System and method for combined wave solder flow design

A wave soldering machine to perform a wave soldering operation on a printed circuit board, the wave soldering machine comprising:

• a housing;
• a conveyor coupled to the housing, the conveyor being configured to deliver a printed circuit board through the housing;
• and
• a wave soldering station coupled to the housing, the wave soldering station including
• a solder pot having a reservoir of solder material,
• a flow duct positioned in the reservoir of the solder pot, and
• a wave soldering nozzle assembly coupled to the flow duct, the wave soldering nozzle assembly having
• a nozzle core frame,
• a solder distribution baffle coupled to the nozzle core frame, the solder distribution baffle being configured to create a solder wave,
• a throttle gate assembly coupled to the nozzle core frame and configured to rotate from an open position to enable complete flow of solder through the solder distribution baffle and a closed position to inhibit a portion of flow of solder through the solder distribution baffle, and
• an exit wing coupled to the nozzle core frame and configured to move from a lowered position to enable increased solder flow and a raised position to decrease solder flow,
• wherein the throttle gate assembly includes a throttle gate plate hingedly secured to the nozzle core frame on a load side of the wave soldering nozzle assembly, the throttle gate plate being configured to rotate between the closed and opened positions, a movement mechanism coupled to the throttle gate plate, and an actuator coupled to the movement mechanism, the actuator and the movement mechanism being configured to rotate the throttle gate plate between the open and closed positions.