Through-Hole Technology
If your product requires higher heat endurance and stronger connections between layers than SMT can provide we offer Through-hole Mounting to suit every application.
Through-hole circuit board assembly
This is frequently used to meet the high reliability requirements of the military and aerospace industry or in power electronics that generate a lot of heat. Other drivers are the necessity to use obsolete components, or traditional through hole connectors. THT (through hole technology) remains an effective PCB assembly method. However, although it provides stronger mechanical bonds, through-hole mounting requires a more laborious assembly process making the boards more expensive to produce. Component lead must be inserted through holes and cropped. Component leads may have to be pre-formed. Solder tacking or bending of component legs may be required to keep the parts located during soldering.
You can rely on our expertise to recommend the most suitable mounting technology for your applications, regardless of your niche. Our THT specialists are trained to IPC-A-160 standards
to provide the highest quality results.
Our through-hole technology capabilities
Our comprehensive capabilities extend all the way from hand assembly and hand soldering to automated soldering of both radial and axial components. Selective soldering machines are used for most THT component soldering. The heart of a selective solder machine is a small 3 axis movable wave solder head. The machines pre-heats the PCB and individually solder each component lead at a rate many times faster than can be done manually, with a consistency only achievable by computer control. Each solder joint may be programmed individually with the optimum rate of solder wave application, dwell, and withdrawal. The geometry of solder wave application remains identical giving absolute repeatability without operator fatigue.
Additionally, you can take advantage of our in-house supportive services such as conformal coating for the finishing of your product.
FAQs
As the name suggests, Through-hole assembly is a method in which components are inserted through holes drilled into printed circuit boards and are then soldered to pads on the opposite side. This process can involve both automatic and manual procedures which is especially useful for testing and prototyping.
Before surface mount technology came around, through-hole technology (THT) was the main printed circuit board assembly process used. However, SMT allows for high-speed production, permitting higher-density circuits and making through-hole mounting rarer and even discouraged sometimes.
It is far more efficient to machine assemble an electronic circuit if it is completely populated with surface mounted components. Leaded parts or through-hole components, on the other hand, are laborious to fit. They need lead trimming and bending, hand placement, further trimming and hand soldering. SMDs are simply machine picked and placed from a reel.
Yet, this technology is still used for some applications which is why we also offer through-hole assembly services. It involves component leads being placed into drilled holes on bare PCBs making it ideal for products that require stronger connections between layers.
