Principle of Operation

1. Pre-fluxed PCBs are placed onto the tips of the board holder pins which are positioned above the molten solder surface at the start of the cycle.
2. When the foot pedal is depressed, the elevator motors begin to lower the PCB toward the solder pot. Independent, dial-adjustments control the speeds of the motors.
3. The difference in the speed between the right and left motors establishes the angle at which the PCBs touch the solder surface. As both motors continue to move the frame downward, the molten solder surface sweeps across the bottom of the PCB. The larger the difference in speed, the steeper the angle; the smaller the difference, the more parallel the PCBs are to the solder surface at contact.
4. This motion continues until the tips of all the pins are completely immersed in the molten solder. At this point, the assemblies are actually floating on the surface due to the high density of the molten solder. The length of time that the PCBs rest on the solder surface is controlled by the timer on the main control panel.
5. When the solder dwell time elapses, the elevator motors begin to raise the pins and lift the PCBs from the solder surface. Once again, the difference in the speed between the right and left motors establishes the angle. As the boards are lifted, the surface tension wicks across the bottom of the PCB.
6. Both motors continue to lift the boards from the molten solder surface. The right motor stops when it has reached its starting position and the left motor continues until the needle frame is again level as in Step 1. The soldered PCBs are then removed from the board holder. Complete cycle times are typically 10-12 seconds or less.

Auto-Dip Finger-Type PCB Holder

The Auto-Dip 3530-TS comes equipped with a finger-type PCB holder that firmly grips the edges of pallets or large boards during dipping. In conjunction with its programmable solder height parameter setting, the 3530-TS provides excellent results with palletized boards or PCBs that are too heavy to float on the solder surface.

The finger-type PCB holder for the 3530-TS is adjustable for boards from 50 mm (2") to 220 mm (8.6") wide and from 50 mm (2") to 250 mm (9.8") long. Customized pallets, containing multiple or irregularly shaped PCBs, can also be held in the solder-resistant fingers.

Auto-Dip Pin-Type Fixture-Less PCB Holder

The Auto-Dip 3530-TS also includes the pin-type PCB holder that allows multi-board processing with easy loading/unloading. It also eliminates the need for special pallets or fixturing in most soldering applications. A grid arrangement of corrosion resistant pin supports are attached to a frame that provides strength and support.

Opposite ends of the frame are attached to motors that raise and lower the pins into and out of the molten solder bath. The pin supports and frame provide a large work area of 350 mm x 300 mm (13.8" x 11.8") to accommodate any arrangement or combination of PCB assemblies that will rest on the tips of the needles within that area. The tips of the pins are ground to a fine point that prevents any sort of interference with components or problems with solder wicking.

The ability to quickly load or unload a large number of assemblies on the pin supports allows controlled, high throughput, mass soldering that is not possible with other dip soldering systems.