Soldering of satellite antennas

Objective

Soldering steel onto GPS body for phone antenna

End Product

phone antenna

Equipment

Ambrell 2 kW induction heating system, equipped with a remote workhead containing (2).33 μF capacitors (for a total of .66 μF).

Two coils (one for each stage of process) designed and developed specifically for this application. The first stage uses a two-turn solenoid coil with a 15mm (0.6 in) ID and the second stage uses a plate coil, 25 mm (1 in.)  dia. with a 6mm (0.24 in.) hole. 

Materials

Thin copper foil 0.3mm (0.01 in) thick Ceramic body 12mm (0.47 in.) long x 7mm (0.28 in.) wide

Temperature

200º C (392º F)

Frequency

371 kHz

Testing

Stage 1: A two-turn solenoid coil is used to heat the top end of a GPS antenna. Solder paste is used to solder the walking stick loop to the copper foil.

Stage 2: A plate coil is used to heat the bottom part of the GPS to solder a top hat to the copper foil and the bottom part of the walking stick.

Benefits

Induction heating benefits:

• increased production rate due to speed of heating

• higher quality vs. a soldering iron due to precision and repeatability  

• cost savings due to reduced scrap and higher quality production

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