Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546933
26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 yourself, "Is this process in control?" Opti- mization helped center the process where it needs to be, and now you're talking about moving product manu- facturing. It was running on a line with oven manufacturer A, and now they're standing up a line in the U.S., where they're not using oven A. The U.S. oven might have two fewer zones or some other difference. So, how do we get up to the same level of process control as at the original facility? That's where our "Heat to Data" concept takes hold. Automotive is a demanding market segment; you have to optimize around a lot of parameters to reduce defects, and that's challenging. So, if we can use that profile data to optimize the setup and then use the production data to ensure they maintain the desired parameters, you can do the matching. You may have different settings and different ways the machine is run, but your end result is comparable. Research shows that stencil thickness has the most influence on reducing voids, but reflow was number two. Your solutions have a significant influ- ence on how voids are managed and mitigated. What are you finding as you work with customers? How high is their awareness that the oven profile has so much influence? I think it's pretty good. From a solder paste stand- point, if something is wrong, someone may immedi- ately say, "It's the paste." But the oven and profile also have to be understood. After optimizing the reflow profile, a paste that appeared to be strug- gling may perform well. One solution to voids is vacuum reflow, but those machines cost more than a standard reflow oven. There's more maintenance and understanding needed regarding a vacuum in the middle of your reflow process. It's a successful way to reduce voids, but you can manipulate and optimize the reflow profile to further reduce them, combined with stencil design and other measures along the line. PCB design, surface condition, and pad configuration can also influence voiding and other soldering issues. We try to inform our customers as best we can that, yes, it's a relatively straightforward investment to use a reflow profiling tool to optimize the recipe. That goes back to the Heat to Data idea. It's not sufficient to say, "Here's my high and low on my spec for the profile, the paste, and the components, and if I'm inside that range, I'm good to go, and it will pass test." Automotive is looking for more than that. For automotive work, being barely inside the process limits may not be enough. Manufacturers want the profile centered in the process window and the process tightly controlled, so they can provide customers with objective evidence that it is stable and repeat- able. That evidence supports the monitoring, traceability, and audit expectations automotive suppliers encounter under IATF 16949, VDA 6.3 and customer-specific requirements. Our reflow process inspection (RPI) system provides calculated thermal-profile data for each board during the production run. That gives the manufacturer board-level process traceability and objective evidence to support customer audits and traceability requirements. Tell me more about your reflow inspection solu- tions. To move to the data, you need to know the results of your profile, and getting a feedback loop seems important to keep everything in process. You'd want to know if parameters are starting to drift, so you can pull them back into the solid part of your process, for example. KIC has always focused on thermal process measurement and monitoring. It is one of our core technologies and what the company was founded on. We first developed profiling tools to establish the process correctly, then added automatic moni- toring, prediction, and optimization based on exten- sive profiling data. Reflow process inspection differs from other inspection steps. SPI verifies solder paste deposi- tion, while pre- and post-reflow AOI inspect compo- nent placement and visible solder-joint conditions. In reflow, the process adds heat rather than phys- ical material. A board may appear acceptable at AOI, but that inspection does not reveal the thermal profile the assembly experienced. Miles Moreau