Evaluating a new flexible soldering system for electronics small and medium enterprises

A new flexible soldering system for small to medium European electronics manufacturers is proposed by a group of European industrialists and academics as part of an EC-funded research project. The proposed soldering facility is intended to assist electronics small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in tackling the ever growing market need for lower volume and higher variety of soldering printed circuit boards. A business evaluation study was carried out as part of this project to understand and highlight the impact of change in soldering methods within the project collaborators' businesses. The development of the proposed soldering system is discussed briefly in the current paper and the adopted evaluation approach using business process modelling and process simulation is explained.