Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1541670
28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 don't want to use too much material. Everything is much more precise, especially with miniaturization. Everything in a car is probably half the size it used to be, because they have packed so much more electronics into a car. Norlin: As a side note, Nordson has a guide pub- lished on our website that walks you through a comparison and contrast. Roberta, you bring up a great point about dipping or even screen printing, which is essen- tially a form of dipping. Now, nearly everything is jetted on. Foster-Smith: Asymtek brought the first jet to the market when I was hired, in the mid-1990s. It failed, but that product caught Nordson's attention. They started working on an improved jet, based on their existing technologies, and within a year and a half, they bought Asymtek. Jetting has evolved. Some companies have perfected solder paste jetting. We worked on that for quite a while. A few other suppliers can jet solder paste, based on their screen-printing technologies. Solder paste is chunks of metal suspended in flux, and a jet has an internal valve action that pushes the material out, but can cause "coining," as the jetting action would smash the metal inside the jet. This ruins the mate- rial being jetted. Is selective soldering on its way to the main- stream? Norlin: Yes. Selective soldering can support this because our customers' requirements must be much more flexible. Customers need to be set up for repeatability and precision. Especially for our automotive customers, we're very aware of their traceability requirements. Having selective solder- ing as part of their manufacturing process provides repeatability and a more precise process year after year. When we specifically compare selective solder- ing to traditional wave soldering, Roberta hit the nail on the head. The biggest savings comparison is the solder cost; it's drastically less when you use a selective soldering process. Of course, wave sol- dering typically requires a significant amount of floor space, whereas selective soldering is much more compact. Our Synchro is exceptional in its compact footprint. It follows that your power usage goes down. Flux Wave soldering and manual hand soldering techniques are common. However, the increased need to solder PCBs with mixed components, including through-hole and SMT technologies, is driving the need for a more flexible soldering alternative, like selective soldering. In this photo, multiple solder pots are applying the material to the PCB assembly. ▼