Survey of rework practices in the UK electronics assembly industry

Abstract

A survey of rework practices of the UK electronics assembly industry has been undertaken. Rework of electronics components in the UK was found to be dominated by the use of soldering irons. Many companies did not control tip temperatures, rework times, background heating or the number of rework operations which could be undertaken on any one component. Few companies followed the recommendations of the component manufacturers aimed at preventing damage to thermally sensitive components. It was found that those companies which did control rework temperatures, did reduce rework temperatures for surface mount components. In general, rework temperatures were much higher than those recommended by the component manufacturers. A great deal of cleaning was undertaken after rework, with most companies doing some form of local cleaning. Most companies reused components even if only on an occasional basis.

Citation

Wickham, M. and Hunt, C.P. (1999), "Survey of rework practices in the UK electronics assembly industry", Soldering & Surface Mount Technology, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/09540919910293829