key component of the selective soldering system, but these simple-looking components hide the complex scientific processes that control their function. Dewetting and lifetime are the biggest customer complaints; we have been working to create a new nozzle design for over two years to alleviate these issues. It is possible that the maintenance required


A


to replace or rewet a nozzle could cost a company over one million pounds per year in lost revenue. We estimate this by assuming that one hour of an eight-hour shift is taken up by maintenance. In this model, 60 PCBs are produced per hours costing £100 per PCB. The company functions five days per week and 50 weeks per year. This results in £1,500,000.00 of lost revenue. By engineering a new nozzle that lasts longer and wets better, this allows savings of hundreds of thousands of pounds in maintenance alone. By combining the studies of materials


science, tribology (study of interacting surface and wear) and surface engineering, we have crafted a new nozzle design with over eight times the lifetime of our current nozzles and with over twice the wettability. This project has been undertaken in partnership with Coventry


t Pillarhouse International, we are continually innovating to meet our customers’ needs, but some challenges are greater than others. The selective soldering nozzle is a


DeveloPIng a new SelectIve SolDerIng nozzle


University via a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with funding provided by InnovateUK. Let me tell you how we undertook this work. There are many assumptions about how


selective soldering nozzles work, but to get to the root of a problem, you first need to break it down and understand the fundamental principles of wear and wettability. This allowed


By Dr. Samuel J. McMaster, Pillarhouse International


us to explore different materials and identify the factors that underpinned their performance. We analysed both the wear characteristics and wetting of these materials to choose the best options. Following this, surface treatments and coatings were applied to modify the materials’ characteristics and further enhance performance. Prototype testing was undertaken with certain


customers to generate field data and land upon a final design that is now being taken to manufacture. The new AP Master Nozzle will be available for purchase in June of 2023.


Pillarhouse International www.pillarhouse.co.uk 01245 491333


Coming June 2023


Surface engineered for longer life and increased wettability


Benets of the AP (All Purpose) Master Nozzle include... • Improved initial wetting for faster nozzle start-up and more user friendly operation • Lifetime predicted to be at least 8x longer than standard AP Nozzle • Surface treatment resists oxidation at high temperatures allowing for easier nozzle rewetting • Improved pull-off performance enables soldering of ne-pitch components • Exclusively available on all Pillarhouse machines using wettable nozzles


www.pillarhouse.co.uk 30 connectIng InDUStrY 20th annIverSarY eDItIon


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