Soldering Fixture With Wire Alignment Tool
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional soldering techniques are inefficient for attaching connectors to printed circuit boards, especially with the increasing miniaturization of electronic components, as they require manual soldering of multiple wire leads and are limited to one side of the board, leading to high assembly costs and reduced quality.
Innovation Solution
A soldering fixture with a unitary base member and wire alignment tool, featuring a wire retainer comb and inverted U-shaped support, aligns wire leads with solder pads on both sides of the printed circuit board, allowing for reflow soldering of electrical connectors in a single operation, eliminating the need for manual soldering and enabling dual-sided attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional soldering techniques are used for attaching connectors to printed circuit boards, then manual soldering of wire leads can be performed, but assembly costs increase and quality decreases due to inefficiency and limitations to one side of the board
Solution Approach 1:
The soldering fixture is divided into distinct functional segments: a base member for supporting the PCB, a wire alignment tool with multiple wire retainers for positioning individual wire leads, and a connector retainer for holding the connector. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, enabling simultaneous alignment and soldering of multiple wire leads on both sides of the PCB, thereby improving productivity while maintaining ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The wire alignment tool acts as an intermediary device between the wire leads and the soldering process. It includes wire retainers that receive and position wire leads, and alignment features that ensure proper positioning relative to the PCB and connector. This intermediary tool eliminates the need for manual soldering by providing automated alignment, reducing assembly costs while improving soldering efficiency
2Productivity
If traditional soldering techniques are used, then one side of the printed circuit board can be soldered at a time, but the number of soldering applications increases leading to higher assembly costs
Solution Approach 1:
The soldering fixture enables soldering in multiple dimensions simultaneously by supporting the PCB and connector in a configuration that allows wire leads from both sides of the PCB to be aligned and soldered in a single operation. The wire alignment tool includes wire retainers positioned to accommodate wire leads extending from opposite sides of the PCB, transforming the process from sequential one-sided soldering to simultaneous multi-sided soldering, thereby increasing productivity and reducing the number of soldering applications required
3Ease of manufacture
If manual soldering of multiple wire leads is performed, then connectors can be attached to printed circuit boards, but assembly complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The soldering fixture merges multiple functions into a single integrated device: the base member supports the PCB, the wire alignment tool aligns multiple wire leads simultaneously, and the connector retainer holds the connector in position. This merging of alignment and positioning functions into one fixture simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the need for separate manual alignment and soldering steps, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining ease of manufacture
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies construction, reduces assembly costs, and enhances the reliability of electronic assemblies by enabling efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality soldering of connectors to both sides of printed circuit boards, suitable for applications in avionics and military electronics.
Implementation Method 1
A soldering fixture with a unitary base member and wire alignment tool, featuring a wire retainer comb and inverted U-shaped support, aligns wire leads with solder pads on both sides of the printed circuit board
Implementation Method 2
The entire circuit board is heated to the melting point of the solder present on the existing solder pads which then reflows and bonds with the wire leads extending from the electronic components
Data Source
AI summary
A soldering fixture is disclosed having a unitary base member configured to maintain a printed circuit board and an electrical connector in a particular orientation during soldering. The unitary base member includes a lateral channel dimensioned to maintain a plurality of wire leads associated with the electrical connector in a spaced relationship with the printed circuit board. The unitary base member further includes a wire alignment tool configured to align the plurality of wire leads in the particular orientation such that the plurality of wire leads are in juxtaposition with a plurality of solder pads affixed to one or more surfaces of the printed circuit board.