Official Process Certification
All graduates receive Science of Soldering certification and presentation certificate, providing proof of advanced soldering science knowledge.
The story begins 50 years ago when our founder Jim Smith began investigating production costs in the word processor manufacturer owned by the development corporation where he was an executive. The reason for high costs was obvious: more of the workers were finding and “fixing” soldering defects than actually producing. Even worse, training classes were making the problem worse. Workers spent days in class rather than turning out product, learned "touchup” and went right back to work making more defective joints. It was hard to believe but, when he researched soldering performance in other companies, he discovered the same problem everywhere. No one knew how to make consistently defect-free solder connections.
Class 3 assemblies must not fail. Rigorous rules apply to every action and material. Yet solder defects may be touched up to meet visual requirements—and that extra heat degrades electronic components, making the “high reliability” assembly no more reliable than a television.
The Touchup Illusion
Solder heated to ~700°F hides defective wetting by sticking to oxides and contaminants. Traditional training made workers better at hiding defects rather than eliminating them—costing industry millions in unnecessary scrap and rework.
The problem was obvious but no one had a solution. Engineers didn’t learn soldering in university and had no career interest in what they believed to be dirty, menial shop-floor work. Companies coped by paying subsistence wages and, wherever possible, shipping assembly operations to cheap labor markets. No one considered this a serious problem but years of study earning advanced degrees in industrial organization told Jim the status quo would lead to disaster.
Machine soldering consisted entirely of wave soldering, so Jim immersed himself in that technology. Essential scientific knowledge existed, but only in isolated fragments. Jim began pulling the fragments together and ultimately created a comprehensive, unified approach to all of soldering from board layout to emergence of the assembly from the conveyor tunnel.
Training calls dull, rough, or ball-shaped defects “cold solder.” That’s wrong. These show failure to remove oxides. But the logical cure for “cold solder” is more heat. Touchup heat makes solder stick to oxides but just hides the defect while degrading components. Training doesn’t know better. Science of Soldering© does.
By 1981, the word processor factory had reduced defects by 97%. Jim’s unified soldering approach was proven. He founded Electronics Manufacturing Sciences, Inc. to provide his systematic approach to the global manufacturing community. Disgusted by consultants who generated repeat income by withholding the information that would make clients self-sufficient, Jim taught clients all the details needed to support themselves. Ultimately, Science of Soldering© classes were created to provide Jim’s exact “Recipe” for defect-free soldering.
Proven in Production
By 1981, applying the unified Science of Soldering© methodology cut assembly defects by 97% in the word processor plant—proving that soldering is a controllable science, not a mystery.
Ionic residues of flux can be sufficiently conductive or corrosive to cause failures. Many companies use excessively strong fluxes that they think they remove by washing after soldering. They’re wrong. Flux gets into tight spaces where wash solvents can’t reach. Neither can cleanliness testing solutions. Improper flux selection is very common. Science of Soldering© keeps you out of trouble.
Science of Soldering© quickly attracted the attention of government agencies and trade associations, who incorporated key elements as industry best practices and standards. But that was many decades ago and every aspect of components and materials like flux changed dramatically. Modern components can’t tolerate approaches that worked well 40 years ago. Requirements changed, but the old approaches hung on in standards and thinking. As a result, defects, scrap, and field failures are back.
Why yesterday's "best practices" kill modern electronics.
Many rules and practices were adopted decades ago for heavy through-hole parts. Subjecting today's heat-sensitive micro assemblies to those antiquated rules guarantees high scrap rates and hidden defects.
Discover why legacy standards are killing your reliability →We’ve always realized that changes in components and materials often demand new process methodologies. Our lessons from 40 years ago, which are still found in industry standards and training, haven’t been part of Science of Soldering© for more than a quarter century. We updated the Recipe to meet the greater complexities that come with advanced components, lead-free alloys, novel flux chemistries, innovative application methods, and increasingly stringent reliability limits. Powerful additional hands-on exercises and experiments drive the lessons home.
Science of Soldering© in 1981 was the most complete, accessible, cost-effective, and dependable soldering education ever created. All these years later, it still is.
Known worldwide for over four decades as a leading authority in electronics assembly, Jim Smith founded Electronics Manufacturing Sciences in 1981 to replace reliance on rework with the practical application of soldering science.
Founder & Creator of Science of Soldering©
Education: PhD ABD, Industrial Organization (Univ. of Toronto, 1972)
Author: Optimizing Quality in Electronics Assembly: A Heretical Approach (McGraw-Hill)
Columnist Emeritus: Assembly Magazine
Jim began his electronics career in 1965, but his most pivotal technical insights came while working as a quality inspector in a wire mill. Gaining direct, hands-on experience with the physical behavior of diverse metals and alloys laid the groundwork for his scientific approach to solder joint reliability.
"Perhaps that work as a wire mill quality inspector was the most important education possible about soldering. Tensility and ductility are critical parameters in solder joint reliability, but most people never get the opportunity to gain a hands-on understanding of how these features behave across different metals and alloys."
Academically, Jim holds a PhD ABD in Industrial Organization from the University of Toronto (1972)—the branch of economics that analyzes firm strategy, production efficiency, and institutional practices. Combining this structural business background with his practical metallurgical insights gave Jim a unique perspective on how to eliminate factory waste and transform electronics assembly operations.
Thousands of engineers, operators, technicians, and executives worldwide have completed Science of Soldering© education within their facilities. Jim’s professional development workshops were a sold out event at NEPCON conferences across North America and Europe for more than a decade.
Beyond the classroom, Jim has resolved critical production crises in more than 18 countries across four continents. He pioneered early industrial applications of no-clean fluxes and lead-free solders in automotive, telecommunications, and medical electronics. Major global manufacturers regularly turn to Jim when problems arise during critical product launches.
A prolific author, Jim’s technical articles have appeared in over 100 global publications. He authored the monthly column Unconventional Wisdom in Assembly Magazine for over a decade and serves as Columnist Emeritus.
Co-authored with Frank Whitehall (McGraw-Hill, 1996). Fundamentally reshaped how the industry views assembly reliability and process control.
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