Choosing the Best Soldering Method for Your Electronic Device

What is Soldering?

Soldering is a very important process when it comes to making electric equipment. It is a process in which two or more items are merged by melting and putting a filler metal in the joint. The filler metals generally have a lower melting point compared to the adjoining material. It is very different from the process of welding that involves melting the actual work-pieces. In simpler terms, soldering can be understood as a process that helps to connect different types of metal together. Soldering helps to hold the elements of an electronic board together and helps build a strong electrical connection.

Types of Soldering

There are various types of soldering process that is used to create electronic devices. Two of the most prominent ones include Wave Soldering and Electronic Soldering. Let’s delve deeper to explore more about the subject.

Wave Soldering

The wave soldering method has gained popularity among the electronic manufacturers for its automation, efficiency and quality. In the wave soldering process, printed circuit boards are spread throughout a wave of liquefied solder, this helps to quickly solder all the components on the electronic board in a fairly short amount of time. This helps electronic manufacturers to produce printed circuit boards in huge quantity. An important thing to keep in mind during this process is that the components of the board should be glued beforehand to avoid any shift during the reflow course.

Selective Soldering

Selective soldering is a type of wave soldering process that caters to soldering only specific components of the electric board that exclusively needs soldering. In this case, a machine is programmed to solder some particular elements in the desired manner that is already specified in the programming method. Selective soldering method is frequently used for small circuit boards or boards with mixed elements. It doesn’t require you to cover any other parts of the board that doesn’t need soldering as the components are individually taken care off.

Choosing the right fit

Choosing the best suitable soldering method for your electronic device can be very tricky; you need to consider a lot of factors before opting for a particular soldering type. Some of the commonly considered factor before choosing between wave and selective soldering includes circuit board frame, time, budget, number of pieces, components on the board, etc. Wave soldering is the perfect fit when you are running short on time and require a large number of electric boards. However, if the board has various types of components, selective soldering is a better choice.

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Conclusion

This article aims to edify the reader on the process of soldering and two major types of soldering method commonly used by electronic manufacturers. It also compares the benefits of each to give you a fair idea as to the most suitable option for your needs.