This chapter focuses on factors that influence the mechanical properties of a soldered joint, including solder material, base material, solder joint design, soldering surface, soldering temperature, and test methodology.

This chapter describes important aspects of the interrelationship between the workpiece and the inductor coil, an understanding of which is essential for achieving an efficient soldering process and a solder joint with the desired performance and reliability. It also discusses induction soldering machine operation parameters, including temperature measurement and control sensors. The chapter illustrates the equipment used in a fully automated induction heating system. Fully automated soldering systems include temperature monitoring devices to control the temperature-time profile, the movement of workpieces, the supply of solder filler metal and flux, and the provision of shielding gas in the solder joint area.

Brazing and soldering processes use a molten filler metal to wet the mating surfaces of a joint, with or without the aid of a fluxing agent, leading to the formation of a metallurgical bond between the filler and the respective components. This chapter discusses the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of brazing and soldering. The first part focuses on the fundamentals of the brazing process and provides information on filler metals and specific brazing methods. The soldering portion of the chapters provides information on solder alloys used, selection criteria for base metal, the processes involved in precleaning and surface preparation, types of fluxes used, solder joint design, and solder heating methods.

This chapter explains the fundamentals of soldering technology and provides an overview of the soldering process. It discusses the wetting of the molten solder filler metal to the base material surface and the design aspects when induction heating is used to make the solder joint.

This chapter describes the factors that affect the corrosion performance of aluminum assemblies joined by methods such as welding, brazing, soldering, and adhesive bonding. The factors covered include galvanic effects, crevices, and assembly stresses in products susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking.

This chapter presents the following groupings of metals and alloys that are soldered together: steel and iron-base alloys, aluminum and aluminum alloys, and copper and copper alloys. It also presents the ancillary materials and process methods that assist the solder filler metal in completing the solder joint through induction heating. The chapter focuses on the selection of fluxes and the use of inert gases or even vacuum to realize an oxide-free base material surface both before and during the soldering process.

This chapter provides an introduction to induction soldering. It also illustrates the classification of the different soldering processes according to the heat source, as described in the German standard, Soldering: Categorization of Processes According to Energy Sources, Process Descriptions.

This chapter discusses the critical soldering faults that lead to quality degradation and potential failure of a soldered connection. It then describes the types of nondestructive evaluations used to inspect soldered and brazed joints, including dimensional and visual inspection, ultrasonic testing, radiographic examination, dye penetrant inspection, and leak testing, including overpressure tests. The chapter also provides an overview of destructive physical analysis.

This chapter details various induction soldering processes, including soldering with manually fed solder, soldering with filler metal (preplaced) preforms, soldering with solder coating, and soldering with an automated solder wire feeder.