Automatic Joining of Electrical Components to Smart Textiles by Ultrasonic Soldering

A suitable connection method to automatically produce E-textiles does not exist. Ultrasonic soldering could be a good solution for that since it works with flux-free solder, which avoids embrittlement of the textile integrated wires. This article describes the detailed process of robot-assisted ultrasonic soldering of e-textiles to printed circuit boards (PCB). The aim is to understand the influencing factors affecting the connection and to determine the corresponding solder parameters. Various test methods are used to evaluate the samples, such as direct optical observation of the microstructure, a peeling tensile test, and a contact resistance measurement. The contact strength increases by reducing the operating temperature and the ultrasonic time. The lower operating temperature and the reduced ultrasonic time cause a more homogeneous metal structure with less defects improving the mechanical strength of the samples.