USER MANUAL
SOLDERABILITY TESTER
METRONELEC
V2.0
–
10/2021
6 Avenue Eiffel - 78420 Carrières-sur-Seine
Tél : 01 30 15 20 00
Web :
http://www.metronelec.com| Mail : [email protected]
Page
10
sur
83
Solderability testing
The goal is to evaluate the quality of components / soldering ingredients before to use it on
production lines.
We can use solderability test to check components, pcb, alloys, chemicals for soldering or
components productions, etc…
We can’t check all components, so we operate by sampling to measure the « averag
e level »
of solderability. Size of the sampling depends on the amount of components and the degree
of confidence you want to use, all this is just statistic and is defined in quality standards.
Usually, we use batches of ten or twelve components to have a good idea of the quality.
Ageing
To know the solderability of a “fresh component” is not enough…As solderability can evolve
quickly, it is also very important to know, to predict the wettability versus time to warrant
the quality for months.
The ageing of fusible coating creates intermetallic growth; organic deposits have also a
limited shelf life, ageing in general is not good for wettability as the general state of the
surface is degraded.
Solderability shelf life is an important figure to know.
Different standards define conditions of ageing, it is generally an immersion of few hours in
“dry steam”, see standards for more details.
Why ?
The main reason is to avoid over cost due to repair and production destabilization and also
to lead the process.
Predict production results with off line trials.
Components, process approval, pcb or component manufacture (No clean, lead free, etc)
This equipment, defined in standards and meeting all standard requirements is also
mandatory to justify the level of solderability in case of doubt / conflict.
Who ?
Every company involved in soldering from:
•
Raw materials suppliers (copper tapes or wires, rosins)
•
Lead frames suppliers / formers
•
Chemicals suppliers for pcb or component fabrication and assembly.
•
Pcb and component manufacturers.
•
Assembly companies
•
Laboratories and schools