Thermal profiling: a reflow process based on the heating factor

PurposeThis paper aims to offer a convenient method to develop an oven recipe for a specific soldering profile in a reflow process. The method is devised to quickly achieve proper profile shape and heating factorQη, a measure of success for high reliability of the solder joints reflowed.Design/methodology/approachAn in‐depth analysis of the heating mechanism and some experiments of the reflow soldering process are performed to research on how to realize a specific shape reflow profile were conducted.FindingsHeating mechanism analysis and experiments demonstrate that the combinatorial parameters based method is feasible to do thermal profiling.Research limitations/implicationsThe mapping function among a particular configured PCBA, an oven used, a target reflow profile and an optimal range of the heating factor should be further established for fast and reliable production of reflow soldering.Practical implicationsProvides a methodology for designing an oven recipe for reflow soldering production.Originality/valueAn oven recipe can be quickly attained with the approach established in this paper, facilitating the formation of solder joints with high reliability during the reflow soldering process.