Technical Articles

By Kevin Pigeon AIM’s technical support team often sees the same preventable issues repeat themselves. Three times this week alone, I traced the root cause of a solder paste problem back to using paste straight out of the refrigerator without warming it up. In each...

With silver costs reaching historic highs—nearly triple what they were just one year ago—the economics of solder alloy selection have shifted dramatically. SAC305, long considered the lead-free industry standard, now carries an even steeper price premium. Its 3%...

Have you ever wondered why the soldering iron tip or reflow oven needs to get so much hotter than the melting point of the solder alloy itself? If SAC305 fully melts at around 220°C, why are we setting reflow peak temperatures 20 degrees higher? Why is the soldering...

Solder plays a central role in assembling everything from smartphones to industrial controls, forming strong electrical and mechanical connections between components and printed circuit boards (PCBs).  This guide offers a simple overview for beginners, including...

When it comes to electronics manufacturing, choosing a solder alloy isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Each alloy carries its own set of strengths, costs, and suitability for different manufacturing processes and end-use environments. Whether you’re building...

Low-temperature soldering is a rapidly developing field with several potential benefits to the electronics industry. These benefits include reduced warping of components and substrates, lower energy consumption, and reduced material costs. However, the lack of a...

If you’ve ever looked at a solder flux label and felt like you were trying to decipher a secret code, you’re not alone. The string of letters and numbers—like ROL0, ORM1, or REL1—can seem cryptic at first glance. But these classifications aren’t just random; they’re a...

If you’ve come across the words Type 4, Type 5, or T4, T5, T6 regarding solder paste and wondered what that meant, you’ve come to the right place. First, note that while solder paste might look like a uniform gray blob, it’s actually a carefully engineered mixture of...

Although the rework bench plays a critical role in electronics manufacturing, engineers often overlook its cleanliness due to its lack of flashy machinery and perceived simplicity. Skilled hand-solder operators proficiently completing their tasks can lull supervisors...

By Timothy O’Neill and Karl Seelig This study evaluates the performance of various types of conformal coating over no clean flux residues left after soldering. As the demand for smaller, more powerful electronics grows, designers and assemblers face new environmental...

By Timothy O’Neill Solder paste viscosity and its thixotropic properties influence its performance in different production environments. Viscosity is a measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow. Think of it as a fluid’s “thickness” or “thinness.” A fluid that flows...

By Timothy O’Neill The PCB assembly process creates millions of solder joints with great precision, which is why intermittent soldering defects can be particularly frustrating. It is common to assume that soldering materials, such as solder paste and flux, are the...

By Timothy O’Neill In printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, solder mask integrity is paramount. This protective layer, designed to shield the copper surfaces and prevent solder bridging between components, plays a crucial role in ensuring the reliability and...

By Timothy O’Neill Verifying and optimizing the temperature profile of a reflow oven ensures an ideal thermal environment for solder paste to melt, flow, and solidify, forming robust solder joints. Reflow Profiling How-To The process of calibrating the oven...

ABSTRACT   As the electronics industry continually strives for innovation and efficiency in assembly and rework processes, the exploration of low temperature (LT) solder alloys has gained significant attention. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of...

Written by Timothy O’Neill Picking the right tool to prevent electrochemical contamination at the rework bench. A half-dozen versions of the same scenario occurred in the past month, all having to do with materials and processes used in post-op/rework applications....