[sdiy] Starting with SMT hand-soldering

[Veronica Merryfield]

I found a good opti visor made all the difference but you need decent quality optics to avoid too much abortion.


On 2010-10-28, at 11:06 AM, Harry Bissell wrote:

> I agree with the two sharp soldering irons !!!
> 
> You might skip the stereo microscope and instead buy a
> 
> Dongan OptiVISOR model DA-5 or DA-7. They are about $30 brand new
> 
> The DA-5 is 2-1/2 power and focuses at 8" ... more than enough for
> 0603 size work. The DA-7 is 2-3/4 power and focuses at 6". (The DA-10
> focuses at 4", you will bump into your own soldering iron...)
> 
> Be sure to use PCB footprints designed for WAVE soldering, not reflow.
> They have MUCH longer pads, so there is somewhere to land your soldering
> iron.
> 
> Avoid leadless IC packages, and avoid those that need to have a 'power pad'
> soldered under the chip.
> 
> Avoid super small IC packages if possible 
> 
> H^) harry
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Barry Klein <Barry.L.Klein at wdc.com>
> To: Justin Owen <juzowen at googlemail.com>, Synth DIY <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
> Sent: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:53:08 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Starting with SMT hand-soldering
> 
> I do rework of small external storage boards with smaller parts than
> 1206.  Get two irons with hot pencil tips plus one iron that is heavier duty
> with a wide blade tip.  Get some liquid rosin and find someone that sells
> seringes that can hold it.  Get smallest solder you can find.  Lead based
> will work best but you may be forced to use leadfree.
> Get a stereo microscope if you can.  Cheap crap one is probably fine.
> No need to bother with parts glues or pastes.
> Get some good fine point stainless steel non magnetic tweezers.
> At this point it is just go ahead and solder the stuff.
> You'll be amazed at the control you have while looking through
> a microscope.  Use the rosin ahead of time on multipin chips
> and the solder will just flow where it needs to go.  Then clean off
> with a flux cleaner spray.
> 
> Barry
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Justin Owen
> Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 10:41 AM
> To: Synth DIY
> Subject: [sdiy] Starting with SMT hand-soldering
> 
> Hey again,
> 
> I'd like to try my hand at laying out and hand-soldering an SMT board and
> thought I'd stop in here to see what advice I could get from those that have
> done it.
> 
> I figured I'd start with 1206 parts but I might get some 603 bits just to
> check the form, I'll stick with my current iron until I know it's not
> suitable but I might get a decent magnifying glass on a stand, I've checked
> YouTube for a few tutorials...
> 
> ...anything else? I'd be particularly interested in any advice with regards
> to laying out the board - if there is any.
> 
> Ta much,
> 
> Justin
> 
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> -- 
> Harry Bissell & Nora Abdullah 4eva
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