Soldering and Solderability

Soldering is a widely used method of joining materials, especially electronic components, but there are a series of reasons why it may not work as intended. This publication gives a comprehensive but concise overview of solders, solder types, fluxes and how they work, interactions between substrate, solder and flux and problems in using various soldering processes. It is written by scientists and engineers with many years hands-on experience of advising on diagnosing soldering problems. It concentrates on what can go wrong and how to avoid problems. Other published work tends to be about new technical developments, whereas this report is a practical guide to soldering processes. Solders have seen many changes as a result of the demand for lead-free alloys. The more common alloys are described. The different soldering processes including surface mount technology, wave soldering, soldering irons and other techniques are all described highlighting common problems and their causes. The technicalities of solder pastes are discussed. Reliability issues can arise for many reasons and the main causes are described . The wide variety of surfaces that are soldered exhibit a wide range of behavioral characteristics and these are discussed with reference to their solder wetting properties. Some of the more common causes for poor solder wetting and weak solder joints are described. This publication is valuable resource for training, troubleshooting and as a standard reference on the shelf of anyone involved in using solders.