Although many have predicted the demise of through-hole components, they still play a part for the assembly of many electronics products. In most cases, these components are assembled by wave soldering. However, in many mixed product technology (i.e. SMT and through-hole on the same board) products, it is a consideration to assemble the through-hole components with the PiP (Pin-in-Paste) process of soldering pin through-hole (PTH) components with solder paste that has been printed at the PTH locations followed by component insertion and reflow.
PiP has been successfully used for many years; however, in many cases it is not possible to print enough solder paste to obtain an acceptable solder joint after reflow especially on thicker boards.
This session will look at the assembly of PTH components on 130 mil (3.3 mm) thick boards using tin-lead and lead-free solder paste and solder performs to give good board hole-fill. The session will provide process engineers with comprehensive guidelines for implementing PiP technology with the addition of solder performs.