Dwayne Reid <dwayner <at> planet.eon.net> writes:
> I was astonished to see written:
> 
> "Yes, you are missing that you are not allowed to 
> solder perpendicular surfaces. A piece of wire 
> could be bent to make a surfaces parallel to PCB; 
> component leads can't (at least on the component's side)."

Some work standards specify that all leads must be bent against
the board before soldering. This prevents parts from falling out
in the wave soldering system and also prevents parts from falling
out later if some failure causes overheating under vibration. The 
standards are likely military or high endurance related and no-one
uses them in consumer equipment, unless absolutely necessary.
Reworking such boards is a pain.

Preformed component leads can be made to touch the PCB horizontally
before making a 90 degree turn and entering the hole in the PCB.
Then the lead can be bent again to prevent falling out, or not.
Preformed leads of this type are obligatory for parts which must
stand off from the PCB, such as power resistors and LEDs, unless
spacers are used. Lead pre-formers are cheap and available, and
should be used if needed ...

-- Peter


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