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Flux-free soldering offers important advantages over other joining processes for certain areas of application. This is also the case at Zehnder GmbH in Lahr, where a corresponding MiniTec system is used in the production of tubular radiators.
High degree of automation of the soldering system
The soldering system works fully automatically - there is only one employee to look after it and a grinder to check the quality. The individual parts come in, are positioned, soldered and conveyed out again. The tubes are provided as a bundle in the required quantity. The headers are automatically removed from the boxes and fitted with the brazing rings. After the subsequent brazing process, the parts come out of the brazing system and are first cooled down.
They are then ground automatically. Finally, an employee checks the 100 per cent tightness and visual quality of the finished parts. Once this has been confirmed, the soldered elements are first sent to a warehouse. From there, they are removed according to the customer's order and the radiators are manufactured using a quilting machine. After completion, the radiators are immersed in a water bath to check whether they are one hundred per cent leak-proof.
They are then hung up and sent to the shipping company via various other process steps, from priming and painting to packaging.
Inductive process
The MiniTec soldering system uses a flux-free process. In conventional systems, flux is used to ensure that the solder metal is evenly distributed. However, it is very harmful to the environment and to health.
It also represents a certain ‘time bomb’, as rust appears at the soldered joint after a certain time. For these reasons, more and more users want to do without flux, and for the same reasons MiniTec has been focussing exclusively on flux-free processes for years.
Krebs adds another advantage: ‘The process would be much more complicated with flux. It would not even be possible to produce the desired quantity in the required cycle time.’ In Zehnder's case, the workpiece is heated with the help of an inductor - and only at the point where the heat is needed.
The solder heats up, and as there is always shielding gas in the soldering chamber, it is distributed evenly over the soldering surface. Due to the capillary effect, it also reaches gaps and joints.
Do you need a suitable solution or an approach for your project? Then please contact us!