Science of Soldering©: The Smarter Choice For Operators & Technicians
Following the recipe guarantees perfect results
Failure to follow the recipe guarantees defects
What is a chef doing on a web site about soldering? He's making a technical subject friendly and accessible to everyone from operators with limited formal schooling to engineers with advanced degrees.
Most soldering operators have limited education. So solder training programs have always avoided teaching the chemistry, metallurgy and physics of soldering; they think operators won't be able to understand the scientific concepts. But operators are smart.
They can understand the critical process science. It's just a matter of explaining the process in ways that are familiar to them. So we created a soldering "recipe" that produces perfect soldering every time. A recipe is a familiar concept that does not frighten them. And that's why we feature the chef here and in our course materials.
Soldering is a lot like baking a cake in the sense that there are required ingredients, a required sequence for combining the ingredients, and required temperature for required time. There are just 7 steps in the soldering recipe. If those steps are followed in the right sequence, the result will always be perfect soldering.
We created the soldering recipe almost 40 years ago and it continues to prove its value. The recipe is at the heart of Science of Soldering©.
But there's much more to Science of Soldering© such as a unique hands-on out-of-control process problem. Plastic materials melt, solder refuses to flow and defect piles on top of defect. Helped by experiments and demonstrations, the students troubleshoot their process and eliminate the defects using the recipe. As they solve the problem, they learn almost everything there is to know about soldering, The problem is hands-on, has universal application and does not require memorization.
The Same Core Lessons Taught to Engineers
The lessons of the operator course are the same fundamentals we teach engineers (see the curriculum). The language is simpler and the lessons do not go into the science as deeply, but the operators are indeed taught like engineers. When they return to work, they are able to communicate effectively with process engineers when materials problems show up. More effective communication means faster identification of process problems and solutions that eliminate the problems.
The only other difference between the operator and engineering classes is the amount of manual skills development. Operators spend more time applying the recipe to various types of wiring, through–hole and surface mount exercises while engineers delve deeper into the technical aspects, generally on the shop floor.
The Science of Soldering© operator and technician curriculum can be seen here.
What Our Clients Say —
Real Words From Real People
As a US Air Force certified aircraft welder, I learned the process of soldering in 1990 and through subsequent 20+ years of experience and training, and industry association seminars, I thought I had learned everything there was to know about it...I was wrong.
Jim Smith from Electronics Manufacturing Sciences just concluded his Science of Soldering© course here in Skaneateles..He wowed me and our technical team with his practical, comprehensive approach and truly unique insights into the science of the soldering process. We are now in the process of updating all of our soldering process specs in Skaneateles to reflect our new knowledge. This is NOT A-610 or J-STD-001 certification/training! That’s not what we need.
e techniques, tools, and training that were used 20 years ago when I started soldering (these were even old back then!). However, in those 20 years the components being soldered have become far smaller, and much more
Jim develops and teaches all of his courses personally. He knows his stuff and stands out, among the many programs that I’ve evaluated. I highly recommend the Science of Soldering© hands-on program for any GE facility/ supplier, worldwide, who solders and experiences failures/latent-failures/defects and has struggled to find the true root-cause.
Floyd Backes
Lean Leader/Sus. Proc. Engineering Manager
GE Inspection Technologies
Skaneateles, NY 13152
The Science of Soldering© class provided by Jim Smith was one of the best trainings that our EE Team ever had. Provided materials and hands-on classroom instructions were well prepared and all our questions were well answered. Our team enjoyed the hands-on portion explaining physics and chemistry behind the soldering "Recipe." Jim helped us to define our PCA/PCB manufacturing requirements and we are working with our suppliers to revise their soldering process. Jim has been very professional in responding to our questions – if he is not traveling or in class his response was almost immediate.
I highly recommend the class to anyone that uses soldering in their manufacturing process.
Zack Marin
Chief Technology Officer - Electrical
Paragon Products, LLC
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
We have one of the worst potential situations for solder quality. We perform soldering operations on a very small fraction of the instruments we service, and there is a tremendous variety in the specific rework operations required in each instance. On top of that, any one of our almost 40-member technical team can find her/himself in a position to need to do it. The instruments we service are state of the art, very high frequency, and rather expensive, so the cost of poor quality is unacceptably high.
Science of Soldering was a perfect fit for us. Our technical team members range from people fresh out of 4-year degree programs, to recent ex-military, to folks who have been doing this work commercially for 30 to 40 years. Without exception, all of our people, with all of their different backgrounds, were enthusiastically appreciative.
Jack Mathias
Technical Operations Manager
Rohde & Schwarz North America
Columbia, MD 21046
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