Thermal Profiling: Integral to a Process in Control

by Paul Austen and Mark Waterman, ECD

2021-05
© 2021
Overview
The complexity of today’s PCB assemblies with higher densities requires a robust
thermal process to ensure high yield manufacturing. Analyzing and recording the
thermal process through thermal profiling is essential to a well-documented
operation in control.

Key Benefits
Thermal Profiling is Critical to Good Process Control
How to Successfully Profile the PCB or the Reflow Oven
Analyzing the Profile Results: What do they mean?
Why Traceability is Essential for Compliance and Liability

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T oday’s sophisticated electronics assemblies, with
miniaturized components alongside large devices
within higher density designs, require more robust
process control than ever before. While there are many
protocols for ensuring good process control, one
Placement and quantity of TCs is dependent on many
factors:
Two-sided assemblies may dictate two reflow cycles
and, therefore, a greater quantity of thermocouples.
Boards integrating leaded and lead-free
element that is particularly critical is thermal materials/component terminations require multiple
management. Managing the thermal load of an assembly TC placements, as each material type has different
cannot be achieved or documented without thermal minimum and maximum thermal limits.
profiling, making the science of understanding and When very large components are present, they may
analyzing the thermal process one of the most important require two or more TCs to understand and verify
pieces of a solid process control plan. target profile conformity.
Stacked, 3D or system-in-package (SiP) devices also
Successful thermal profiling can be accomplished in one
present challenges, as there are many functional
of two ways:
elements and require fast thermal saturation.
Profiling the printed circuit board (PCB) Larger PCB assemblies traversing through wider
Profiling the reflow oven portions of the oven will require more TCs across the
width for the oven to confirm cross-belt thermal
This article will discuss and compare both methods. For
profile uniformity.
each technique, two factors are essential: the target
profile and a populated PCB sample. The target profile
determines the success or failure of the board’s solder
joints, as well as the protection of the components.
Therefore, accurately developing the target profile and
cost-effectively ensuring its repeatability are important.
Secondly, the use of a PCB sample is also necessary for
oven profiling. There must be at least one PCB sample
assembly to prove that OEM target profiles and required
specifications are being met, confirming an in-control
process. Once a successful profile is established, it can
be duplicated in subsequent product runs whether
Figure 1: Thermocouples are attached to the critical
through board or oven profiling.
components on the PCB and connected to a thermal
profiler, shown here inside its thermal barrier.
Preparing and Running the Prototype
PCB profiling entails placing thermocouples (TCs) on
crucial components and/or solder joints and measuring
their thermal performance throughout the board’s
journey in the reflow oven to verify that the thermal
profile meets the target profile. With mixed technology,
large and small components and increasingly complex
board designs, it may be necessary to use a shield (or
barrier) to protect heat-sensitive components from the
heat required to reflow larger thermal mass components.
(Figure 1) Thermal profiling will provide confirmation of
the shielding’s efficiency or lack thereof.

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Perfecting the Profile
This type of thermal profiling proves especially useful if
When a sample assembly run is confirmed to have met
an EMS provider is switching a line from one product to
the target profile parameters, adjustments can be made
another. Oven profiling can prove that the boards are
to bring any variance to within specified limits, typically
meeting the target profile. If the oven recipe changes,
in the range of three to five degrees. BGAs and similar
then one must verify the oven is good (oven profile) as
devices may be a factor, as the larger thermal mass may
compared to older oven profiles at the same recipe. If
require higher temperature zone settings and/or a
there is no oven recipe as a measure of comparison, a
longer period of time than that of smaller components to
board profile of the new product should be initiated to
reach the specified temperature.
confirm it meets specs. Once completed, the process
engineer can capture the oven profile at the new recipe
Profile perfection is achieved through adjustments
and use it indefinitely as a standard of comparison of
balanced with the constraints of the components, and
oven profiles taken for that recipe in the future.
taking into account the particular oven’s capabilities.
Software’s data collection and analysis robustness play a
Oven profiling is also highly beneficial when repetitive
critical role, as automatic adjustments – based on the
runs are implemented to complete large orders.
results of the sample run – can be integrated and, thus,
Verification of oven performance at the OEM-specified
the new oven recipe to meet the target profile
target profile will eliminate the need to profile PCBs for
determined. Comprehensive software capability frees
every run. This will save the time and cost, while
the engineer from the task of manually extracting data
minimizing the risk of PCB damage. Even a moderate
from the profile and allows more focus on the oven and
decrease in the number of profiles performed can save
its recipe settings. A second sample run using the new
hours of production time, increase throughput, conserve
recipe is recommended to assure compliance, after
engineering resources and reduce the requirement to
which production can begin. Together, profiling and a
sacrifice boards for profiling purposes.
robust software package enable a streamlined
engineering approach for efficiency in obtaining the
optimal recipe.

The Oven Profile

Oven profiling means using a durable fixture to measure
the oven’s performance at the same settings (recipe)
that produced a good board profile, (Figure 2) which is
one that met the target profile specifications.

It should be stressed that process repeatability is critical;

and profiles of ‘real’ boards are essential to confirming
they are meeting OEM needs. Once that is completed,
however, oven profiling provides a way to prove the
process remains in control without having to re-profile
the same board repeatedly.

Many customers report that once the target profile has

been established, significant amounts of production time
is saved by profiling the oven rather than the board. Figure 2: An oven test pallet with thermal barrier
Profiling several times a week or even once per day houses the thermal profiler for validation of in-spec
where appropriate, can deliver successful, consistent oven settings.
results.
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SPC Requirements and Documentation The value of Cp is the difference between the
specification limits divided by six times the standard
Statistical process control (SPC) relies on large amounts
deviation of the data, and is an indication of the
of correlated data for success. In thermal management,
consistency of the board profiles. A Cp value greater than
SPC requires that the same parameters be measured
1.0 means board profile variations in readings are more
through repeated production runs, evaluating each as to
consistent but does not mean that the process is
its compliance to a target profile, indicating whether it is
operating within the specification limits. In other words,
within or outside of its specification. This predicts if
it can show that the process data is tight compared to the
future production runs risk being out of specification.
tolerance, but it cannot reveal if the process is within
specification. Therefore, another measurement is
As stated previously, the number of thermocouples
needed: CpK.
required for adequate data collection is dependent on
the configuration, size and component make-up of the
The value of CpK is the difference between the average
board. It is important to note in relation to SPC that, for
of the data and the nearest specification limit (LSL or USL)
all runs, the thermocouples must be placed in the same
divided by three times the standard deviation of the data
locations as on the sample assembly to ensure identical
and is a comparison of the board profile data consistency
parameters are being measured and similar results are
relative to your specification. CpK values greater than 1.0
met. Otherwise, outcomes may be skewed.
mean the measure of the board profile’s consistency is
well within the specification. These types of capability
measures apply to both board and oven profiling data.

Compliance and Liability

Profiling documentation – for the board, the oven, or both
-- not only provides benefits as boards become more
complex but, increasingly, this process proof is becoming
mandatory as both regulatory bodies and OEMs impose
guidelines for traceability and verification of process
control. EMS providers and OEMs are now often required
to guarantee and then confirm via written reports, that
processes have complied with all government regulations
as well as any high-reliability standards required for the
application.
Figure 3: X-Bar and R-Chart SPC Data Output Indicates if
the Process is Stable and Predictable EMS providers and OEMs also face additional challenges
when building critical products such as medical equipment.
Profile Interpretation If there is a patient incident, medical device manufacturers
are often required to prove that the devices they built were
When reviewing a profile report generated from a
not defective and did not contribute to death or injury.
sample run, (Figure 3) the results will show specification
Likewise, automobile manufacturers and tier suppliers can
limits versus actual measurements for that run.
utilize profile documentation to prove that parts were
Generally speaking, the process can operate successfully
manufactured within specification and not likely to have
within the upper specification limit (USL) and lower caused failures, started fires, or were not otherwise
specification limit (LSL). Process capability (Cp) as responsible for litigation-provoking incidents. Software,
reported in the SPC chart is a measure of how well the robust thermal profiling technologies and newer
process variation compares to the range of specification continuous reflow monitoring systems allow hundreds of
limits. customizable data extractions and reports suitable for
documenting the machine, assembly and process to show
proof of in-limit specifications and process control.
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Training, Accuracy and Diagnoses
Continuous Monitoring: Two Birds, One Stone
Thermal profiling with good documentation also
Recent software advances in the age of Industry 4.0 have
contributes to better training of engineers, which allows
led to important developments in continuous monitoring
them to set up a profile even in cases where they have
technology for the reflow soldering process. With new,
no prior experience with the specific attributes of a
sophisticated software, both oven and product (PCB)
board.
monitoring can take place continuously, providing
Operator accuracy can also be increased with an easy-to-
constant oversight for better quality, yield, traceability
use thermal profiler. Clear indicators as to profile
records and automation. By uniting reflow process and
readiness – things such as thermocouples being in place
oven measures that enable deep data gathering down to
on the board, and/or all parameters for the oven recipe
the in-process, zone, board and profile specification
are met – enable the operator to begin a product run
level, issues are isolated so that production intervention
without the need for engineering approval. This
can occur if needed and known good PCB output is
increases accuracy while reducing downtime.
maximized. (Figure 4) In essence, this novel system
provides profiling of individual PCBs and the oven
Finally, thermal profiling is an excellent diagnostic tool.
continuously and in real-time, delivering precise, in-
When a board is deemed to have defects – whether once
depth data for multiple aspects of the reflow process
in the field or during final post-assembly inspection – a
that may impact results, including: O2 ppm, convection
review of its original profile can help pinpoint or rule out
fan speed, air pressure, exhaust flow or pressure, and
process issues, saving engineering staff valuable time by
energy consumption, for example. Measures can be
eliminating the need for manual diagnosis. Not only will
customized depending on traceability requirements to
that enable a correction for future products of the same
provide a more holistic record for mission-critical
type, but will do so with written documentation of the
applications. In addition, continuous monitoring
problem and resolution.
software offers other features such as on-demand oven
profile snapshots for a quick confirmation of
Conclusion specification alignment. This saves valuable production
Process control through thermal profiling is a time during product changeover routines.
requirement for high-yield PCB assembly. Whether
through repeated PCB assembly profiling, oven profiling
or continuous oven monitoring systems, all require that
an initial thermal profile be performed on an actual
sample of the assembly in question. The results are proof
of process control over time via SPC. Across electronics
applications, thermal profiling saves time and ensures
thermal process control for more reliable products.

Figure 4: New continuous monitoring software allows

measurement of multiple reflow soldering parameters
for extreme traceability and real-time process oversight.

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About the Authors
Paul Austen is a twenty-year veteran Senior Project Engineer with Milwaukie, OR-based ECD, and holds a degree in
Electrical Engineering from Portland University. Paul can be reached at [email protected]. Mark Waterman is ECD’s
Electronics Division Manager and has over 20 years’ experience in the field of electronics. Mark can be reached at
[email protected].

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