With the continuous development of electronic products and the intelligent trend, the demand for high-quality and high-reliability welding is also increasing.
Although traditional wave soldering can meet certain demands, it has some limitations. Selective wave soldering is an advanced welding technique that enables precise welding on the surface of electronic components. Therefore, selective wave soldering has attracted much attention as an emerging soldering method.
In this article, we will focus on selective wave soldering VS traditional wave soldering through their features, principles and advantages.
What are the principle and technology of wave soldering?
Before deepening into selective wave soldering VS traditional wave soldering, we should know something about wave soldering first. Wave soldering is a commonly used connection technology for electronic components. Its principle is to heat the soldering material to a molten state, and then use surface tension and wettability to form a raised solder peak at the soldering point.
Wave soldering technology mainly includes two steps, preheating and soldering. During the preheating phase, the component passes through a preheating zone, which heats the welding material above its melting point and turns it into a liquid state. In the soldering stage, the soldering head contacts the soldering point at a certain speed, so that the solder peak is formed and has a wetting reaction with the soldering point.
By controlling parameters such as preheating temperature change, welding speed and angle, accurate welding quality and high production efficiency can be obtained.
What are the classifications of wave soldering?
Based on different application requirements and welding objects, wave soldering can be divided into various types. A common classification is based on the distinction of soldering methods, including traditional wave soldering and selective wave soldering.
- Traditional wave soldering
It is suitable for mass production and large-scale connection scenarios and can perform continuous wave soldering.
- Selective wave soldering
It fits with small-batch production and high-precision welding demands. It only performs welding at the position that needs to be welded by controlling the movement trajectory of the welding head.
- Other special-purpose wave soldering
Such as LED wave soldering equipment, BGA wave soldering equipment, etc. These are optimized for specific soldering objects and process requirements.
Different types of wave soldering equipment have their own unique characteristics and scope of application, which can meet the production needs of different industries and fields.
What are the limitations of wave soldering?
Although wave soldering technology is widely used in the field of electronics manufacturing, its equipment also has some limitations. First of all, wave soldering equipment has high requirements for soldering objects, which is only suitable for certain types of electronic components.
For difficult-to-wet soldering objects such as uneven surfaces and plastic materials, wave soldering techniques may not be ideal. Secondly, wave soldering equipment needs to control multiple parameters during the welding process, such as preheating temperature, welding speed, etc., and the operation is relatively complicated. Thus, it has high technical requirements for operators and is prone to unstable welding quality.
In addition, since wave soldering is a continuous soldering method, there will be a problem with a long soldering cycle during mass production, which reduces production efficiency. Therefore, when choosing to use wave soldering equipment, it is necessary to comprehensively consider its scope of application and limitations.
What are the principle and technology of selective wave soldering?
Selective wave soldering is an improvement based on traditional wave soldering technology. Its core principle is to use the control system to precisely control the movement of the soldering head on the electronic components that need to be soldered.
Local welding is achieved by setting a shield around the welding head or using a laser. This technique can avoid the situation where the entire circuit board is immersed in the solder paste in traditional wave soldering, thereby reducing the impact on other parts that do not need to be soldered.
Spatial isolation between different solder joints can be made under selective wave soldering technology to improve soldering quality and reliability.
What are the classification of selective wave soldering?
Selective wave soldering equipment can be divided into various types according to different soldering requirements and application scenarios. A common classification is based on the way the joint moves, including mechanical, electronic, and laser.
- Mechanical selective wave soldering
It achieves precise positioning of the soldering position by controlling the mechanical movement of the soldering head, which is suitable for scenarios that do not require high soldering accuracy.
- Electronic selective wave soldering
It uses a computer or control system to control the movement of the welding head, which can achieve higher positioning accuracy and flexibility.
- Laser selective wave soldering
It uses laser technology for welding, which has the features of non-contact welding and high-precision positioning, which is suitable for scenarios that require high welding quality.
These different types of selective wave soldering equipment can be selected and applied based on specific needs.
What are the advantages of selective wave soldering?
Comparing with traditional wave soldering technology, selective wave soldering technology has some significant advantages.
- Since it only welds the parts needed, the impact on other areas can be reduced, thereby avoiding unnecessary damage and waste.
- Selective wave soldering technology can achieve spatial isolation between different solder joints, improving soldering quality and reliability.
- Selective wave soldering equipment also has high welding accuracy and positioning accuracy, which can meet the requirements for welding position and angle.
These advantages make selective wave soldering technology have broad application prospects in the production and assembly of electronic components.
Where can selective wave soldering be used?
Selective wave soldering technology has a wide range of applications in the field of electronic manufacturing. Its high precision and flexibility make it suitable for small batch production and special soldering tasks, such as the connection of printed circuit boards, electronic components, etc.
In addition, since selective wave soldering can control the movement trajectory of the soldering head, it also has advantages in the assembly of tiny electronic devices.
For example, in the manufacturing process of handheld devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers, selective wave soldering can achieve precise positioning and connection of tiny solder joints, improving product reliability and performance.
Selective wave soldering VS wave soldering
As two common wave soldering techniques, selective wave soldering and traditional wave soldering have some advantages and disadvantages.
Selective wave soldering
Advantages
- More flexible than traditional wave soldering
- Control the movement trajectory of the welding head according to welding requirements to achieve high-precision welding
- Strengths on small batch production and demanding welding demands
Disadvantages
- High cost of selective wave soldering
- Complicated operation
- Not suitable for large-scale continuous soldering
Traditional wave soldering
Advantages
- Suitable for mass production, and large-scale connection fields
- Relative simple operation
Disadvantages
- Fail to meet high precision and special welding needs
Therefore, when choosing to use wave soldering technology, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the advantages and disadvantages of selective wave soldering and traditional wave soldering starting from specific soldering tasks and requirements, to achieve the best soldering effect and production efficiency.
Conclusion
Through the selective wave soldering VS traditional wave soldering, we can find that selective wave soldering equipment has broad application prospects in the field of electronic manufacturing and microelectronics.
So, no matter what wave soldering technology we decide to adopt, it’s necessary to consider your specific welding requirements and production scale, so as to obtain the best soldering effect and production efficiency.
- Mechanical selective wave soldering
- Electronic selective wave soldering
- Laser selective wave soldering
- Selective wave soldering is more flexible than traditional wave soldering.
- Can control the movement trajectory of the welding head according to welding requirements to achieve high-precision welding
- Small batch production and demanding welding demands
Selective wave soldering core principle is to use the control system to precisely control the movement of the soldering head on the electronic components that need to be soldered.
