers,
the changes are very rapid, so constant monitoring and
replenishment is required
Oxidation of the flux, which reduces its fluxing effectiveness.
Nothing can be done about this, other than replacing it by new flux.
A typical recommendation is that flux exposed to the atmosphere
should be replaced after 40–50 hours of use.
In order to get consistent fluxing results, either the condition of the flux has to
be maintained scrupulously (with foam, wave or brush methods) or virgin flux
has to be used once only (with spray fluxing). Low solids and no-clean fluxes
tend to be most difficult to maintain in consistent condition, which in turn
means that the industry is moving towards sealed spray fluxing systems.
Solder
Although 60:40 tin : lead used to be favoured, the material of choice for all
current wave-soldering applications is 63:37 tin : lead, that is, Pb37A (in the
ANSI/J-STD-006 standard) or Sn63 (in QQ-S-571E). [The moves to lead-free
materials as a result of environmental pressures are considered in Design for
eXcellence]
As you will have learned, there are benefits of adding small amounts of silver to
tin-lead eutectic solder, and the Pb36A alloy with 2% silver is very commonly
used for solder paste. However, for wave soldering the benefits are normally
outweighed by the greatly increased cost.
Fortunately, using the weaker alloy is not a major problem: a wave soldered
joint tends to be stronger by design than a reflowed joint, being generally
applied to through-hole components and surface mount parts on coarse lead
pitch, with correspondingly large fillets. Restricting the use of Pb36A to solder
pastes, where the demands on the joint are more stringent, and the metal cost is
only a small percentage of the total, makes good economic and engineering
sense.
Note that there will always be a substantial differential between the quoted
trading prices of commodity metals and the cost of solders. Only a portion of
this represents profit, as there are real costs associated with the additional
refining and casting processes involved. Whilst specifications and
manufacturing processes vary, electronic solders are very much purer than their
counterparts in other industries, and have a lower oxide content.
Solder resist
This last item is particularly important from the reliability point of view – the
increase in surface insulation resistance (SIR) is around two orders of
magnitude.
The only downside for solder resist is that some resists may interact with solder
to produce unexpected effects: an example of this is solder balling which is
reported to take place during wave soldering under nitrogen.
Fluxing
The correct quantity of flux has to be applied evenly to the entire surface to be
soldered: unfluxed areas will not be soldered well, and over-thick deposits will
lead to voids and solder balling. It is also desirable to flux the inside of any
through holes, to aid wetting and solder pull-through. The in-line application of
flux can be achieved by a number of different methods, of which the main
current techniques of foam and spray fluxing are described below.
Foam fluxers
Until the mid-1990s, the foam fluxer was the type most commonly fitted in
automatic soldering lines. With this method (Figure 4) a flux ‘foam’ is generated
by passing low pressure air (<1bar) through aerator tubes immersed in a tank of
liquid flux. Despite their common name, most of these ‘stones’ are in fact made
of polypropylene! [Having said this, ceramic tubes are reported to be more
reliable and easier to keep clean] The tubes, often fitted in pairs, are designed to
break up the stream into tiny bubbles, and are covered by an open chimney that
channels the foam upwards. The assembled board travels across the crest of
this wave of foam, and a thin coating of flux is left on the board as the bubbles
burst.
Spray fluxers
Many of the spray fluxers in the market place have easily replaceable, air-
powered nozzles, often fitted in pairs. Heads are fixed to a moving bar that
provides a reciprocating action similar to that used in paint sprayers, in order to
give complete even coverage of the board (Figure 6).
Combined with a board sensor, the spray fluxer can be set to spray only the
required area. Depending on whether the head movement is pneumatic or
motorised, the limits of head travel may be set mechanically or electronically.
The latter option makes it possible to control all fluxing functions by computer.
As a result, there are a number of competing spray systems that vary in the way
that they address these problems and achieve wide, even coverage. Many of
these have an ultrasonic spray mechanism, in which the energy in high
frequency sound waves atomises the flux.
The amount of flux deposited varies directly with conveyor speed, but can also
be controlled by adjusting the fluxer parameters. How this is done depends on
the equipment being used. Generally, the more sophisticated the equipment, the
more flexibility there is over the amount of flux deposited.
Common to all spray fluxers is the need for an efficient extraction system,
which gathers any over-spray and the aerosol of small flux droplets that
unavoidably forms wherever flux is atomised. This airborne flux must not be
allowed to settle on the top surface of boards or on the soldering machine at
large.
Flux application is rarely totally even, and a fluxed board will usually drip
surplus flux onto the preheater, reducing its efficiency and creating a fire
hazard. There are two ways of removing excess flux, both of which are usually
integrated into the fluxing unit:
A fixed brush the width of the machine, similar to those used in foam
fluxers for foam support
An adjustable angled air knife.
On current machines, the air knife is the option normally fitted, as this avoids
physical contact with the board. A brush head is only suitable for assemblies
that are not sensitive to such contact. An additional benefit is that the air knife
will drive flux up into plated holes to enhance top side wetting.
Preheat
solder joint. This gas evolution may also create sufficient force to rupture the plated via barrel or cause delamination. These volatiles can be
contaminants deposited during storage, handling, and assembly operations, trapped processing solutions, organic volatiles from the materials used in
board fabrication, or natural moisture. However, pre-baking is a costly and time-consuming operation, and one which may impair solderability.
Users should only need to bake a board before wave soldering either when packages have been left open for an extended period or when blow-holes
are discovered.
Flux activation
Some fluxes like rosin, depend on heat (70–80°C) to become active at all. The
level of activity of other types of flux also increases with increasing temperature.
When making joints with liquid solder, you need to have sufficient thermal
energy available to ensure that the interface remains liquid. If you dip a totally
cold surface into solder, you will first freeze a film of solidified solder that
masks the surface but is not in intimate contact with it. This has the result that
heat transfer is impaired, so that the joint area takes longer to reach a
temperature high enough for the solder to wet. In all soldering processes, the
parts to be assembled must be hot enough before solder is applied to avoid this
happening.
In wave soldering, the heat required to raise the surfaces to the wetting
temperature comes from both preheating and contact with the solder wave.
These work together to supply the heat necessary for the joining process. The
higher the preheat temperature, the less heat is required from the wave. This
can be translated into a shorter time in the solder wave, or higher production
speeds.
Without an efficient preheating stage, high conveyor speeds would not be
possible, nor (during the brief time available) could the molten solder be
persuaded to rise through the plated holes in a multilayer board to form a
meniscus on the top surface.
Preheater types
Convection panels are becoming increasingly used, primarily to provide the air
flow that is necessary to dry water-based fluxes.
Construction
The solder wave provides direct contact between the solder and the component
joints on the PCB. It can be divided into two distinct physical events:
Final heat transfer – raising the surfaces of board and leads to wetting
temperature. This is a function of:
solder bath temperature
wave contact length
conveyor speed
wave dynamics
The supply of molten solder – providing solder for wetting and filling the
gaps. This is a function of:
the solderability of both surfaces
design (pad to component ratio and fillet control)
wave dynamic
As indicated, both parts of the process depend on wave dynamics or, more
plainly, on the shape of the solder being pumped, its fluidity, flow rate and
turbulence. There are a large number of wave designs but most are variations
on the same technology (Figure 7).
Solder waves are produced by forcing molten solder upwards, from an area
where there is no dross, through a vertical conduit that ends in what is
commonly called the wave nozzle. This nozzle will contain baffles to ensure
uniformity of flow to the top. Originally, the wave nozzle had the form of a
narrow slot, set at right-angles to the direction of board travel, with the
emerging solder forming a hump of molten metal and falling in a symmetrical
wave over both sides back into the main solder bath.
The symmetrical wave was soon replaced by the asymmetrical wave shown
above, which gives neater joints, reduces solder bridging and permits higher
soldering speeds. The term ‘Lambda wave’, though an Electrovert trademark,
is often applied to this waveform because of its similarity in shape to the Greek
capital letter Λ.
There is an inevitable gap between the two waves, and this has been criticised
for several reasons:
A dip in joint temperature occurs between the waves, which may
partially solidify the joint, making it more difficult for the secondary
wave to perform its function
The time in contact with molten solder is extended
Especially with low-solids fluxes, the chip wave may wash away so
many of the flux residues that the board is unprotected during its
second exposure to solder.
Double wave system: note the extended distance between
the two waves
This has led to the development of a wave form that combines the functions of
both chip and main waves in a single asymmetrical wave. This is done by
generating a zone of high multi-directional kinetic energy within the wave at the
point where the board enters, typically using an electromagnetic transducer to
vibrate a movable element within the wave. The position of the element defines
the vibration zone, and its amplitude of movement can be varied to optimise
the action and eliminate defects. The exit side of the wave follows the normal
asymmetrical pattern with a smooth, laminar overflow. The process is claimed
to be reliable, repeatable and efficient.
In some machines, the vibrating wave is preceded by a conventional high-
energy chip wave – belt and braces! In defence of the manufacturers, it must be
said that all these wave functions can be selected, so that the machine can be
configured very flexibly for a wide variety of applications.
The interaction of a conventional laminar wave and the assembled board can be
divided into three zones, as shown in Figure 9:
The point of entry is at the most dynamic part of the wave since the directions
of board travel and solder flow are in direct opposition to one another. At this
point the solder flows rapidly down the wave, while the board moves in the
opposite direction.
This differential motion creates a washing action that removes the flux from the
board, and will also flush away organic layers such as any surface
contamination.
Flux removal is total on the metallic pads where wetting occurs. However,
some of the more viscous fluxing materials may cling to the laminate between
conductors. The extent of flux retention depends on the physical layout of the
lands and components, but inevitably some flux is left on the bottom of the
board between lands.
If only the bottom of the PCB had to be wet, the wave solder operation would
be complete shortly after the point of entry. However, component leads with a
substantial heat content also need to be soldered, and plated through holes
must be wetted and filled with solder.
This filling is primarily produced by wetting taking place between solder and
metallisation and the resulting surface tension forces: capillary action ensures
that solder will rise up the holes. There is some contribution from wave
pressure, although, as the board approaches the point of exit, the upward push
due to fluid dynamics decreases in importance.
In addition to the heat supplied by the wave, heat is absorbed by the assembly
during the preheat stage. This additional heat is critical in good fillet formation.
A board that is already warm can pass more rapidly through the hot wave.
Contact time is thus reduced, which decreases thermal damage. Note that the
greatest damage to components and board happens during exposure to the
wave. This is because the damage mechanisms are accelerated at higher
temperatures, whereas the assembly can tolerate the lower temperatures of
preheat for an extended period with few ill effects.
Because of the importance of heat transfer, the part of the wave between the
point of solder to metal contact and the point of wave exit is often referred to
as the heat transfer zone.
In order to achieve the best wave solder results, a high degree of uniformity in
fillet configuration has to be obtained. This ultimately eases inspection and
dramatically reduces unnecessary operator touch-up. To obtain such uniformity
the forces shaping the underside of the fillet at the wave exit must be
controlled. These forces fall into two categories:
Surface energies. These forces are predictable and can be subdivided into:
The interfacial energy between the solder and the base metal. This is
affected by solderability but is independent of the environment
The cohesive force of the liquid solder, which is greatly affected by the
second phase with which it is in contact (flux, or air).
Hydraulic forces. These are often random and depend on the following
factors:
The quality/purity of the solder being pumped, and hence its fluidity
Any oxide layers on the solder surface
Aspects of the wave design, such as turbulence and the direction and
rate of flow
The angle of the conveyor
The configuration of the exposed metal areas on the board
The distribution of the thermal load.
The best point of exit corresponds to where these hydraulic forces can be
neutralised. This is achieved by withdrawing the fillet from the wave at a static
location, which is found where the board travel speed and direction are similar
to that of the solder flow.
Board handling
Pallets
On larger machines, pallets usually ride on chains, pulled along by their own
prongs: on smaller machines, a synthetic rubber belt provides friction drive to
the pallet. Some advantages are that pallets:
will hold odd and irregular profiles
allow different board sizes to be intermixed
are suitable for multiple boards
provide a robust jig for the hand insertion of components
can be used for retention fixturing
can be used for selective soldering
allow the board to be angled to optimise solder drainage
provide simple and rugged transport.
Pallets are, however, not very cost effective for medium to large volumes,
because a high labour element is required to load and unload the pallets. This is
especially true if finger conveyors are fitted, since the loading and unloading
operations must be carried out carefully to avoid damage to the fingers. Pallets
also interfere with the final cleaning process and must be unloaded before
degreasing or washing. However, the pallets themselves need to be cleaned
occasionally in order to avoid contaminating the fluxer. Also, when pallets are
recycled whilst still hot, they tend to depress the foam in the fluxer, resulting in
skips or uneven coverage.
Fixtures and pallets can be made in many different materials, but the service
conditions are harsh! Pallet material must:
be non-wettable with solder
be resistant to flux
be resistant to cleaning fluids (preferably non-absorbent)
not warp in heat
not take heat away from the board
be easy to fabricate (usually by NC milling).
Anodised aluminium, Teflon-coated steel, and titanium are all used, the last
being preferred because it has no surface coating and is less subject to damage.
However, although easier to clean, metal jigs lose out to a range of non-metallic
materials similar to FR-4 laminate, except for light items such as clips. Fixtures
made from composites are easier to handle in production because of their
lighter weight and lower thermal conductivity, and have less effect on the
process because they absorb and retain less heat.
Durostone® is one such composite. Made of epoxy reinforced with 65–80% of
glass fibre, it has a similar thermal coefficient of expansion to the board it
supports. It is robust and easy to machine, but will wear in contact with metallic
surfaces. For this reason pallets are often fitted with metal glides, usually made
of titanium.
Depending on the production volume, pallets may be customised for the circuit
(in which case they can incorporate anti-flood protection, solder masks for
selective soldering and clamps for component retention) or general purpose
styles that can be adjusted to fit differing sizes of board. Typically, the clamps
on these flexible types will integrate solder dams to prevent solder washing
round the side of the board.
Note that pallets have to be cleaned regularly, because they always pick up flux,
which decomposes as it passes through the machine. This even happens when
spray fluxers are adjusted correctly, because inevitably there is some over-spray.
Not only does this make the jigs difficult to handle, but it will impact on both
the yield and the cleanliness of the final product. No-clean fluxes produce less
of a problem but, after many passes, almost any material will build up a film and
then solder sticks to the film, rather than the metal.
Finger conveyors
Finger conveyors are permanently attached to the machine. The fingers, which
come in contact with the solder, are always made from titanium, which is
untinnable with any type of flux. Most of the fingers fitted have a vee-groove,
as this restrains the board vertically, and prevents it being pushed up whilst in
contact with the wave. However, unless very carefully maintained and adjusted,
fingers with this design are prone to dropping boards. It is common, therefore,
to replace a proportion of the fingers (say 1 in 3) by fingers with an L-shape, to
provide a more secure platform for the board. This design of finger is also
easier to use in conjunction with pallets, where the upward solder pressure can
be overcome by the combined weight of assembly and pallet.
Finger conveyors are very cost effective from small to large volumes and fit
more easily into in-line conveyerised manufacturing systems. However, they can
only handle boards with parallel edges and cannot deal with mixed width
batches. They are less suitable than carriers for use with boards that are less
than fully self-supporting – flexible boards may be dropped, or dip into the
wave crest, leading to flooding.
For problem-free operation, the fingers on the conveyor must be properly
adjusted and kept free of tacky residues. Cleaning the fingers helps hold the
board correctly and stops contamination of the flux station. Unlike pallet
cleaning, an automated mechanism for doing this can be fitted to the machine.
In adjusting the conveyor, attention must be paid to:
thermal expansion relief
board height control
accommodation of width tolerances
turbulence created in the wave
finger damage and maintenance.
Conveyor system
Conveyor configuration
Because the depth of immersion of every part of the board surface in the crest
of the wave affects the final soldering result, geometrical precision is required
where the board travels over the crest, or crests of the wave. The position of
every board in the vertical axis must be defined, in reference to both its
longitudinal edges, to ±0.3 mm. Any sideways tilt of the board relative to the
wave crest must be held within these limits. It is advisable that they should not
be exceeded because some unsteadiness of the wave, and warping and bowing
of the board itself, must also be accommodated.
Conveyor speed
The speed of the conveyor is a critical parameter in the wave soldering process.
The main considerations are:
The heat received by the board is inversely proportional to the speed
at which it travels through the preheat stage at a given setting of the
heater panels
The maximum practicable soldering speed of a wave machine is
governed not only by the ability of the solder wave to get the
necessary amount of heat into the board within the time available,
but also by the complexity of its pattern and the density of its
population of components
Multilayer boards with a high heat capacity must travel more slowly
than simple single-layer boards
Boards with closely packed devices and fine-pitch multi-leaded devices
must travel over the wave more slowly to give the solder the chance
to flow into the narrow gaps between adjacent devices, and to drain
away from the fine pattern of leads.
Board support
Boards entering the wave must always be kept flat, otherwise some areas may
not be properly in contact with the solder. Also, long components, such as
connectors, at right angles to the conveyor, may be mounted flush with the
board at the ends, but with unacceptable clearance in the middle. This may
result in unsatisfactory joints, will add to stresses, and will ‘freeze’ the board in
its non-flat state. Even worse, the board leading edge may dip under the wave
front, allowing solder to come over the top of the assembly. Such ‘flooding’ is
very difficult to rework.
Support cables are usually thin multi-stranded stainless steel wire, and move at
the same speed as the conveyor. They are adjustable across the width of the
conveyor, so that their position can be arranged to coincide with unused areas
of the board, such as the fret between circuits on a multi-circuit panel.
Although not a cure-all for badly designed assemblies, hot air knives are often
recommended for problem circuits. These provide directed streams of hot air
to separate bridges before they solidify, using the fact that solder bridges
between pads are less stable than those bridges that form the joints between
pads/holes and leads. Of course, this can only be done when the solder is still
liquid, so the gas flow has to be applied to the board as close as possible to the
point where the board exits the wave.
Mixed results have been reported with older designs of air knives, which were
fixed and operated across the whole width of the board: it was an art to get
them set up correctly, as a result of which they were often not used.
More recently, methods of selective de-bridging have been developed,
responding to user pressure for higher yields even with designs where lack of
space prevents ideal layouts. These use carefully controlled streams of warm air,
whose velocity and angle of attack is ‘fine tuned’ to avoid disturbing the
desirable solder bridges that form the solder joints. Just enough gas is applied to
disturb the capillary/cohesive forces that maintain the unwanted bridge,
without reducing the amount of solder available to make a good joint. The
excess solder is forced back towards the wave, and falls back into the pot by
gravity.
A good impression of the way that the solder is blown away from bridges is
given in this Seho video clip of a hot air debridging tool in operation. The gas
flow is directed only to the parts of the board that have been identified as
potential sites for bridging, leaving the remaining areas untouched. As de Klein
and Schouten comment: “most solder bridging can be more or less predicted,
unless the bridges are caused by a lack of flux activity . . . (when) . . . solder
bridging can be found randomly across the board and there is no cure other
than improving the fluxing process.”
Inert atmospheres
Rationale
Implementation
One way of protecting the surface is to remove oxygen from the surrounding
atmosphere, and since 1985 much work has been done on finding practical
ways of providing a nitrogen environment for wave solder machines.
Although nitrogen is not a truly inert gas, it remains by far the most popular
option because of its ready availability and low price compared to other inert
gases. The best performance comes from machines that are inerted throughout
their length and have entrance and exit air-locks (Figure 12). Such machines can
easily provide an environment containing <50 ppm of oxygen.
However, machines with this special construction are relatively expensive both
to purchase and run. For economic reasons, probably a majority of users chose
one of the solutions in which nitrogen is provided only at the wave surface. Not
only is such a ‘nitrogen wave’ generally available as an retrofit add-on to older
machines, but it gives most of the benefits of the fully inerted machine:
The rate of oxidation increases with temperature, and the preheat areas
are relatively cool, so that the majority of the oxide is formed in the
vicinity of the wave
Substantial improvements in the rate of dross formation can be
achieved with quite modest levels of nitrogen injection, and most of
the problem can be eliminated by reducing the oxygen content only
to <1,000 ppm.
Designs vary considerably in the ways in which they both inject nitrogen and
define the inerted volume. Typically they use nitrogen sprays or diffuse nitrogen
through porous stones, and take advantage of the fact that the board creates a
seal over the wave, retaining the inert atmosphere.
Maintaining performance
If you have seen a number of wave soldering machines in different companies,
you will almost certainly have come across some machines that are in less than
pristine condition! Partly this reflects the nature of the process, and the
difficulty of removing dross and dealing with flux maintenance in older
machines. However, with newer equipment, your observation may relate more
to the low level of expectation of operators and management, used to machines
carrying out less exacting work. A review of equipment and maintenance
practice is an enlightening part of any supplier audit.
Quote
We have had our current wave solder machine for about six years and it still looks new
and operates very well with almost no down-time. The secret is maintenance and
operator pride.
I used to do consulting on wave solder machines and often saw them stuffed in little
sheds and dirty corners because they are stinky and dirty. We have ours right in front and
make it an important part of customer tours.
Another important thing we do is having an annual maintenance done by the factory.
This gives a new set of eyes to look at the machine for little things that we may overlook
day to day. Also the technician gets to see all kinds of problems with poorly maintained
machines in the field and can help you dodge a bullet.
When the factory tech comes to perform maintenance on our machine they are always
amazed at the condition of our machine and tell us some horror stories of what they see
elsewhere.
Kenny Bloomquist on TechNet, 10 Mar 1999
Fluxer
Sealed spray fluxer systems need little more maintenance than checking the free
operation of any mechanical movements and keeping the feed tubes and
nozzles unblocked. Problems in those areas result in inconsistent flux coverage,
a fault that is soon apparent and easily diagnosed.
The same cannot be said of wave and foam fluxers, where the two mechanisms
that can affect the solder joint take place over time:
the density of the flux increases as solvents evaporate, producing a
more viscous flux and a thicker flux deposit
the flux gradually degrades through exposure to air, especially if the
environment is hot and/or humid.
The first of these is normally addressed by monitoring the density (also referred
to as ‘specific gravity’) of the flux. This relies on the difference in density
between the flux and the thinners used. The second problem area can only be
dealt with by regular (fortnightly or monthly) cleaning of the flux tank and
replacement of the flux.
Solder
The solder level in the bath must be maintained, and the pot replenished,
which means that the level of solder in the pot must be monitored regularly,
either automatically or by the operator.
Dross is formed when solder is moved or disturbed, and the oxide skin formed
by reaction with the oxygen in the atmosphere breaks up and mixes with the
solder underneath. Because the basic principle of wave soldering involves
moving solder around and letting it fall back into a bath of molten material, the
formation of dross is unavoidable unless an inert atmosphere is used. Allowed
to build up, dross has a number of negative effects, so it needs to be removed
regularly: depending on the application, some intervention may be needed every
hour!
For hand and reflow soldering, purity of the starting material is not an issue
since fresh solder is used. However, with wave soldering, solder in the bath is
continually reused, and may gradually pick up contamination dissolved from the
product being processed. Silver (from passive component terminations), copper
(from boards without a nickel barrier layer) and gold (from boards with nickel-
gold finishes) are the materials most frequently found. It is normal practice to
use a laboratory to carry out an analysis of the bath on a regular basis (perhaps
three-monthly) and then make the necessary additions of tin, to replace tin
oxide lost in the dross, or even replace the whole of the solder in the bath if it is
contaminated.