Ersa Inc

Ersa, Inc.
1779 Pilgrim Road
Plymouth,WI 53073
Phone: 800.363.3772

Ersa manufacturers several lines of soldering equipment at all different levels of the solder process. They manufacture reflow ovens and solder paste printing equipment for the SMT process. They manufacutre both Wave and Selective Soldering equipment for the PTH process. They manufacture hand soldering tools, bench-top rework equipment and visual inspection systems. They believe that quality comes first and foremost and that is reflected in the equipment they build. Their machines are top dollar, but you definitely get the quality and the performance that you would expect from a company like Ersa.

Surface Mount Reflow - Hotflow Series

Ersa uses a technology they call the multijet nozzle system to deliver the hot air to the PCB. Most reflow ovens direct the hot air downwards on the PCB then exhaust the air out the side of the tunnel, this causes a level of turbulance in the reflow zone which can effect the quality of the reflow process. Ersa uses jets that bring the hot air to the PCB, but instead of exhausting out the side, the air is exhausted by jets that surround the heating jets, therefore you don't have any problems with cross currents of the air flow. This allows the PCB to heat more evenly and with less defects caused by warpage or delamination, or other issues caused by inefficient heating.

Additionally, each zone heat source (top and bottom) can be accessed rather quickly. This makes maintenance of the unit less painful. It isn't unheard of to need to shut down a reflow oven for an extended period to change out a fan belt. With quick changeout capabilities you can keep your lines up an running and making money for your business.

Selective Soldering - Versaflow

There is always room for debate as to what is appropriate for your process, Wave Soldering or Selective Soldering. Basic rule of thumb if you have an application that is high volume with alot of solder joints per PCB, then you are probably better off with Wave Soldering process and their associated costs; i.e. energy usage, material costs, etc.. But if you have a PCB and you can sacrifice time or throughput for quality and efficiency, then Selective is the process best suited for your application.

The Ersa Versaflow is the leader of the Selective Soldering world. As compared to other selective units, the Versaflow manuevers the pot around the PCB, not the PCB around the pot like other systems with Robotic arms. So what is the benefit of carrier mechanisms; robotic arm vs. inline?

Since there is not a robotic arm to deal with, the Versaflow has a top-side convection heater in the soldering module. This is especially critical in heavier mass applications, or applications with more solder joints. Without the top side heat, the PCB will begin to cool down once you remove it from the preheat and if you are soldering 25 solder joints, then obviously 25 is going to be formed at much different environemental variables then solder joint 1. This is not an issue with the Versaflow, because the top-side maintains the temperature as the solder pot forms the solder joint connections.

Secondly, I can have more PCBs in various portions of the process, i.e. Fluxing, Pre-Heating, etc. while board #1 is in the soldering module. Whereas a batch Selective Soldering system is one in, one out and you are limited on throughtput by the process time of the complete process. If throughput is extremely critical, it is possible to configure a dual pot Versaflow so you could have potentially 2 PCBs in the soldering modules, 2 PCBs in the pre-heater modules, and 2 in the fluxing module.

Selective Soldering is much slower than Wave Soldering, so what are the benefits of Selective over Wave?

First and foremost, cost of ownership is a big factor. A Wave Solder machine may have a solder pot of over 1000 lbs. When SAC305 solder alloy prices approach $25.00 per lb, that could cost an owner of a Wave Solder machine $25,000 to fill their solder pot. Please note that this is not including the variable costs, i.e. Nitrogen, Energy Consumption, etc. Bottom line is Wave Soldering is a very expensive process to own as compared to Selective Soldering with the Versaflow. The Versaflow uses approx. 20 lbs of SAC305 alloy to fill it up, that is a cost of about $500. Not to mention the Nitrogen costs are much less, because the pot is smaller and enclosed.

Secondly, you have more control from one solder joint to the other with the Versaflow than you would with a Wave Soldering system. With the Wave Soldering process, you have one pass to get all the solder joints, as compared to the individual programmability of the Versaflow. You can allow a longer dwell time on certain solder joints, and a shorter dwell on others, depending on circuitry, groud planes, etc.

Finally, one last key factor of the Versaflow is the electro-magnetic pump. Ersa uses the natural magnetic characteristic of the alloy to pump the alloy, as compared to using an impeller. The benefits of an electro magnetic pump are two-fold, maintenance and flexibility.

When you auger metal alloy with an impeller you increase the amount of oxidation/dross formation of the metals. Additionally, as the impeller wears down, youe eventually will need to replace it, which will mean you will need to dump the pot (remember $25,000) and start fresh.

Secondly, the use of impellers creates Waves, hence the name, this causes problems with repeatbility. The Versaflow controls it's flow height with an increase or decrease of electrical current, which is much more controllable then an impeller. With a smoother, more controlled soldering surface of the Selective Nozzle you are able to get more control over the PTH soldering process.

Additionally, you are able to solder from all directions with the Versaflow nozzle, that is fully wettable. This will save you time in programmings, because you don't need to be concerned as much about direction or peeling angle as you would be with other impeller selective soldering systems.

Rework and Inspection

Ersa carries three members of it's rework line; the Hybrid Tool, IR/PL550 and the IR/PL 650 from smallest to largest. All of them use medium wavelength IR heat for component removal, except the Hybrid Tool uses a combination of Low Volume Hot Air in addition to the IR.

The Hybrid Tool was designed to compete with Hot Air Guns/Pencils that use only hot air, but at higher volumes, that blow away adjacent components. The Hybrid Tool is simple to program, the operator selects the program number of the nozzle head, and then determines the time to run the program.

The IR/PL550 uses a the Medium Wavelength IR in addition to an IR sensor for temperature measurement. Using IR gives you several benefits in the rework process; focused heat, small delta T, component is not obstructed by nozzles, etc. Taking into consideration the general purpose of a rework typically involves one component, using a focused heat is a benefit for that combined with the small delta T you can be sure that the component is being heat uniformily. Secondly, since a nozzle isn't obstructing your view, you can witness visually via camera when the solder actually melts. The PL portion of the IR/PL550 is a manual placement system that uses split optics to align the new component with the pads on the PCB.

The IR/PL650 basically takes the same theories as the IR/PL550, but on a larger scale. Higher powered heat sources, larger bottom size heaters, more automation in the placement process, reflow zone control (turn off certain heaters at certain temps), more thermacouples for process recording, etc.

The ErsaScope inspection system was the first scope of it's kind on the market. It is a valuable tool for inspection of hidden joint structures; i.e. BGAs, CSPs, QFPs, etc. Industry dependance on X-Ray technology leaves room for micro-cracks and other problems that are not visible to X-Ray or are simply difficult to detect. The ErsaScope allows you to see the solder joint, and it's surface appearance (which often can tell you more about the reflow process then the shape can) to determine whether there might be any potential problems.

Hand Soldering - i-Con Hand Soldering Tool

The Ersa i-Con is a compact, lightweight soldering tool that combines 150w of power and tip temperature measurement (yes at the tip)for the most efficient in hand soldering systems.

The tip temperature measurement allows the system to monitor and adjust the power levels to maintain a tip temperature accurately and effectively. Meaning less of the peaks and valleys as the heat is transferred into the soldering joints. Most other stations overcompensate by soldering at higher temperatures to make up for their Delta T's, as the Ersa can solder at lower temperatures, which is safer for PCBs and components and promotes longer tip lifes.

Secondly, the system has a 150w of power to use to maintain the temperature. This power allows the system to heat up quickly (8 seconds from cold start) and also allows the system to penetrate thicker Iron (Fe) plating on the soldering tips. Most stations have approx. 100-200 micron of Iron plating, as compared to the i-Con has approx 300-600 micron of Iron plating.

Moreover, the system has several other benefits, some of which are temperature profiles (allow you to signal the operator if the system senses it is over/under a set temperature range), Hig/Medium/Low power settings (allows for different applications some being "Heat Sensitive") and i-Set Tool allows for program download from a master station.

All in all, the i-Con will allow you more repeatbility at lower soldering temperatures and the tips cost less than the competition.