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64 SMT Magazine • August 2017 by Stefan Meissner, ULT AG, and Arne Neiser, SEHO SYSTEMS GMBH Modern electronics manufacturing is made up by a multiplicity of different separation and joining processes, with the later surely taking the vast majority of production technology. Alongside gluing, welding and laser processes, soldering still holds a primary position in elec- tronic assemblies. However, soldering meth- ods are not always equivalent, because there are quite a lot of different soldering technologies. Accordingly, you have to distinguish between automated and manual soldering procedures. No matter which soldering process you anal- yse, all of them have one aspect in common: They produce airborne pollutants, which may have a negative impact on employees, plants and products as well. Soldering Procedures in Electronics Manufacturing There are a variety of soldering procedures, but not all of them are used in electronics man- ufacturing. Common soldering techniques in assembly production are: • Wave soldering or flow soldering • Reflow soldering • Dip soldering • Hot air soldering • Selective soldering • Laser soldering • Vacuum soldering • Vapor phase soldering In the production of electronic assemblies, almost only soft soldering is used. The melt- ing temperature of the solder is lower than the melting temperature of the elements to be joined (e.g. component leads to PCB pads [ap- prox. 180 to 260°C]). The molten solder flows Soldering Fumes in Electronics Manufacturing: Damaging Effects and Solutions for Removal ARTICLE Figure 1: Selective soldering plant (Courtesy of SEHO Systems).