A Look at Our Readers’ Manufacturing Challenges

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In a recent SMT007 survey, we asked the following question: "What are your greatest challenges when it comes to soldering?" Here are just a few of the replies, slightly edited for clarity.

Jon Ashton, Vergent Products: Selective soldering is not covered (as a process) by any specific IPC/J-STD document that I can find. The training, even from our equipment supplier, is prohibitively expensive. That makes improving the process harder than it should be. Regarding SMT PCBA design, there is a lot of bad data out there in existing CAD/CAM libraries, and the manufacturer’s datasheets are often the source of this bad information.

Jeff Vaessen, Borg Indak: Choosing the right tip geometry is the biggest challenge for any solderer. The right tip makes all the difference in the world.

Pongtip Pattarateerawat, Celestica Thailand: The wave soldering process is more challenging than the SMT reflow process, as there are a variety of PCB design and component considerations when it comes to wave soldering.

Yingyos Sookchai, SVI Public Co. Ltd: Achieving solder fillets with perfect wetting and avoiding damages to components.

01/30/2019 | I-Connect007 Research Team

In a recent I-Connect007 survey on jet printing solder pastes, we asked the following question: "What are the major benefits with jet printing solder pastes?" Here are just a few of the replies, slightly edited for clarity.

01/30/2019 | Real Time with...IPC

Traian Cucu, Ph.D., G.A.T.E Group Leader at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, discusses with I-Connect007 Managing Editor Nolan Johnson some of the methods to reduce, or eliminate, the solder voiding issue, especially with the continuing trend towards lower-pitch, high-density components.

01/18/2019 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007

Mark Laing, business development manager of the Valor division at Mentor, a Siemens company, and Luca Corli, director of sales at Seica, speaks with I-Connect007 Technical Editor Pete Starkey about the partnership between their two companies, which enables efficient data preparation for testing big boards, and accelerates new product introduction (NPI) cycles.