Posts Tagged Vapor Phase Soldering
What’s New – July: M.O.L.E.® MAP 2.20a Release
Posted by Ray Pearce in M.O.L.E. MAP, Ray's Blog, Reflow Profiling, Thermal Profiler, Thermal Profiling on July 29th, 2011
Since the advent of the CPU, electronic products have been getting “smart.” And now, to the extent that software and an internet connection make it possible, even appliances which most of us would consider to be a block of steel and plastic with a singular function, such as a refrigerator, are now capable of keeping inventory, reminding you to go shopping – even placing delivery orders to restock! Yes, when you really think about it, it’s often the software that enables and drives product innovation and answers the question “What if we could….?” The latest ECD software is a perfect example. It allows us to give our profiling equipment the very capabilities that customers have had on their wish lists. A M.O.L.E.® can’t order you lunch, but here’s “What’s New.”
This month ECD announced availability of the new 2.20a version of M.O.L.E.® MAP software. Introduced in 2007, MAP (Machine-Assembly-Process) received multiple innovation awards, and is now the software platform for ECD’s entire line of thermal profilers: SuperM.O.L.E.® Gold 2, MEGAM.O.L.E.® 20, V-M.O.L.E.®, SuperM.O.L.E.®, Gold and PTP® VP-8
This version release coincides with the new SuperM.O.L.E.® Gold 2 availability and implements inputs from our Software Advisory Board (yes, we have one!) So without further ado, here are the top 5 new features and benefits of M.O.L.E.® MAP 2.20a.
- AutoPlay
This new feature auto-detects your M.O.L.E.® type and quickly links your plugged-in M.O.L.E.® to perform these basic tasks:
- View the status of your M.O.L.E.®
- Setup your M.O.L.E.® to perform a data run
- Download your most recently recorded data
- Start M.O.L.E.® MAP
This instant USB access eases the learning curve for the novice and focuses the operator on the basic profiling tasks at hand, shielding them from the full feature set of the software.
- Improved Navigation
When you do open MAP, the “Welcome” screen now displays links to recently used Directories and recently viewed Profiles. Quickly resume your previous work session by clicking where you left off with this convenient new feature.
- Bulk Import of Previous M.O.L.E.® Files
Speaking of Profiles, you will probably want to import your libraries of SuperM.O.L.E.® Gold profiles (from SMGSPC) into MAP, which converts the .mdm file into the new .xmg format.
This MAP version implements group importation of existing .mdm and collaborative .xmg profile data. With a simple click-shift and drag, you can now move the contents of old Workbooks (an SMGSPC term) into new Directories, M.O.L.E.® MAP’s term for the currently viewed data in the Spreadsheet Tab.
- PDF Printing to File and Email
Another way to collaborate your process engineering work between EMS/OEM is to provide documents to operators in PDF format. The new MAP integrates PDF printing with an improved Print Selection dialog to accomplish portrait or landscape orientation directly to Email or a File. Great when your customer demands hardcopy proof!
- Free Self-Serve Web Authorization and Automatic Upgrade Notification
Last but not least, licensing fees and pay authorization have been replaced with free “Self-Authorization” through the ECD website. We give you a 31-day window to go to the Help menu, select “Authorize” then click on “Web Authorize”. After you fill out the web form and agree to standard terms, our site sends you an email with your software unlock key.
It’s as simple as that! Plus, you will be notified of new releases in the future. We always want you to have the advantages of our current release. Thank you for reading this month’s What’s New!
Free MAP 2.20a download is available at ECD DOWNLOADS. (Check out the Readme file for the entire list of Rev 2.20a M.O.L.E.® MAP improvements!)
Till next time,
Ray Pearce
ECD Sales Engineer
ray.pearce@ecd.com
Heat Flow Happens
Posted by Paul Austen in M.O.L.E. MAP, OvenCHECKER, OvenRIDER, Profiling, Reflow Oven Verification, Reflow Profiling, Thermal Musings, Thermal Profiling on May 24th, 2011
An often misunderstood concept is heat flow and how it can influence the temperature of the product being heated so here is Wikipedia’s definition of heat flow, followed by a discussion of our own on the subject.
Energy needs a conductor in order to flow
1) An energy difference between two objects.
and
2) There is a conductor to act as a bridge enabling the energy to flow.
Energy always flows through a conductor from an object of high energy to an object of low energy. In this illustration, the high-energy object is a moving hammer, the low energy object is the table and the conductor is a block sitting on the table.
When you hit the block with the hammer, the energy contained in the moving hammer is transferred to the block when it hits. Some is also conducted through the block and transferred to the table it is sitting on. However, because the block is not a perfect conductor, which is true for most things, some of the energy stays in block. That energy bounces between the molecules of the block like balls on a pool table.
Because the molecules rub up against each other, and there is friction between them, some of the moving energy of the hammer is converted to heat energy, which causes a rise in the block’s temperature. It all comes down to molecular motion in an imperfect conductor creating friction that raises its temperature. Therefore, temperature increase is a way of observing energy flow, and energy flow that causes a temperature rise is called heat flow. Read the rest of this entry »
Thermocouple Attachment in Vapor Phase Soldering
Posted by Paul Austen in Epoxy, Kapton Tape, Thermocouple Attachment, Vapor Phase Soldering on February 8th, 2011
Attaching thermocouples in Vapor Phase Soldering (VPS) presents a potential problem that’s often overlooked. To illustrate this potential problem, let’s look at how VPS works. All the work needed to heat the components and solder joints to the melting temperature of the solder take place in the very thin “condensate” layer of liquefied vapor phase fluid. This 0.2 mm layer is very much like the layer of water that forms on a cold drink on a humid summer day. (See figure 1.) The vaporized fluid (cloud) is at or very near the boiling temperature of the fluid, which is typically 200ºC to 240ºC, depending on the fluid you choose to use.
Figure 1 – Vapor Phase Soldering and the condensation layer
When your room-temperature assemblies are immersed in the vapor cloud, the vapor quickly condenses onto the cold surfaces of all the parts, releasing the heat of vaporization, or the heat energy that was put into the liquid to evaporate it into a vapor. This energy release begins heating your assembly rapidly toward the 200+ºC vapor temperature.
To measure the thermal profile of the process to prove you are staying within the components’ thermal limits, (always a prudent step) you must attach a thermocouple to the component or solder joint you wish to profile. Here is where you must take care. (See figure 2)
Figure 2 – Typical thermocouple attachment to component lead
The thermocouple may be attached with solder or epoxy. However the thermocouple wires extend away from the point of measure and may be exposed to the vapor. The vapor will condense onto the thermocouple wires in the same way it condenses onto all the parts. Exposed bare wires will heat quickly because they are very small. These heated wires will conduct that heat toward the thermocouple bead, where it is sensing the temperature, and artificially heat the sensing point. This will actually show as a “false” temperature rise in the early part of the ramp up in temperature because the heat is conducted in to the part by the thermocouple wires. The insulated part of the wire will not heat as fast because the insulation slows the heat flow of the condensing vapor. .
So when connecting thermocouples to components to measure the thermal profile, it is very important to insulate any exposed thermocouple wire beyond the thermocouple sensing bead. (See figure 3)
Figure 3 – Insulated thermocouple wire
This is best done with a thin layer of epoxy covering the exposed bare wires of the thermocouple, up to and a bit past the insulation on the thermocouple wire, being careful not to cover the sensing bead of the thermocouple. The epoxy does not need to be very thick, just a thin covering. Using too much would have the “chilling” effect of preventing the heat from getting to the component or solder joint, giving an artificially cooler profile result.
You may also try Kapton® tapes or high-temp heat shrink around the end of the thermocouple. These may shrink back or come loose, however; and if you plan to profile more than once, these methods may not hold well over time.
References:
SMT Magazine, “Vapor Phase Soldering: The Comeback Kid” by Ray Prasad
Thanks to Kevin Syverson, Silicon Forest Electronics, Inc., for the use of their Vapor Phase soldering system.
Thermal Profiling and Vapor Phase Soldering
Posted by Paul Austen in Vapor Phase Soldering on September 9th, 2010
There has been some new talk by some of the best quality conscious electronic manufactures about the many benefits of an older soldering process: vapor phase soldering. Vapor phase soldering has a lot of good things to offer, now that we have gotten past the stigma of the old CFC fluids and moved on to newer chemistries. The maximum temperature that the assembly can be subjected to is dictated by the boiling point of the fluid being vaporized. Because the boiling point of the fluid is a physical constant, you might think, “Why bother running a thermal profile on the assembly being soldered.”
This idea should be considered carefully, and here are some reasons why thermal profiling in vapor phase soldering is still a very good idea:
1. Although the boiling point of the vapor phase fluids is a physical attribute that limits the maximum temperature, the condensation of the fluid onto the components can impart a lot of heat, real fast. This can subject components to the old thermal shock problem, and unless this heating rate is carefully controlled by the vapor phase machine, you may well be shocking the components. Thermal profiling is the only way to show this is under control.
2. The maximum temperature is a function of the fluid type, and one needs to be sure the correct fluid is being use. There is a fluid whose boiling point is hot enough for lead free soldering, and not too hot for leaded soldering, about 230ºC. This “happy medium” is a good compromise, so one does not have to own two different vapor phase machines, or change fluids from one process to the other, but it is another reason why thermal profiling is a good idea: to prove that the process is meeting the need of the solder paste and the limits of the components.
3. A process undocumented is a process out of control. Unless you have some evidence that the thermal profile is meeting the requirement of the solder paste and the limits of the components, you cannot prove the process is in control statistically. You can’t make process control charts if you don’t measure the process. This is at the heart of a good Thermal Quality Management (ThQM) program.
4. Your customer still wants to know what the thermal profile looks like. No matter how you solder your customer’s boards, they still want to know what they were subjected to, thermally. This is your assurance to them that you have treated their product properly.
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