Hi Marie It would depend on the volume of through-hole parts you are dealing with. I worked a high volume place at one point, the quantities of through-hole parts was so low on those boards that it was all done by the manual assembly operators (form, insert, crimp, trim). Here we are low volume, high mix, and have lots of through-hole components on the older designs. We have a component prep area that will form parts and partially trim the leads, but leave enough to easily crimp them. We then either use the Contact machine to cut and clinch the leads, or do the same thing manually (for the boards we only build a couple of), or q-cut (only used on a couple of really old boards, I'm not a fan of the Q-Cutter and won't use it on new stuff). I guess you are really asking about trimming leads after soldering. Our rules are: - if hand trimmed after soldering, inspect at high magnification for cracks or reflow the joint. - if Q-Cut, always re-run through wave solder to re-solder all leads Other than the Q-Cut boards we try to trim the leads to length before soldering, the post soldering is as rare as we can make it. I'm out of here, have a good weekend! regards, Graham Collins Process Engineer, Northrop Grumman Canada Corporation Halifax (902) 873-2000 ext 6215 >>> [log in to unmask] 05/28/04 11:19AM >>> Just Wondering.. Through Hole Assembly Do Most Contract Manufacturers have "Component Prep Departments" that receive all their comps and the detape them, form them(bend), hand prep with crimps, and Cut the leads short for loose hand assembly. Does anyone out there cut the leads after soldering. I know that IPC says this is not a good practice,,, but ... Thanks in advance for feedback Marie A. Dobbs Training and Development Specialist Tyco Safety Products 100 Technology Drive Westminster, MA 01473 Phone: 1-978-731-6827 Fax: 1-978-731-6950 email: [log in to unmask] In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." Theodore Roosevelt 26th President of the United States --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e 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 or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e 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 or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------