Abstract: A carriage for a printed circuit board in a soldering apparatus has clamps which clamp opposite edges of the board to hold it during transport. As the carriage is lowered to a board delivery station, the clamp members are opened automatically. The board is slid between the clamp members and the carriage then raised, allowing the clamp members to close on the board.
Abstract: A surface mounted chip soldering apparatus comprises a number of stations for fluxing and soldering the chip. For each station, the chip is carried by a suction pad in which is created a partial vacuum by a respective piston and cylinder mounted on a turret. The piston is upwardly spring biassed and operated in time and in sequence by pneumatically operated pistons to hold and to reject the chips as required for carrying out a soldering sequence.