Content for Reflow

Reflow soldering is a process in which a solder paste (a sticky mixture of powdered solder and flux) is used to temporarily attach one or thousands of tiny electrical components to their contact pads, after which the entire assembly is subjected to controlled heat. The solder paste reflows in a molten state, creating permanent solder joints. Heating may be accomplished by passing the assembly through a reflow oven or under an infrared lamp or by soldering individual joints with a desoldering hot air pencil. Reflow soldering with long industrial convection ovens is the preferred method of soldering surface mount components to a printed circuit board or PCB. Each segment of the oven has a regulated temperature, according to the specific thermal requirements of each assembly. Reflow ovens meant specifically for the soldering of surface mount components may also be used for through-hole components by filling the holes with solder paste and inserting the component leads through the paste. Wave soldering however, has been the common method of soldering multi-leaded through-hole components such as through-hole connectors or highly application specific through-hole components, onto a circuit board designed for surface-mount type components. When used on boards containing a mix of SMT and PTH components, through-hole reflow, when achievable by specifically modified paste stencils, may allow for the wave soldering step to be eliminated from the assembly process, potentially reducing assembly costs. While this may be said of lead-tin solder pastes used previously, lead-free solder alloys such as SAC present a challenge in terms of the limits of oven temperature profile adjustment and requirements of specialized through-hole components that must be hand soldered with solder wire or cannot reasonably withstand the high temperatures directed at circuit boards as they travel on the conveyor of the reflow oven. The reflow soldering of through-hole components using solder paste in a convection oven process is called intrusive soldering.