Soldering terminology

Developed in the Research Laboratory for Manufacturing Technology of the Mitsubishi Electric Group, this joining process makes use of protective vapors to prevent the contamination of the joint surfaces with foreign substances (see Fig). The vapor is produced by wetting the material with a thin ethanol solution which then evaporates during joining and surrounds the welding spot locally, preventing the formation of oxides. Resistance heat provides all necessary heat for the process. The flux used in conventional brazing contains chlorine ions and fluorides and therefore results in the formation of reaction residues on the boundary surfaces. To get around this, ethanol vapor is used here as a reducing agent.