APPARATUS AND METHOD OF SOLDER COATING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LEADS

摘要

Desired control of the thickness and composition of a solder coat on the J-leads of an integrated circuit Quad package is obtained by orienting the packages while being solder coated in a "leads-up" orientation as a series of strips mounting the packages are passed through a solder wave of a wave soldering apparatus on a pallet. The Quad or other shaped integrated circuit or other electronic packages which have leads extending exteriorly thereof, thus have the critical lead crest portions coated with substantially the same solder layer thickness and composition. This permits reliable electrical connections between the crest portions of the leads and printed circuit board metal traces (metallization), particularly in surface mounting of the package to a printed circuit board. An additional feature of the invention is a pallet for holding a series of package-holding elongate frames which pallet is used for conveying the packages through the wave soldering apparatus.