Induction Soldering of Copper Capacitors

Objective: A new customer who specialized in the electrical components industry wants to replace their old technology with induction heating machines. The client manufactured copper capacitors and looking to increase the productivity rate and optimize the energy efficiency of the whole process.

We received samples from 3 phase capacitors and pins which we must solder to pads with help of induction heating. The customer sends us three assemblies of different sizes. The small assemblies have copper pins of Ø2 mm, and the bigger assemblies have pins of Ø2.5 mm. Also, the big assemblies are two types with smaller pads, and with bigger pads. The pads are mounted on a plastic base which can melt during heating and the temperature shouldn’t be too high.

The main objective of this induction application is to solder all three pins at the same time (in the same cycle). We must shorten the heating cycle – less than 20 seconds and the customer expects high-quality results.

Industry: Electrical Components

Equipment: UltraHeat SM – 5kW Induction Heater.

Process: Our application engineers made tests on all three types of samples. The machine settings were almost the same – the power was between 4.3 and 4.5kW. All tests were performed with solder flux alloy with a melting point of 185 °C.

For the small assembly and the big one with smaller pads, we reached the desired soldering time – 16 and 18 seconds. The big assembly with bigger pads was slightly out of the time limit due to the nonuniform heating of the joints. All tests were made with one lab coil.

We strongly recommended designing a custom induction heating coil for this application. With a custom inductor, the heating will be uniform enough, and the total heat cycle can be brought down to 10-13 seconds. A faster heating cycle can also guarantee that the plastic base does not melt.

Benefits: Induction heating can provide significant productivity improvements. With the proper equipment and the right settings, the customer can achieve the desired results, energy efficiency, and a healthy environment for their workers.

Reference Info: Application Note 3464-7283

Read more about other induction soldering applications.

To request more information about this Application note, please contact us.