ROLE IN ON JOB TRAINING(OJT-2)

In the Second On Job Training (OJT-2) we gained knowledge about

the Manual/Hand Soldering, Wave Soldering Techniques, Testing and
Final Inspection (QC & QA)

Soldering is a process that joins two or more types of metals through melting
solder. The first soldering iron was developed in 1896 by Richard Schneider
and August Tinnerhol and was called the “First Electric Heating Apparatus”.

The solder is usually made up of an alloy consisting of tin and lead whose
melting point is around 235°C and 350°C, respectively.
But when tin and lead are mixed then the melting point of the mixture is
reduced to 183°C. The alloy is melted by using a hot iron at above 316 °C
(600 °F).
As the solder cools, it creates a strong electrical and mechanical bond
between the metal surfaces. The bond allows the metal parts to achieve
electrical contact while it is held in place.
Note that lead-free solders are increasingly used as an alternative to
environmentally harmful lead-based solders due to regulations.
Hand Soldering
Hand soldering is a process where humansmanually apply pressure using
the pre-tinned soldering tip of a soldering iron, heating the parts and
melting the solder.
In the industry, you might hear people refer to this technique as soft
soldering. That’s because the temperature required for hand soldering is
below 400 degrees. The solder alloys mainly contain lead with a melting
point below 350 degrees. When applying heat to the fusible components,
we try to use the lowest temperatures possible so that the metals will not
melt. The end product is a ‘soft’ joint.
Hand soldering PCBs, that can be done using thermo electronics
soldering and rework tools, is usually the last step in the prototype
assembly process and is used to finish details for through-hole and
surface-mounted components. Through-hole technology refers to
components inserted into printed circuit boards and soldered to pads on
the opposite side.

Pros
 You can develop a reliable electrical joint connection.
 For smaller components, hand soldering can reach them easily.

Cons
 Since we cannot use hand soldering for high temperatures, it
cannot make strong joints.
 You should not use it in high load-bearing applications.
Wave Soldering Machine
Wave soldering processing is a method to assemble electronic
components onto Printed Circuit Board (PCB).The board passes through
a pot of molten solder via an inclined conveyor belt in the oven, the pump
produces standing waves of molten solder. When the PCB board is in
contact with the wave, the parts will be soldered to the board, creating the
mechanically and electrically reliable joints. The wave soldering process
is primarily used for through-hole components assembly, but can also be
used for surface mounting (SMD).

Step 1: Flux Spraying

Cleaning metal surfaces ensures soldering performance. Flux aids in
smoother soldering.
Step 2: Preheating
Circuit boards travel through a heat tunnel for preheating and activating
flux.
Step 3: Wave Soldering
As the temperature increases gradually, solder paste turns liquid with
waves formed from edge boards above. Components are solidly bonded
on boards.
Step 4: Cooling
After being cooled to room temperature, the machine will successfully
assemble the board.
We recommend wave soldering for higher speed and efficiency of PCB
assembly if you need to meet increased demand for electronic products. It
is a faster process with both through-hole PCB assembly and surface
mount technologies.

Pros
 Exposes components to heat for a shorter time. As a result, air
exposure and oxidation are lesser.
 The process creates better quality joints.
 Suitable for high-volume production.

Cons
 Temperature inconsistencies in the process mean temperature must
be well controlled.
 The process requires high environmental maintenance.
Materials used for Wave Soldering
1. Flux

In order to ensure that the area to be soldered is clean and free from
oxidation, etc., flux is required. There are two types of fluxes, corrosive
and non-corrosive. Non-corrosive fluxes require pre-cleaning and are
used when low acidity is required. Corrosive fluxes are fast, require little
pre-cleaning, but have high acidity.
The flux is applied to one side of the board to be soldered, that is, the
bottom side. Careful control of the amount of flux is required, too little
flux, there is a high risk of poor joints, too much flux, and flux might
remain on the board.

There are two main methods of applying flux:

1. Spray flux. A fine mist of flux is sprayed onto the underside of the
board that is to be soldered. Some systems may even use a compressed air
jet to remove the excess flux.
2. Foam flux. The electronic printed circuit board is passed over a
cascading head of flux foam. This is generated using a tank of flux into
which a plastic cylinder with tiny holes is immersed. The plastic cylinder
is covered with a metal chimney and the air is forced through the
cylinder. This causes flux foam to rise up the chimney.
2. Pre-Heating
The wave soldering process exposes PCB boards and devices to relatively
high heat levels, which is much higher than the heat experienced during
hand soldering. This thermal shock might result in a significant increase
in the level of failure. To overcome this problem, the boards should be
preheated to stably stabilize it to the desired temperature to minimize
thermal shock.
The preheating zone typically uses hot air heaters that blow hot air onto
the plates as they pass through the wave soldering machine. In some
cases, especially if the board is dense, an infrared heater can also be used.
This ensures that all boards are heated evenly and there are no shaded
areas.

Preheating temperature is usually set to 90-110 degrees:

 Single-sided wave soldering/mixing assembly 90~100
 Double-sided wave soldering/mixing assembly 100~110
 Double-sided reflow soldering 100~110
 Multilayer PCB wave soldering/mixing assembly 115~125
 Multilayer PCB reflow soldering 115~125

3. Lead:

To secure the electronic component a mixture of tin (50%) & lead

(49.5%) antimony (0.5%) is used. The ever most popular combination is
Sn63Pb37 (63/37) with a tin content of 63% and a lead content of 37%.
But lead pollutes the living environment of human beings while it is a
toxic metal that is harmful to the human body and highly destructive to
the natural environment so that lead-free solder is introduced, in
which, Cu6Sn5 and Ni3Sn4 are the common choices.

4. IP- Isopropyl Alcohol

It is used to remove flux residues from around solder joints.

5. Flux Thinner
Used for reducing solids or replacing evaporated solvent, resulting in
maximum efficiency at the flux in an open vessel application.
Major use is in thinning liquid fluxes in wave soldering machines.

6. Dross Reducing Powder

It is a white powder formulated to clean the solder surface and allow

usable metal to be regenerated, while encapsulating the metal oxide for
disposal
 Chemically reduces dross on solder bath releasing useful solder
back to the bath.
 The oxides / residues floats on the surface for easy removal.
 Does not affect the solder or the solderability.
 Test and field results show up to 80% of solder is recoverable
7. Carrier and Pallet
Pallet Carry the stuffed board through Carrier in the Wave Soldering
Machine for Soldering to avoid damage.

Manual Visual Inspection

The simplest form of PCB inspection is manual visual inspection
(MVI). To perform this type of test, a worker looks over the board either
with the naked eye or through magnification. They’ll compare the board
to the design documents to ensure that all specifications were met.
They’ll also look for common defaults. The type of defects they look for
vary depending on the kind of board they’re checking and the
components on it.
It can be useful to perform an MVI after nearly every step in the
PCB production process, including assembly. EMSG conducts an MVI
under magnification of every board we produce. You may also wish to
follow MVI with a more advanced, comprehensive examination.
Inspection staff members inspect nearly every aspect of a board and look
for various common defects on each of them. A typical visual PCB
inspection checklist might include the following:
 Ensure that the board’s thickness is correct, and check for surface
roughness and warpage.
 Check the dimensions of the assembly match the specification, and
pay particular attention to dimensions related to electric
connectors.
 Inspect the integrity and clearness of conductive patterns, and
check for solder bridging, open circuits, burrs and voids.
 Check the surface quality, then look for the existence of pits, dents,
scratches, pinholes and other defects on printing traces and pads.
 Verify that all vias are in the correct positions. Make sure they
aren’t missed or inaccurately punched, that their diameter matches
design specifications and that there are no voids or nodules.
 Inspect the firmness, roughness and brightness of pad plating, and
check for any bulge defects.
 Assess coating quality. Check the color of plating flux and whether
it is even, firm and in the correct position.
In-circuit test (ICT)
This test, performed after the assembly stage, verifies the correct
functioning and position of each electronic component on the PCB. The
test includes verification of short circuits, open circuits, resistance,
capacitance and other parameters. For this purpose, a flying probe is used,
composed of an array of drivers and sensors that perform the
measurements required by the test by moving freely on the board. The
probe is controlled by appropriate software, which can be modified by
adapting the same test system to boards with different layouts.
Alternatively, a test fixture can be used, consisting of a bed of nails
designed for the specific DUT (Device Under Test). Each "nail" behaves
like a real sensor, able to electrically connect a specific point of the DUT
to the test system. Bed-of-nails is an expensive and not very flexible
technique (each board requires its own bed-of-nails); moreover, it shows
some difficulties in testing boards with high component density, where
spacing between pins is reduced. The ICT technique has the advantage of
detecting several defects, relating to both the individual components and
their connections, and can be performed without powering the board. Its
disadvantage is related to the cost (complexity of both bed-of-nails and
control software) and the inability to test the connectors, a significant
limitation in analog and digital systems consisting of multiple cards.
Figure 2 shows an ICT test machine with a flying probe.

Functional Test
Functional test is the last step of the inspection and verification
process. As the name implies, its task is to test the functioning of a
circuit, reproducing the electrical signals capable of stimulating it and
measuring the effects produced. The circuit is correctly powered and
electrically stimulated through the interface connectors. A software
application processes the measurements performed at suitable points on
the PCB, verifying their correspondence with the design specifications.
The advantage of the functional test is its ability to detect potential circuit
anomalies that occur only when the circuit is powered; moreover, it is
also able to measure the power absorption in specific points of the circuit.
The disadvantages are related to the cost and complexity of the test
system. In fact, it requires very sophisticated, but not much flexible,
equipment, most of the time configured to perform only the test of a
specific card.

Precautions To Be Taken
1. Using ESD's while working
2. Using Goggles while Soldering especially while handling Wave
Soldering Machine
3. Use Heat Resistant Gloves while removing carrier pallet from
machine
4. Keeping Fire Extinguisher in the Workplace
5. Use Exhaust near Soldering work to avoid bad smell
6. Use mask near Soldering Machine to avoid chemical mixed odor