WAVE SOLDERING APPARATUS

An apparatus for producing a soldering wave having a gradually curved upper soldering surface and including a passage communicating with a reservoir of the solder through a lower intake and having a discharge opening above the level of the solder in the reservoir, a wall forming part of the passage and discharge opening over which the solder flows to form the wave, a down-wardly extending return passage having its upper intake in communication with the downstream end of the wave and its lower discharge end beneath the level of the solder in the reservoir, a downwardly sloped wall for supporting the wave between the overflow wall and the upper end of the return passage and lengthening the wave between the upstream and downstream ends thereof, and a flow regulator within the return passage to maintain a column of solder within the return passage at a height substantially above the level of the solder in the reservoir to eliminate turbulence within the wave and the return passage.