Soldering electronic assemblies, even in small volumes, can be an expensive business. Specialized alloys, formulated to meet the specific individual requirements of components, finishes, and assemblies, can add extra dollars to the cost of manufacturing SMT and mixed-technology assemblies, narrowing profit margins for production runs. Amerway Inc., a solder and flux manufacturer servicing the electronics industry with high-purity alloys and solder products, can show customers practical ways to cut soldering costs through their individualized, localized approach to a customer’s soldering requirements.
“At Amerway, we’re happy to come to the customer’s facility to review their process,” says Terry Buck, President. “It’s an easy matter for us, because we’re a domestic solder manufacturer centrally-located on the U. S. East Coast in Altoona, Pennsylvania. We can find ways to cut costs through solder alloy choices, mitigating waste streams through recycling, as well as recommending and blending custom-made alloys that will be specific to their process.”
For lead-free PCB assemblers, it may be possible to substitute a less-expensive alloy for a specific assembly build than another, and “Even if your alloy choices are restricted, for example, to a specific one, such as SN100C, instead of a SAC-alloy, we’re licensed by Balver Zinn Cobar Products to manufacture SN100C right here in Altoona,” Terry Buck adds. “So, we save you money over imported products. We manufacture all of our soldering alloys from virgin metals, so you’re getting the best of the best always, pure and consistent and at the lowest possible cost.”
Soldering process optimization is the best overall means of cutting soldering (and overall assembly) costs, but beyond that, “As your solder supplier can help you find additional ways to save by working individually with you,” says Tyler Port, Quality/Project Manager. “We are a family-owned American small business, so we have that same perspective and understanding as many of our customers. We know how to address their needs. Yet, we do enough volume to give the customer the same lower cost as larger suppliers can, and additionally, our customers can save on shipping and service with tailor-made products that we can propose following a customer visit.”
Tyler will visit the customer’s site personally to meet with the customer’s buyers and production people to ascertain how they can provide a customized product, process, and shipping solution to save the customer money. “Alternately, they can also visit our Altoona plant to see how their product is produced,” he added.
