- Vitronics Soltec Selective Soldering Features PCB Warpage Compensation for Precise Process Control

Oosterhout, The Netherlands – Board warpage or planar shape distortion can affect precision selective soldering results and process repeatability if it is not compensated for during soldering. Varying differences in distance between the PCB and the solder wave can result in irregular results and soldering defects.

Vitronics  Soltec now offers PCB warpage compensation as a feature of its advanced mySelective 6748 selective soldering machines. This compensation ensures that the points to be soldered on an assembly are always the same precise height above the wave, even if there is slight warpage of the board.

 A non-contact, highly accurate laser sensor measures the distance between an assembly in-process and the SelectWave prior to soldering. It measures the distance of several target positions on the bottom side of the assembly, while the board is held in the “gripper” (i.e., robot product handling device).  The operator chooses a “Reference point” (near the corner of the board) and a “Measurement point” (near the middle of the board), and others if needed so that the sensor can take measurements and “teach” itself the board shape and degree of distortion.  The system then makes appropriate and precise calculations (Z offset) and, when positioning the board for each point to be soldered, ensures that all points are soldered at the optimum height regardless of actual board warpage.

About Vitronics Soltec
Vitronics Soltec specializes in the design and manufacturing of mass soldering equipment for the global circuit board assembly market, and includes Reflow, Wave and Selective Soldering technologies. Vitronics Soltec designs and manufactures its systems in three facilities, located in Stratham, New Hampshire, USA; Oosterhout, The Netherlands; and Suzhou, China. Direct sales and support centers are located in the United States, Holland, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Shanghai.