In PCBA processing, there are two types of processing technologies for through-hole components: selective wave soldering and manual soldering. So, what are the differences between these two soldering methods, and what are their respective advantages and disadvantages? Let’s explore the differences between selective wave soldering and manual soldering.
- Soldering Quality:
From the perspective of soldering quality, selective wave soldering is superior to manual soldering. Despite the significant improvement in soldering quality with the application of high-quality intelligent soldering irons in manual soldering, there are still certain influencing factors that are not easy to control. These factors include the control of solder volume, solder wetting angle, soldering consistency, and requirements for the rate of through-hole fill. Particularly, when the component leads are gold-plated, it is necessary to desolder the gold from the areas that require tin-lead soldering before soldering, which can be a cumbersome process.
- Soldering Efficiency:
Traditionally, manual soldering with soldering irons requires many individuals to solder the PCB using a point-to-point approach. Selective wave soldering utilizes a pipeline-style industrial batch production mode, where soldering of different sizes can be done in batches using drag soldering. Generally, the soldering efficiency of selective wave soldering is several times higher than manual soldering.
- Flexibility in Soldering Operations:
Selective wave soldering uses programmable and movable small solder pots and various flexible and diverse soldering nozzles. Therefore, during soldering, it is possible to avoid certain fixed screws and reinforcement positions on the B side of the PCB by setting the program to prevent contact with high-temperature solder, without the need for customized soldering fixtures. Consequently, it is particularly suitable for multi-product and small-batch production methods, especially in fields such as aerospace and military industries. When using selective wave soldering for soldering, the soldering parameters for each solder joint can be “tailored.”
In conclusion, from the comparison between selective wave soldering and manual soldering, it is evident that selective wave soldering has many advantages, including high soldering quality, high work efficiency, strong operational flexibility, low defect rate, minimal environmental pollution, and diverse soldering component capabilities. Therefore, selective wave soldering is the preferred choice over manual soldering for high-reliability electronic product PCBA soldering.