Patent ID: 6857559

Claim:
A method of soldering electronic components to a heat sensitive flexible substrate with cooling for a vector transient reflow process, the method comprising: applying solder paste on the substrate; placing electronic components to the substrate to form a substrate assembly; locating the substrate assembly on a pallet having a heat conductive material for heat sinking means from the substrate, the heat conductive material having first and second opposite surfaces, the first surface being configured to receive the substrate disposed thereon to diffuse heat from the substrate during the vector transient reflow process; preheating the substrate assembly to a first elevated temperature below a softening temperature of the deposited solder paste; exposing the deposited solder paste to further rapid localized heating to a melting temperature sufficient to melt the solder paste using a supplemental heat source; and directing cool gas onto the second surface of the pallet with a cool gas nozzle to cool the pallet at the second surface and to diffuse the heat from the substrate defining a temperature gradient across the substrate, while exposing the deposited solder paste to further rapid localized heating.