Soldering is a service for a large number of production industries, such as the electrical and electronic industries. The changes in the electronics industry from early radio sets to modern computers and communications systems have made it necessary for the soldering industry to produce defect-free soldering. To obtain reliable soldering, you need to keep in mind various points, such as how to obtain the correct joint design for workpieces, which soldering method to use, and the corrective measures needed to control impurities in the solder alloy. You also need to be very careful when selecting raw materials for soldering. The raw materials also include fluxes, which are of prime importance in a soldering operation. A flux is a chemical compound that melts at the soldering temperature to form a perfect solderable surface that accelerates the fluidity of the solder. These properties help obtain perfect soldered joints.

During soldering, defects may arise because of overheated joints, porosity in soldered joints, icicles, bridging, and excess solder. To rectify these defects, control is required in the pre and postsoldering processes. After soldering the workpieces, you need to test and check the quality of solderability.

This ReferencePoint explains the principle of soldering, the metallurgy of solders, and the effect of metallic and nonmetallic contamination on the properties of solders. It discusses various types of fluxes and their application in soldering. It also explains various precautions that need to be...