How big is the die in the TSOP? A number of companies are reporting issues with this kind of behavior with Alloy 42 TSOPs with large die, especially on bigger, thicker boards with more copper.

There could be a variety of reasons for this particular condition to occur with this particular type of component. There is no mention made of the lead plating material, the type of solder paste used and the loading of the solder paste flux in the question and all of these parameters must be taken into consideration when trying to figure out this problem.

Basically the component floats because the surface area of the leads overcomes the weight of the component, the same as a ship floats on the water, it displaces its own weight. The temperature of the profile, the z axis placement force should all work together to heat the leads, allowing the flux from the paste to reduce the surface tension on the leads thereby allowing the solder to wet the leads and pull the component down into the molten solder.

There are many other issues to consider and I would be willing to discuss this if you get in touch with me.

Due to the light weight of these components and the surface tension of the solder this may be causing the components to float out of alignment during reflow. I would also look for some type of vibration occurring as the PCB is moved thru the reflow oven OR a cooling fan blowing the part out of alignment.

Try the following:

Rotate the PCB 90 or 180 degrees on the oven belt or conveyor to see if it is caused by a cooling fan.

Check the components leads for oxidation that is preventing the solder from wetting to the leads.

If this doesn’t help try a gluing operation to secure the TSOP in place or reduce the solder volume in the TSOP locations.