Modeling of Errors Counting System for PCB Soldered in the Wave Soldering Technology

PartnerTech Poland Sp. z o.o. is a company providing a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly on request. Wired elements are assembled in through-hole technology and soldered on the wave soldering machine. The PCB with inserted elements is passed across the pumped wave of melted solder. Typically, this process is accompanied by some class of defects, such as cracks, cavities, wrong solder thickness and poor conductor. In PartnerTech Poland Sp. z o.o. another type of defects was observed: dispersion of small droplets of solder around holes. The quality assurance department plans to optimize the process in order to reduce the number of defects. In the first stage, it was necessary to develop a methodology for counting defects. This paper presents an experimental design and analysis related to this project.