CQI-17 is one of the special process assessment standards issued by AIAG (American Automotive Industry Action Group). Its full name is:
CQI-17: Special Process – Soldering System Assessment (SSA)
Special Process – Soldering System Assessment
It is specifically used for quality management and process assessment of electronic soldering processes (such as wave soldering, reflow soldering, manual soldering, selective soldering, etc.), and is mainly used in the field of automotive electronics manufacturing (ECU, vehicle control module, circuit board, etc.).
Current version information
Standard name: CQI-17 Soldering System Assessment
Current version: 2nd edition (released in 2020)
Language version: Officially issued in English, the Chinese-English version is translated by some companies
Scope of application: All automotive suppliers that make solder connections to electronic components, including internal factories or outsourced factories
Purpose of CQI-17
Control the consistency, reliability and traceability of the soldering process
Reduce soldering defects such as cold soldering, bridging, cold soldering, solder balls, and tin cracks
Improve the reliability of automotive electronic assemblies in complex environments (vibration, thermal shock)
Meet OEM expectations for the soldering quality of electronic products (such as automotive grade requirements)
Structure of CQI-17
The evaluation system of CQI-17 is divided into the following main parts:
Part Content
1 Management Responsibility
2 Common Process Requirements
3 Soldering Process Tables
4 Appendix (Terminology, Inspection Diagram, Record Template, etc.)
Detailed Explanation of Main Contents
1. Management Responsibilities (Section 1)
Is there an electronic welding person in charge?
Is an effective welding training and certification system established (such as IPC-A-610 standard)?
Is there an internal audit mechanism (it is recommended to conduct self-assessment once a year)
Is there a traceability mechanism (welding batch, operator, equipment number, etc.)?
2. General welding process control requirements
Applicable to all electronic welding processes (manual soldering, wave soldering, reflow soldering, etc.):
Control Point Requirement Example
PCB Material Control PCB surface treatment, pad oxidation degree inspection
Solder Control Solder alloy type (such as SnAgCu), melting point, batch number, and shelf life control
Flux Type, coating amount, activity strength, whether to clean and other parameter control
Temperature curve Reflow soldering/wave soldering needs to establish temperature curve control (each batch or periodic confirmation)
Solderability Check whether the pad/pin is solderable, oxidized, or contaminated
Solder point inspection Including appearance standards such as bridge, cold solder joint, cold solder joint, solder bead, lifted foot, solder point morphology, etc.
Equipment maintenance Including regular cleaning and inspection of soldering iron tip, solder pot, nozzle, etc.
Anti-static control Whether there are ESD measures such as grounding, anti-static mat, wrist strap, ion wind, etc.
Rework process Whether solder point rework is controlled, recorded, and quality confirmed again
3. Sub-process tables (Process Tables)
CQI-17 has established 6 sub-process tables according to different welding processes, each containing control points and evaluation requirements for specific processes:
Table number Process name Application example
Table A Hand Soldering Soldering iron welding plug-in, cable, circuit board small batch welding
Table B Reflow Soldering SMT patch welding
Table C Wave Soldering Batch welding of through-hole components
Table D Selective Soldering Automated welding for local solder joints
Table E Flexible circuit board welding (Flex Circuit) FPC welding control
Table F Cable assembly welding (Cable Assembly) Copper wire, terminal welding
Each sub-process table contains:
Comparison of operating parameter set values and actual values
Frequency of solderability test (such as wettability test, solder paste printing test)
Appearance standards comply with IPC-A-610 or customer requirements
Testing methods such as welding strength, conductivity, and heat resistance
✅ Scoring mechanism description
CQI-17 evaluation items adopt AIAG general scoring method:
Grade Meaning
S (Satisfactory) Satisfactory, fully meet the requirements
M (Minor) Slight deviation, will not affect quality in the short term
MA (Major) Major problem, may affect reliability or consistency
U (Unsatisfactory) Unqualified, need to be corrected immediately, affecting quality or process
Typical control items for solder (applicable to SMT)
Control point Tool or method Control frequency
Appearance of solder joints Magnifying glass/microscope Random inspection per batch
Solder paste thickness SPI solder paste detector Confirm per batch or by process point
Temperature curve Thermocouple curve record Confirm for each model first piece/daily
Soldering strength Peel test, shear strength Periodic or special verification
Soldering defects AOI automatic optical inspection 100% inspection
Antistatic Electrostatic wristband/ESD detector Daily power-on inspection
CQI-17 Scope of application
Electronic control module (ECU) manufacturers
Suppliers with solder joints for wiring harnesses/connectors/sensors
Tier 1/2 factories that perform reflow soldering, wave soldering, manual soldering, and cable soldering
Outsourcing electronic component supporting companies with soldering processes
Summary table
Item Content
Standard name CQI-17 Solder system evaluation
Latest version 2nd edition (2020)
Control points PCB, solder, temperature curve, solderability, appearance, strength, ESD
Sub-process table Manual soldering, reflow soldering, wave soldering, selective soldering, flexible circuit, cable soldering
Evaluation cycle: self-assessment is recommended every 12 months
General standard comparison: IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, ISO 9001, IATF 16949
