Solder paste is the form of solder that is used in association with infrared reflow machines during the PCB assembly process.
Solder paste is used in PCB assembly as it provides significant advantages and its form enables the process to become a simple and easy process.
The solder paste can be sued within large scale PCB assembly, or even within prototype production. In fact it is used in most forms of SMT assembly, proving an easy to use medium for the solder.
What is solder paste
Solder paste is a mixture of minute solder spheres held within a specialised form of solder flux. As the name indicates it has the texture of a paste, and hence the name.
The fact that it is a paste means that it can be easily applied to the board during PCB assembly.
The solder particles are a mixture of solder. Traditionally this used to be tin and lead, but with the legislation has been introduced around the world, to only use lead free solders. These may be made from a variety of mixtures. One is 99.7% tin and 0.3% copper, whereas there are other mixtures that include other metals including tin.
