-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueWhat's Your Sweet Spot?
Are you in a niche that’s growing or shrinking? Is it time to reassess and refocus? We spotlight companies thriving by redefining or reinforcing their niche. What are their insights?
Moving Forward With Confidence
In this issue, we focus on sales and quoting, workforce training, new IPC leadership in the U.S. and Canada, the effects of tariffs, CFX standards, and much more—all designed to provide perspective as you move through the cloud bank of today's shifting economic market.
Intelligent Test and Inspection
Are you ready to explore the cutting-edge advancements shaping the electronics manufacturing industry? The May 2025 issue of SMT007 Magazine is packed with insights, innovations, and expert perspectives that you won’t want to miss.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Henkel Launches Non-Proprietary Solder Paste Analysis Toolkit
March 16, 2018 | HenkelEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Henkel has developed a non-proprietary solder paste analysis toolkit that is easy to implement and targeted at today’s manufacturing complexities, particularly in the printing and reflow process areas.
“As assembly dimensions have dramatically decreased in the last 10 years, the influence of solder paste formulation effectiveness has increased,” explains Doug Dixon, Global Marketing Director at Henkel. “As such, evaluating the many material properties—from print characteristics and stencil behavior to reflow performance and reliability—has become more challenging. The objective of this work was to develop a robust solder paste evaluation tool that integrates current and future market requirements, while providing a simple, off-the-shelf solution for PCB assemblers.”
A cooperative effort between industry specialists in the disciplines of material formulation, statistical evaluation and process engineering, the new solder test vehicle offers a turnkey solder evaluation tool, incorporating PCB design, a complete bill of materials (BOM), full programming documentation, set-up and test methods, and step-by-step directions for a designed experiment.
Considering current and future market requirements, the solder evaluation tool integrates area arrays down to 0.3mm pitch, 0.4mm pitch bottom terminated components (BTCs), and a variety of discretes from 1206s down to 008004s. The unpopulated side of the board offers a design to evaluate slump, spread, solder balling, SIR and print to fail (PTF). Balancing the 22 material properties to be tested along with BOM and labor costs, the PCB and test methods were engineered for efficiency, providing maximum data while minimizing the time investment. A user-defined scorecard that prioritizes various solder paste characteristics and weightings summarizes rating information to indicate the best solder paste for a specific operation.
“There is often hesitance to change solder paste formulations for a variety of reasons,” says Dixon, noting that challenging and time-consuming qualification procedures frequently deter transitioning to a more capable material. “Access to a simple method for determining the best solder material for a particular process enables fast implementation for better yield and reliability outcomes. For assemblers who need or want to update solder formulations on a regular basis, this new test vehicle offers an efficient and effective approach for material qualification.”
The Henkel-developed solder evaluation kit will be available through select, third-party suppliers.
Suggested Items
SHENMAO Strengthens Semiconductor Capabilities with Acquisition of PMTC
07/10/2025 | SHENMAOSHENMAO America, Inc. has announced the acquisition of Profound Material Technology Co., Ltd. (PMTC), a premier Taiwan-based manufacturer of high-performance solder balls for semiconductor packaging.
KYZEN to Highlight Understencil and PCB Cleaners at SMTA Querétaro Expo and Tech Forum
07/09/2025 | KYZEN'KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally responsible cleaning chemistries, will exhibit at the SMTA Querétaro Expo & Tech Forum, scheduled to take place Thursday, July 24, at Centro de Congresos y Teatro Metropolitano de Querétaro.
Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
07/01/2025 | Simon Khesin -- Column: Driving InnovationMy first camera used Kodak film. I even experimented with developing photos in the bathroom, though I usually dropped the film off at a Kodak center and received the prints two weeks later, only to discover that some images were out of focus or poorly framed. Today, every smartphone contains a high-quality camera capable of producing stunning images instantly.
Hands-On Demos Now Available for Apollo Seiko’s EF and AF Selective Soldering Lines
06/30/2025 | Apollo SeikoApollo Seiko, a leading innovator in soldering technology, is excited to spotlight its expanded lineup of EF and AF Series Selective Soldering Systems, now available for live demonstrations in its newly dedicated demo room.
Indium Corporation Expert to Present on Automotive and Industrial Solder Bonding Solutions at Global Electronics Association Workshop
06/26/2025 | IndiumIndium Corporation Principal Engineer, Advanced Materials, Andy Mackie, Ph.D., MSc, will deliver a technical presentation on innovative solder bonding solutions for automotive and industrial applications at the Global Electronics A