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Selector Roundup Soldering Equipment
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Soldering is a critical step in the SMT process. Because high reliability and throughput rates rely on defect-free soldering, it is important that soldering equipment meets the needs of the assembler. Soldering equipment includes ovens and irons, dispensers, and rework and repair equipment. SMT presents the following Soldering Equipment Selector Roundup, spotlighting an assortment of available products.
Industrial OvenSHRINK is an industrial oven that reportedly handles processing heat shrink tubing in a broad range of assemblies. Features are said to include accurate digital control; electronic temperature control; 99 programs available for storing speeds and temperature; high-limit safety shutdown; conveyor stop safety shutdown; two-year warranty on electronics/one-year warranty on all mechanical parts; digital date and time clock; and automatic settable start-up and shut-down times. American Manufacturing & Technologies Inc., Addison, Ill.
Automated Thermal ManagementKIC Pilot is an automated thermal management for reflow ovens that incorporates an animated operator interface that functions as an overlay program, communicating with both the existing oven controller software and the installed SlimKIC 2000 profiling software. The program reportedly allows operators to set up ovens for production using only the animated interface rather than the oven-control software. It also is said to minimize the amount of training and knowledge required for operators to prepare an oven for production and optimize the reflow process. KIC Thermal Profiling, San Diego, Calif.
Solder Reflow OvenRD2 is designed to accommodate medium-volume production and most product sizes. The reflow oven reportedly provides unmatched vapor phase process stability and uniformity while being extremely flexible and cost effective. The RD2 allows any company, regardless of size, to produce products of the best quality using the latest in vapor phase technology. R&D Technical Services Inc., Burnsville, Minn.
Soldering RobotMOVESTAR 601 is a 6-axis, selective soldering robot designed for high-volume soldering in any manufacturing environment. This versatile and accurate robot is styled with an articulated arm and reportedly is capable of soldering on any plane for both in-line and cellular manufacturing environments. Featured are the following accessory options: fume extraction attachment, nitrogen envelope, safety covers and in-line conveyor systems. Robotic selective soldering is said to be most ideal for high-volume applications involving components with heavy mass joints, nonstandard geometries and sensitive temperature requirements. PACE Inc., Laurel, Md.
Lead-free Hand SolderingOriginally developed to ensure consistent soldering iron tip temperature under a wide variety of thermal loads, SmartHeat is said to be suited to lead-free soldering without need of any modification. With this technology, it is the tip temperature that is kept constant and not the power supplied to it. As a result, the burden of maintaining the correct tip temperature is removed from the operator as the power varies automatically. Unlike conventional irons, this device's heat is not "stored" in the soldering iron tip, but reportedly applied directly from the heater to the joint. If the tip cools while transferring heat to a joint, for example, the tip cartridge instantly responds by safely increasing power to restore tip temperature. Metcal Inc., Menlo Park, Calif.
Lead-free ProductsA considerable number of the company's wavesoldering machines have been operating lead-free processes for more than three years in full production. Driven by automotive requirements where higher temperature solders are needed for electronics products that are mounted under the hood of a car, these processes reportedly have demonstrated good reliability and stable performance. Additionally, standard corrosion-resistant coated impellers in the wavesoldering machines are said to demonstrate excellent compatibility with the new lead-free solder alloys. Vitronics Soltec North America, Stratham, N.H.
OvenBravo 8105 Reflow Oven reportedly features eight heating zones and 105" of heated length. It is said to use a heating technology combined with a steel-fin infrastructure to offer a heat transfer surface area. Heater placement within each zone's process gas intake is said to allow individual zone-temperature control and minimal temperature deltas by enabling the process gas to mix through the blowers and diffusers. This advanced heating technology processes lead-free applications in advanced manufacturing environments, the company says. Speedline ELECTROVERT, a Speedline Technologies Div., Franklin, Mass.
Belt Conveyor OvenNo. 851, a 650°F electrically heated conveyor oven, is used for soldering metal parts at a customer's facility. Workspace dimensions of this oven measure 18 x 96 x 15". The full heat-processing system of this oven reportedly consists of a 2' long open belt loading zone, two 4' long insulated heat zones with independent recirculated airflow and temperature control, 1' long open zone, 12' long cooling zone, and a 2' long open belt unloading zone. The heat is said to be provided by 60 kW installed in nichrome wire heating elements, while two 1,000 cfm, 2 hp recirculating blowers furnish downward vertical airflow to the workloads. The Grieve Corp., Round Lake, Ill.
Dual-lane ConfigurationA dual-lane configuration for the company's Profile Series of reflow ovens reportedly maximizes throughput by doubling the number of PCBs processed. The ovens are available in dual-lane configurations with either three or four rails, as well as the standard single-lane configuration with a two-rail setup. Profile ovens reportedly feature proprietary heating chambers with the highest linear convection ratio in the industry, filterless flux management and gas-to-gas cooling modules with minimal maintenance required. The chamber plenums are said to provide overlapping cones of heat with turbulent gas flow for high-impingement velocities without disturbing components. The heating zones achieve temperatures up to 325°C. Conceptronic Inc., Portsmouth, N.H.
Reflow OvenThe Siplace Reflow Oven, available in three different versions, has been developed to meet the demands of high-volume production and to match the modular Siplace concept and software-based line integration. Either nitrogen or normal air may be used. The three oven designs have different process characteristics: the RN26S has a process length of 2,600 mm and features one peak temperature zone; the RN33S has a process length of 3,300 mm and has two peak temperature zones; and the RN41S has a process zone of 4,100 mm with two peak temperature zones. The throughput varies according to type between 128 and 231 PCBs per hour in a single-track operation. Siemens Production and Logistics Systems AG Group, Nuremberg, Germany.
Continuous-production OvensThe PC Series Continuous Production Ovens reportedly provide process versatility, reliability and consistency in preheating, curing, bonding, drying and heat-treating applications. Available in lengths from 4 to 30' and conveyor widths of 6 to 36", these ovens can be customized to process materials of varying sizes and dimensions in the electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical, medical and other clean process and industrial markets. The ovens are available with standard maximum temperature ratings of 500°, 650° and 850°F, and also can be designed with special temperature ratings up to 1,000°F. Despatch Industries, Minneapolis, Minn.
Soldering StationHakko 936 Soldering Station features a compact unit, thinner grips for easier use and a lock screw to prevent inadvertent changes to the temperature setting. The ESD-safe units are said to be temperature adjustable from 392° to 896°F (200° to 480°C). The units are available with medium, micro or large soldering irons as well as hot tweezers for SMD removal. The stackable design allows two stations in the bench space of one unit. A wide selection of tips is available to accommodate any soldering task. American Hakko Products Inc., Santa Clarita, Calif.
Soldering RobotThe HARMONY Selective Soldering system is a high-volume robot that reportedly can solder through-hole components intelligently. Claimed to be a new advance in the emerging selective soldering market, the miniature solder wave is bell-shaped and perpendicular, allowing the target to be soldered to approach the wave from any direction. Another system innovation is the idea of sharing a large common solder reservoir with multiple solder pumps that may be raised and lowered under user-friendly, Windows-based software commands. Each solder pump is a separate stand-alone unit that can be customized. Robotic Process Systems, Liberty Lake, Wash.