Abstract: A process and circuit board assembly by which a single soldering operation produces a multicomponent stack capable of dissipating heat from a power IC chip (12) mounted to a substrate (10). The circuit board assembly generally includes a number of conductors (16) on the substrate (10), with the conductors (16) being spaced apart and substantially parallel to each other. A heat spreader (14) is soldered to at least some of the conductors (16), and the chip (12) is soldered to the heat spreader (14). With this structure, heat is conducted from the chip (12) through the heat spreader (14) and conductors (16) to the substrate (10). To maintain proper orientation of the components (12, 14, 16) relative to each other during a single soldering operation, the components (12, 14, 16) are equipped with complementary features.