Laser-diode based soldering system with vision capabilities

Describes the design and construction of an experimental prototype laser soldering workstation. The key components of this system are a 15-watt fiber-coupled laser diode array, and a PC vision system. The vision system is used for alignment of the part to be soldered and for observation of the laser-induced reflow. First, the paper describes the major components of the prototype soldering workstation. Second, additional details concerning the optical system for laser beam delivery, imaging, and illumination are given. Next, results of soldering with the laser diode system are presented along with practical recommendations for the overall process. Finally, some possible methods for feedback control of the soldering parameters using image data are mentioned.