Through-Hole Assembly

Printed Circuit Board Through-Hole or Thru Hole Soldering

Through-hole technology and through-hole soldering (also known as thru-hole technology and thru-hole soldering) involve different components with lead wires. The components are inserted through the holes of the circuit board. Next, the leads will be soldered or reflowed on the opposite side of the board. The through-hole parts can be placed manually by hand, or automated using insertion mount machines. Components with wire leads are generally used on through-hole boards.

Through-hole technology provides strong mechanical bonds compared to SMT techniques. Additionally the routing area available for signal traces on layers immediately below the top layer is limited, since the holes must pass through all layers to the opposite side. Because of this, through-hole mounting techniques are usually reserved for bulkier or heavier components such as electrolytic capacitors or semiconductors in larger packages like the TO220 that require the additional mounting strength.

Through-hole soldering to the PCB can be completed using various methods:

Soldering station via soldering iron and solder wire
Solder fountain
Wave solder
Selective solder
Solder pot

Through-hole assembly technology is commonly used in industries that operate in extreme conditions and temperatures. Military and aerospace are good examples.

At BENCOR, we manually insert the through-hole parts into the boards, and assemble them using both manual (hand soldering stations) and automated (wave and selective soldering machines). We support lead free and tin-lead through-hole assemblies.

We are strategically located to serve Texas with great access to Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, and we’d be happy to help you with your next project. Call us at 800.836.8268 to get started, or complete our online form to learn more.