When to use Thermode Soldering and when to use the Laser Knife?

Thermode Soldering

Thermode soldering provides optimum results when soldering flex foils, cable strands and ribbon cables. This soldering process is characterized by high quality as well as high reproducibility. However, thermode soldering is limited in terms of energy efficiency and process speed. Due to the process phases – probing, melting, repositioning and cooling – thermode soldering is not one of the fastest soldering processes. In addition, it requires noticeably more energy as well as product-specific thermode shapes.

Laser Knife

As an alternative, we have developed the Laser Knife, which has the same process objective as thermode soldering. The Laser Knife consists of a position-controlled hold-down device, which aligns the surfaces to be soldered, and a laser. Heat is applied contact-less via the laser beam. The laser allows the soldering process to be significanlty accelerated without any loss of repeatability and quality. Depending on the component, the Laser Knife is 10x faster than thermode soldering, and the energy requirement is reduced by 70%. Furthermore, no product-specific thermode shapes or Kapton tapes are necessary. Due to the non-contact soldering of the surfaces and the elimination of thermode wear, the maintenance and service effort for the entire module is also reduced.