MENG16000: Design & Manufacture 1

Manufacturing Processes
Technical Report

Soldering and Brazing

Submitted on February 2017 (Week 16)

Group G21 - Tutor: Dr.Joel Ross

Prepared By

Chen Zhi Shen

Suman Gurung
Law Hui Huang
Qiu Ze Yu
James Micklewright
Odysseas Varvounis
Steven Coles
Tom Arnison
1 Introduction

Brazing and soldering are good ways to join two or more materials that perhaps are thermolabile
fragile, intricate, or with very different characteristics, sizes, properties and so on. They are
used commonly in electronics industry such as joining electronics components. This report is
to introduce the definition, history, comparison, applications and pros and cons of brazing and
soldering. Basicly, both of them have similar process that is melting and flowing filler metal into
joint. But they can be distinguished by temperature and the strength of material in brazing after
process is greater than that of soldering.
Definition
Brazing is a joining process in which two or more metal items are jointed together by placing the
filler metal between faying surfaces. The melting point of melting filler is lower than the adjoining
metal. In the process, the temperature of melting filler is heated slightly above the melting point,
so that it has sufficient liquidity. Thus, brazing is a liquid-solid-state bonding process. Upon
cooling and solidification, a strong joint is obtained. And according to the American Welding
Society (AWS), the temperature above 450 centigrade are called brazing, otherwise called
soldering, which has similar process with brazing.
A brief history of brazing
About 4400 years ago, small buttons from Egypt were made from gold sheet with a fillet brazed
joint. In 2200 B.C. drinking vessels with handles brazed to the body were created in Troy.
In 1568,Italian goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini describes the general brazing process. Then, in
1774, the element Oxygen is discovered. In 2001, flame brazing 5XXX aluminum alloys using
non-corrosive flux is performed. Today, brazing is a refined process that is performed using
various types of equipment, from high-powered torches to atmosphere-controlled furnaces.
A brief history of soldering
The goldsmiths of ancient Egypt knew how to join gold more than 5,000 years ago. About
4000 years ago, soldering "came of age" when tin was discovered as a soldering metal. From
then on, the world’s soldering technology was on its way upwards. It first spread around the
Mediterranean. The Cretans showed it to the Etruscans, who then taught it to the Romans,
Tunisians and Spanish, followed by many others. The last century, soft soldering developed
into an independent field of production engineering in the electronics industry. It combines the
disciplines of mechanics, chemistry, physics and metallurgy.

2 Materials for Brazing and Soldering

There are filler Metals (Braze metals) available for different temperatures. Brazing metals
generally have a different composition from the metals that are being joined. Selection of
materials and its composition are important to avoid embrittlement of the joint by the following
circumstances.
• Formation of brittle intermetallic compounds
• Galvanic corrosion (also called bimetallic corrosion) is an electrochemical process in which
one metal corrodes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact, in
the presence of an electrolyte. This same galvanic reaction is exploited in primary batteries
to generate an electrical voltage

1
 Table 1: Typical Filler Metals for Brazing Serope Kalpakjian (2009)

Typical Filler Metals for Brazing

Base Metal Filler Metal Brazing Temperature ◦ (C)
Aluminium and its alloys Aluminium-silicon 570-620
Magnesium alloys Magnesium-aluminium 580-625
Copper and its alloys Copper-phosphorus 700-925
Ferrous and nonferrous Silver and copper alloys, 620-1150
(except aluminium and magnesium) copper-phosphorus
Iron-, nickel-, and cobalt-based alloys Gold 900-1100
Stainless steels, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys Nickel-silver 925-1200

Because of diffusion between the filler metal and joint metal, properties of the joint metal can
change over time and result in disappearance of the brazed joint. Braze alloys are available as
rods, powders, wires, ribbons.

2.1 Brazing Flux

The purpose of flux is to prevent oxidation when the metal is heated. It is also used to remove
contamination from brazed surfaces. Fluxes must be suitable to be used with the base metal
and braze alloys; otherwise, they will weaken the joint.
Flux generally comes in the form of paste, liquid or powder which is mixed with the filler metal.
Chemically, they are made from boric acid, borax, fluorides and chlorides. Wetting agents may
be added to it to reduce the surface tension and allow it to flow more easily.

• low melting temperature,

• low viscosity so that filler metal (molten) can displace it
• sticks to the workpiece.
Flux is corrosive and should be removed after brazing work is completed. This is generally done
by washing with hot water. Additionally, surfaces that are to be brazed need to be cleaned and
free from rust, this allows proper spreading of the braze metals and proper adhesion of the
workpiece. Brazed surfaces can be improved with sand blasting.

2.2 Solder Material

Solder is a metal alloy that is capable of malting at relatively low temperature to join two
workpiece. Solder comes in many forms: paste, wire, bars, pellets. There are two main type of
solder, lead based solder and lead free solder.

2.2.1 Lead Based Solder

These type of solder contains lead. It was universally used in the past but is banned in the
European Union due to adverse health effect of lead contamination. Lead based solders are
usually 60% tin 40% lead mix that melts at 180◦ C. This melting point is lower than lead free
solder which causes less strain on the assembly. It can also flow more easily in between joints.

2
2.2.2 Lead Free Solder

Lead free solder is solder without lead. It melts at around 250◦ C, higher than lead based solder.
This might cause more oxidation and less reliable joints to be formed.

2.2.3 Soldering Flux

Usually, solder has a core inside which contains flux. Flux is used to :
1. Improve electrical contact and mechanical strength
In electronics, flux aids the solder to hold the electronic components in place on the Printed
Circuit Board (PCB).
2. Enable the solder to wet easily
Flux reduces the surface tension in the molten solder which allows it to flow easily into
joint gaps by capillary actions and produce reliable joints.
3. Remove oxide films and tarnish from surface of joints
Oxides and tarnish at joint sites causes weak joints because it disrupts the flow of heat
required to melt the solder and solders do not bond well with oxides. Generally, fluxes are
mildly corrosive at higher temperature so to remove the oxide films.
4. Prevent oxidation of solder during heating
The flux acts as a reducing agent which reduces the oxides formed so itself is oxidized
while the metal oxide is reduced to pure metal.

Fluxes should be removed after soldering because they are generally corrosive. Their conductiv-
ity which causes current leakage is also a concern in electronics. There are two main type of
fluxes:
1. Organic fluxes which are mostly used for the making of electronic circuits because they
are usually mildly corrosive at elevated temperature but non-corrosive at room temperat-
ure.They are either made of :
• Rosin
Rosin is a solid form of resin obtained from conifers or pine trees. When the tree is
wounded, it produces resin to protect itself against disease agents and insects. They are
insoluble in water. Rosin base fluxes are only cleanable in solvents designed for their
removal.
• Water soluble material
Water soluble material flux are made of organic acids. These are relatively higher activity
fluxes than rosin designed to be removed with water after soldering.
2. Inorganic flux which are commonly used in non-electronics application as they are gen-
erally more corrosive than organic flux and might deteriorate electrical properties of the
electronics. They are made of :
• Inorganic acids
Inorganic acids contain a mixture of metal chlorides such as zinc chloride and aluminium
chloride. They are used to achieve rapid and active fluxing to rapidly clean the surface
from oxides.

3
 3. No clean flux, which are made of :
• A mixture of organic resins mixed with inorganic agents
No clean flux does not need to be cleaned after soldering as the residue left is non
-corrosive and non-conductive. However, they leave a lot of residue which causes less
desirable appearance.

2.2.4 Ease of Solder

Generally,
• Copper, Silver and Gold are easy to solder.
• Iron and Nickel are more difficult to solder.
• Aluminium and Stainless Steel are difficult to solder due to their thin oxide layer.
• Steels, Cast Irons, Titanium, Magnesium, Ceramics, Graphite and Polymers can be
soldered by first plating them with suitable metallic elements to induce interfacial bonding.
For example, tin plating can be used onto steel so it can be easily soldered, which is used
on cans on can food.

3 Brazing and Soldering Methods

3.1 Brazing

3.1.1 Torch Brazing

Torch brazing is the most common mechanized brazing method in use. The three main types
of torch brazing are manual, machine and automatic torch brazing. Torch brazing is done by
heating the joint with a torch before placing the brazing metal at the joint. The heat source is
an oxyfuel gas with a carburizing flame. A carburizing flame is a sooty, low temperature flame
which results in the metal being more malleable.

3.1.2 Furnace Brazing

Furnace brazing is done by cleaning and preloading the joint parts and brazing metal in suitable
configurations before placing it in the furnace. Furnace brazing will be done in batches if the
brazing work is for complicated designs or it will be done continuously if high productivity is
required.

3.1.3 Induction Brazing

The source of heating in induction brazing is a high frequency alternating current. It is preloaded
with filler metal and placed near a induction coil. Induction brazing in suitable for continous
brazing processes.

4
3.1.4 Resistance Brazing

Resistance brazing utilizes the resistance of the component metals. Electrodes are connected
to the workpieces and the filler metal is either added before or during the brazing process.
Resistance brazing is fast, can be confined to small areas and produces joints with uniform
brazing quality.

3.1.5 Dip Brazing

Heating of the joint is done by dipping it into molten filler-metal bath or molten salt bath. For
molten salt baths, the filler metal is pre-loaded into the joint before dipping it into the bath. For
molten filler-metal baths, flux is applied to the joint before dip brazing. Solidification takes place
after the joints are removed from the baths and allowed to cool. Smaller assemblies usually use
the molten filler bath method whereas larger assemblies are done with the molten salt method.
A large number of joints can be completed using dip brazing but it still depends on the size of
the bath and parts. Parts used are usually less than 5 mm in thickness or diameter.

3.1.6 Infared Brazing

The heat source in infared brazing is a high- intensity quartz lamp which can generate up to
5000 watts of radiant heat energy. Heat generated is focused on the joint which is placed in a
vacuum environment. Parts which can be brazed this way are usually less than 1 mm thick.

3.2 Soldering Method

3.2.1 Hand Soldering

Hand Soldering is done manually using solder iron and a solder wire. The process sequence is :
1. The workpiece is cleaned of any dirt, oil and oxides using sandpaper or file.
2. They should be clamped to avoid any movement which will disrupt the joint making.
3. For load bearing purposes, lap joints or butt joints are used. For electrical joints, the
solder’s resistance should match the conductor’s resistance.
4. Appropriate flux should be applied with a brush at joints, organic flux for electrical joints
and inorganic flux for load bearing joint.
5. The tip of the solder iron is cleaned, flux is applied on it and the solder wire is brought in
contact with it at the joint. The molten solder will fill the joint and solidify.

3.2.2 Reflow Soldering

Reflow Soldering uses high viscosity solder paste which contains flux, solder metal, binding
agents, which can hold their shape for long enough. The process sequence is :
1. The solder paste is applied to the joints and the assembly is heated in a furnace in a
controlled manner.

5
 2. The flux is activated due the elevated temperature, it will increase the wetting of the solder,
remove oxides at the surface and prevent oxidation of the solder.
3. The assembly is preheated so the solder can wet the surface easily and form reliable
joints.
4. The solder particles are melted and they wet the joints by capillary action.
5. The assembly is allowed to cool at a slow rate to avoid thermal shock. When an object
cools rapidly some part might not cool at the same rate as others resulting in stress.
The benefit of this process is that the solder paste can keep the surface mounted objects in
place due to the binding agent which improves the reliability of the solder joints.

3.2.3 Wave Soldering

Wave Soldering is commonly used to attach electronics onto PCB.

1. The electronic components are bonded adhesively to the board
2. The PCB is held by the side and conveyed through foams of flux at the bottom of the board.
3. The board travels through a heat tunnel so it can be preheated and to activate the flux.
4. A pump generates a standing wave of molten solder where the bottom of the PCB will be
in contact with the edge of the wave. The molten solder will not stick to the polymer surface
of the board but only the electrical contacts of the electronics as the polymer surface is not
metal plated.
5. Excess solder is blown away by hot air to prevent bridging between other electrical contacts.
The board is then allowed to cool slowly.
The benefit of this process is that it is automated and can lead to higher quality product and
faster production.

4 Advantages and Disadvantages

4.1 Brazing

Advantages of brazing
web (d)
1. Metals of different different dimensions can joined together using brazing. Also, metals of
different diameters can be joint together using this process
2. Components jointed together by brazing process have clean joint so it doesn’t require sec-
ondary finishing techniques for smooth finish making it a cost-effective process
3. Brazing can be coated on metals to protect them from corrosion. Also, corrosion resistant
joint can be made using brazing
4. One of the most important advantage of brazing is it can joint metals with nonmetals. Joining
ceramics with metals is a common example.
5. Brazing is a cost-effective method of joining complex assemblies simply because it can
maintain precision dimensional tolerances regardless of shape and size of two components that
are being joined together.

6
Disadvantages of brazing web (e)
1.Components joined through brazing lacks joint strength compared to welding
2.The joints are not successful at high temperature whereas it can be damaged while exposed
to high service temperature
3.Brazing needs a high level of base-metal cleanliness for the components to be joined together
with higher joint strength
4.Joint color is always different from base metal so it requires painting or coating adding extra
cost to the procedure

4.2 Soldering

Advantages of Soldering
web (b)
1.Metals that cannot be welded can be joined together with soldering. Reheating can be done of
parts separately
2.It is easier to separate the joins of metal joined together by soldering
3.Parts can be produced in batch furnace which makes the process cost efficient as batch
furnace has lower capital cost
4.Dissimilar metals can be joined together Aluminum to brass, copper to steel etc.
5.Less chance of damaging the parts as the temperature of soldering is always lower than that
of the metals that are to be joined together

Disadvantages of Soldering
web (c)
1.It has lower strength compared to wielding
2.Lager metals need to be soldered in big furnace
3.Flux is required to clean the joint area and to avoid oxidation in metal as well as enhance the
wetting power of the soldering by reducing surface tension
4.Capillary action is required as it fills all gap between two metals during soldering process
against the force of gravity

7
5 Comparison

Soldering Brazing
Temperature require- Temperature requirement is Temperature go to 450 cen-
ment up to 450 centigrade in solder- tigrade or above in brazing
ing joints. joints
Heating of the work Heating of the work pieces is Work pieces are heated but
pieces not required. below their melting point.
Strength Soldering joints are weakest Brazing joints are weaker than
joints out of three. Not meant welding joints but stronger
to bear the load. Use to make than soldering joints.This can
electrical contacts generally. be used to bear the load up to
some extent.
Change in properties Change in properties after May change in mechanical
after joining joining properties of joint but it is al-
most negligible.
Preheating Preheating of work pieces be- Preheating is desirable to
fore soldering is good for mak- make strong joint as brazing
ing good quality joint. is carried out at relatively low
temperature
Cost involved Cost involved is relatively low. It is a costly process
Type of filler metal used The most common type of Brass alloys are commonly
filler metal used in soldering used.
is a 60:40 tin:lead alloy
Feasibility The process is easy to control Not very easy too automate
and automate
Heat treatment No heat treatment is required. No heat treatment is required
after brazing

6 Applications of Brazing and Soldering

6.1 Brazing

Brazing is similar to soldering, except for the use of higher temperatures. A major advantage of
brazing is the ability to join the same or different metals with considerable strength.
(a) Brazing is used for fastening of pipe fittings, tanks, carbide tips on tools, radiators, heat
exchangers, electrical parts, axles.
(b) It can join cast metals to wrought metals, dissimilar metals and porous metal components.
(c) It is used to join band saws, parts of bicycle such as frame and rims.
web (a)

8
6.2 Soldering Application

Table 2: Type of Solders and their application Serope Kalpakjian (2009)

Type of Solder Application
Tin Lead General Purpose
Tin Zinc Joining Aluminium
Lead Silver Strength at higher than room temperature
Cadmium Silver Strength at high temperature
Zinc Aluminium Joining Aluminium, Corrosion Resistance
Tin Silver Electronics
Tin Bismuth Electronics
Tin Antimony Plumbing

References
a. URL http://www.educationportals.net/2014/09/brazing-and-its-applications/.
b. URL http://machinedesign.com/fasteners/whats-difference-between-soldering-brazing-and-weldi
c. URL http://weldguru.com/soldering/.
d. URL https://app.aws.org/wj/2000/09/0015/.
e. URL http://www.educationportals.net/2014/09/advantages-disadvantages-precautions-in-brazing
Steven R.Schimd Serope Kalpakjian. Manufacturing Engineering and Technology. 10. Pearson,
6 edition, 2009. ISBN 0136081681.