I have used a Soft-Beam system for some limited rework as well as a medium quantity production, in-line operation. The key factors for using this system included temperature sensitivity for surrounding components, high thermal mass in the solder joints that needed selective soldering, components that could be easily fixtured after insertion so that they did not fall out when the board is inverted for the Soft-Beam operation. In general the Soft-Beam performed fairly well. The biggest hassle was the calibration of the shutter cycle as the bulb aged. Since that bulb reduces in output over time, a calibration routine is required to ensure the process remains stable. For our process control limits, running the system 24/7, that meant running calibration weekly on a new bulb, 2x weekly in mid bulb life and 3-4x weekly toward the end of bulb life. Solder joint quality looked good in both visual inspection and cross-section. The ability to preheat each joint before applying solder helped. Of course that also adds to cycle time. Jon Moore --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------