SOLDERING AND BRAZING

SOLDERING
1) Principle: Soldering is very much similar to brazing and its principle is same as
that of brazing. The major difference lies with the filler metal, the filler metal
used in case of soldering should have the melting temperature lower than
450oC. The surfaces to be soldered must be pre-cleaned so that these are
faces of oxides, oils, etc. An appropriate flux must be applied to the faying
surfaces and then surfaces are heated. Filler metal called solder is added to
the joint, which distributes between the closely fitted surfaces. Strength of
soldered joint is much lesser than welded joint and les than a brazed joint.
2) Soldering is a process used for joining metal parts to form a mechanical or
electrical bond. It typically uses a low melting point metal alloy (solder) which
is melted and applied to the metal parts to be joined and this bonds to the metal
parts and forms a connection when the solder solidifies. It is different to
welding in that the parts being joined are not melted and are usually not the
same material as the solder.
3) Soldering is a common practice for assembling electrical components and
wiring. Although it can be used for plumbing, sheet metal fabrication.
➔Different types of solders
Most of the solder metals are the alloy of tin and lead. These alloys exhibit a wide
range of melting point so different type of soldering metal can be used for variety
of applications. Percentage of lead is kept least due to its toxic properties. Tin
becomes chemically active at soldering temperature and promotes the wetting
action required for making the joint. Copper, silver and antimony are also used in
soldering metal as per the strength requirements of the joint.
A solder is selected on the basis of its melting point. If metals to be joined have
higher melting point solder of higher melting point is generally selected. Solder of
high melting point provides better strength of the joint.
➔Types of solder fluxes
1) Solder fluxes can be classified as:
a. Organic fluxes: Organic fluxes are either rosin or water-soluble
materials. Organic fluxes are mostly used for electrical and electronic
circuit making. These are chemically unstable at elevated temperature
but non-corrosive at room temperature.
b. Inorganic fluxes: Inorganic fluxes are consisting of inorganic acids;
mixture of metal chlorides (zinc and ammonium chlorides). These are
used to achieve rapid and active fluxing where formation of oxide films
are problems.
2) Fluxes should be removed after soldering either by washing with water or by
chemical solvents. The main functions performed by fluxes are :
a. remove oxide films and tarnish from base part surfaces,
b. prevent oxidation during heating, an
c. promote wetting of the faying surfaces.
 3) The fluxes should:
a. be molten at soldering temperature,
b. be readily displaced by the molten solder during the process, and
c. leave a residue that is non-corrosive and non-conductive.
➔Soldering methods
1) There is a lot of similarity between soldering and brazing processes. The major
difference between them is less heat and lower temperature is required in case
of soldering. The different processes (methods) used in soldering are touch
soldering, furnace soldering, resistance soldering, dip soldering and infrared
soldering. All the above methods are common to both soldering and brazing
processes. There are some more methods used in case of soldering only, these
are hand soldering; wave soldering and reflow soldering. These methods are
described below.
a. Hand soldering
b. Wave soldering
c. Reflow soldering
➔Soldering tools
1) The main tool used for soldering is the soldering iron. In addition to soldering
some consumables are also used in the process of soldering like fluxes, solder
wire or stick and spelter. These are described below.
a. Soldering iron: consists of a copper bit attached to iron rod at its one
end, and a wooden handle at the other end. It is used to melt the filler
metal and paste it to make the joint.
b. Spelter: Spelter is an alloy of zinc and copper in equal proportion. This
is one of the filler metals with low melting point with other desirable
properties to make good quality solder joint.

➔Soldering defects
1) Granular formation at the surface of the joint of solder is one of the common
soldering defects.
2) Formation of spheroids at the surface of soldering joint is also similar defect.
This happens due to under heating or over heating of solder iron, insufficient
use of flux.
3) Improper or uneven application of flux may make the joint of weaker strength.
4) Proper coordination between flux application and soldering makes the joint of
good quality.
➔Soldering Printed Circuit Board
1) Soldering may be used to join wires or attached components to a printed circuit
board (PCB). Wires, component leads and tracks on circuit boards are mostly
made of copper. The copper is usually covered with a thin layer of tin to prevent
oxidization and to promote better bonding to other parts with solder. When
soldering bare copper wires they are often “tinned” by applying molten solder
before making a joint.

2) Types of PCB:
a. Through hole components,
b. Surface mount components.

Brazing
1) Brazing refers to group of joining process that includes:
a. Torch brazing
b. Deep brazing
c. Furnace brazing
d. Diffusion brazing
e. Resistance brazing
f. Infrared brazing
g. Induction brazing.
2) In case of brazing joining of metal pieces is done with the help of filler metal.
Filler metal is melted and distributed by capillary action between the faying
surfaces of the metallic parts being joined. In this case only filler metal melts.
There is no melting of workpiece metal. The filler metal (brazing metal) should
have the melting point more than 450oC. Its melting point should be lesser than
the melting point of workpiece metal. The metallurgical bonding between work
and filler metal and geometric constrictions imposed on the joint by the
workpiece metal make the joint stronger than the filler metal out of which the
joint has been formed. Filler metal distributes itself between the closely fitted
surface by capillary action.
3) To achieve good joint using brazing, the component must be properly cleaning
before brazing and must be protected by either flux or protective arm during
heating to prevent oxidation of other surface .
➔Applications
1) Dissimilar metals can be joined,
2) Aircraft engines, food processing pressure vessel,
3) Aerospace vehicles, nuclear systems
➔Process equipment
a. Torch brazing
b. Deep brazing
c. Furnace brazing
d. Diffusion brazing
e. Resistance brazing
f. Infrared brazing
g. Induction brazing.
1) Torch brazing: In case of torch brazing, flux is applied to the part surfaces and
a torch is used to focus flame against the work at the joint. A reducing flame is
used to prevent the oxidation. Filler metal wire or rod is added to the joint.
Torch uses mixture of two gases, oxygen and acetylene, as a fuel like gas
welding. Fuel gas used will be propane, C2H2.
2) Furnace brazing: In this case, furnace is used to heat the workpieces to be
joined by brazing operation. In medium production, usually in batches, the
component parts and brazing metal are loaded into a furnace, heated to
brazing temperature, and then cooled and removed. If high production rate is
required all the parts and brazing material are loaded on a conveyer to pass
through then into a furnace. A neutral or reducing atmosphere is desired to
make a good quality joint.

3) Induction brazing: Induction brazing uses electrical resistance of workpiece

and high frequency current induced into the same as a source of heat
generation. The parts are pre-loaded with filler metal and placed in a high
frequency AC field. Frequencies ranging from 5 to 5000 kHz is used. High
frequency power source provides surface heating, however, low frequency
causes deeper heating into the workpieces. Low frequency current is
recommended for heavier and big sections (workpieces). Any production rate,
low to high, can be achieved by this process.
4) Resistance brazing: In case of resistance welding the workpieces are directly
connected to electrical --- - rather than induction of electric current line
induction brazing. Heat to melt the filler metal is obtained by resistance to flow
of electric current through the joint to be made. Equipment for resistance
brazing is same that is used for resistance welding, only lower power ratings
are used in this case. Filler metal into the joint is placed between the electrode
before passing current through them. Rapid heating cycles can be achieved in
resistance welding. It is recommended to make smaller joints.
5) Dip brazing: In this case heating of the joint is done by immersing it into the
molten soft bath or molten metal bath. In case of salt bath method, filler metal
is pre-loaded to the joint and flux is contained in to the hot salt bath. The filler
metal melts into the joint when it is submerged into the hot bath. Its
solidification and formation of the joint takes place after taking out the
workpiece from the bath. In case of metal bath method, the bath contains
molten filler metal. The joint is applied with flux and dipped to the bath. Molten
filler metal, fills the joint through capillary action. The joint forms after its
solidification after taking it out from molten metal bath. Fast heating is possible
in this case. It is recommended for making multiple joints in a single workpiece
or joining multiple pairs of workpieces simultaneously.