From Selective Soldering to Inspection: How THT Processes Evolve

Through-hole technology (THT) has never disappeared from electronics manufacturing, but its application is continuously changing—less due to the process itself and more due to the evolving conditions under which production takes place. At last year's Evertiq Expo in Krakow, Karol Sowa of Sowa Electronics highlighted a key challenge many production environments still face: while manual soldering is a common starting point, it quickly reaches its limits in terms of consistency and scalability. Selective soldering addresses this by automating the process to ensure repeatable quality and higher efficiency, though the choice between it and wave soldering depends on design, volume, and resources. For smaller manufacturers, the hurdles are often organizational rather than technical, and even basic automation can help manage fluctuating orders. As THT processes become more automated, the focus shifts from soldering itself to inspection—ensuring quality through defined, monitored steps rather than direct human control