Wave Solder Pallet Manufacturing
A wave solder pallet (also called a solder carrier or wave solder fixture) carries the printed circuit board through the wave soldering machine and protects every surface that must stay free of solder. The pallet holds the PCB in place, masks the already populated SMD components and sensitive connectors, and lets the solder wave reach only the points that actually need soldering, through the machined openings.
We have been building custom solder pallets for the electronics industry since 2013. Pallets are designed from your PCB data, milled on our own CNC machines, and inspected before they leave the plant.
Open pallets
The open pallet is the most common design: most of the underside of the board stays exposed to the solder wave, and the pallet only supports the edges and the areas that must be masked. This is the right choice when there are many solder joints on the bottom side of the panel.
- Single or multi-nest layouts, matched to your line throughput
- Spring clamps, screw or snap fixing depending on board size
- Anodised aluminium stiffeners on larger pallets to prevent warping
- Drawing number and customer reference engraved on the side of the pallet
Universal and multi-product pallets
If several similar boards run on the same line, you do not necessarily need a separate pallet for each one. A universal pallet shares one base body, and only the interchangeable insert is swapped at product changeover. This lowers tooling cost and reduces the number of pallets you have to store.
In our experience this pays off fastest where several variants of one product family run in small batches. We design the fit between the base body and the inserts so that changeover can be done in a few moves, without tools.
What is a pallet made of?
Thermal load on a solder pallet is significant: it meets the solder bath over many thousands of cycles. That is why we use composite materials that keep their dimensions and do not contaminate the solder.
Durostone®
Glass-fibre reinforced composite, the classic solder pallet material. Good heat resistance, dimensional stability and machinability.
Ricocel®
Another glass-fibre reinforced sheet material, well proven in wave soldering. The choice depends on pallet geometry and thermal load – we are glad to advise.
Titanium inserts
Where openings are small and pallet ribs are thin, plain composite ribs wear out over time. In that case we build a titanium insert into the pallet, which multiplies its service life.
From enquiry to finished pallet
- Data – We ask for PCB manufacturing data (Gerber, STEP, component heights) and details of your line. If only a sample board is available, we can measure it.
- Design – Our engineers build the 3D model of the pallet and send the openings, clamping and general layout for your approval.
- Manufacturing – Once approved, the pallet is milled on our machining centres, then assembled and marked.
- Inspection and delivery – The finished pallet is measured, documented and shipped to the address you specify.
Materials we work with
Data sheets are available for download:
Frequently asked questions
What data do you need for a quote?
The fastest route is PCB Gerber or STEP data, the heights of the populated components, plus the type of your wave soldering machine and the conveyor width. If none of that is available, we can take the geometry from a sample board.
What is the lead time?
Lead time depends on the complexity of the pallet and our current load. Every quote states a concrete date, and after agreement we can also arrange expedited production for urgent cases.
How long does a solder pallet last?
Service life is determined by opening size, rib thickness and your soldering parameters. With small openings and thin ribs it is worth choosing a titanium insert design, because that is where composite ribs wear out first.
Can you copy an existing, worn-out pallet?
Yes. We measure the existing pallet, rebuild the model from it and manufacture the new part from that data. We also point out any changes worth making to the design if wear suggests it.
Request a quote
Send us the drawing or the PCB data and we will come back to you within one working day with pricing and lead time.
