Before the development of Surface Mount Technology (SMT), almost all printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) had to go through the process of wave soldering to achieve the purpose of soldering electronic components to the board.
The process of “wave soldering” gets its name from using a large pool of molten tin during the soldering process. This pool of tin is heated to a temperature where the solid tin bar can melt and form a solution. This molten solution can be thought of as a “lake”. When the lake is still, it is called a “laminar wave”. When the lake is agitated, it becomes a “turbulent wave”. The PCB is like a boat sailing on the surface of the lake, allowing the molten tin solution to adhere to the electronic components and the PCB. After the soldered parts pass through the molten tin, it rapidly cools and solder the electronic component to the PCB.
