Hand Soldering vs Wave Soldering — Solder Line Quality Audit Worksheet

Use this worksheet alongside the main article to evaluate your own THT soldering line. Enter your production data in each step below.

Step 1: Measure Your Current THT Throughput

Quality Metric	Hand Soldering (Typical)	Wave Soldering (Typical)	Your Line
Rework rate	2-5%	0.3-1%	___%
Joint temperature consistency	+/- 15-25°C	+/- 1-2°C	___°C
Field return rate (THT-related)	Variable	Consistent	___%
Throughput (joints/hour)	60-120	300-1800 mm/min conveyor	___

Formula: Annual Rework Cost = (Boards per shift x Shifts per year x Rework rate %) x ($ Cost per rework cycle)

Item	Value
Annual boards produced	Boards/shift x ___ shifts/year = ___
Boards requiring rework	Annual boards x (Your rework rate / 100) = ___
Cost per rework cycle	Operator time ($_), consumables ($_), test re-run ($_)
Total Annual Rework Cost	$___

Scenario	Annual Savings	Invest-back Period
Reduce rework from 4% to 1%	75% of current rework cost	Annual Rework x 0.75 = ___ months
Eliminate 2 hand solder stations	2 operators x salary + overhead	Investment / Operator savings = ___ months
Reduce field returns by 50%	Field return cost x 50%	Included above

For a custom line evaluation with your actual production data, contact Jason Wu: jasonwu@smthelp.com | +86 13602562576

Document S-REF-WS-001 — Solder Line Quality Audit Worksheet — Southern Machinery Sales And Service Co., Ltd.