SCIENCE OF SOLDERING© OPERATOR  & TECHNICIAN CURRICULUM: ALL THE KNOWLEDGE TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Electronics Manufacturing Sciences provides education and certification services that go beyond the usual industry requirements. Our methodology includes our own Science of Soldering© education that provides important techniques for product reliability and workplace efficiencies that are not offered by other courses.

The great strength of Science of Soldering© lies in its effective communication with individuals of all educational levels. The curriculum is thorough but presented in ways that make it easy to understand by anyone, even those who haven't completed high school. student's ability. We developed demonstrations, hands–on exercises, and audio–visual presentations that make these critical lessons clear to everyone regardless of formal education.

Part 1: The Science

The Science portion combines demonstrations, experiments and troubleshooting of a unique soldering process problem. This is followed by exercises in which the lessons are applied to specific manufacturing applications such as terminals, through–hole and surface mount assemblies. Industry high reliability requirements are taught throughout.

Although the final curriculum can be modified to meet the client's special needs, the usual curriculum consists of:

1.  The Core Science

• Wetting forces
• Chemical reactions
• Intermetallic bonds

2.  Clean Surfaces

• Definition and importance
• Contamination
• Oxides

3.  Flux

• Defined
• Types and attributes
• Acidity, ionic contamination and effects on reliability
• The real definition of no–clean flux
• Selecting fluxes suitable for high reliability applications

4.  Solderability

• Definition and importance
• Solderability of different component and PCB surfaces
• Implications of lead–free component finishes
• Scientific solderability management

5.  Solder

• Defined
• Alloys (leaded and lead–free)
• Mechanical properties (ductility and tensility)
• Lead–free solder differences and techniques

6.  Heat

• Why heat is needed
• How much heat is needed
• Failure modes from overheating
• Scientific heat control and elimination of damage during hand soldering

7.  Soldering vs. Welding

• Definitions
• Significance of surfaces that melt during “soldering” vs. surfaces that do not melt (the overlooked lead–free issue)
• Uses of soldering and welding in electronics assembly

8.  Troubleshooting Using the Science of Soldering© Recipe

9.  Prevention of Heat Damage in Hand Soldering — The Electronics Manufacturing Sciences Solution

Part 2: Skills Development — Applying the Science of Soldering© Recipe to Achieve Perfect Soldering

The hands-on soldering exercises depend on the components actually used in the client's products, including some or all of the following:

1. Wiring methodologies and multi–terminal exercises: turret terminals, bifurcated terminals, eyelet terminals, cup terminals
2. Through–hole soldering: IC's, transistors, capacitors, resistors; includes heat sink and solderability problem
3. Surface mount soldering: resistors, transistors, MELFs, PLCCs, SOICs including fine pitch and J–leads, quad packs
4. Repair techniques (through–hole and surface mount)

Part 3: Industry Standards Requirements

Throughout the entire course, the commonly accepted workmanship requirements are referenced and explained in context. This final stage sums up the requirements and verifies student comprehension.