[sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit (OT?)

[David G Dixon]

Yeah, Tim, I see your point.  The bottom line is that I just do not enjoy
SMD hand assembly, and when it comes to the point when that is all that is
available to me, I'll find a new hobby.  Hopefully that day never comes.
Maybe I should start buying resistors by the 1000s just in case.


  _____  

From: Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org] On Behalf Of Tim
Ressel
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 8:13 AM
To: synth-diy at synth-diy.org
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit (OT?)



So you're welcoming our robot masters?  ;-)

I am with you on all that .. I also have CDS (Chronic Dropsy Syndrome) and
mourn all the SMTs that have gone into the black hole under the bench. And I
have old eyes. PTH is easier to lay out as well as assemble. And yes, SMT
was designed so robots would have something to do. I often lament the irony:
when my peepers were young the parts were huge, now that I'm decrepit the
parts are tiny. Why could it not be the other way around?


But SMT is here and it means smaller circuits, and if you want to take
advantage of the smallness then you need to get a system that works for you.
I would not dream of hand soldering SMTs without a Metcal station. My mag
lamp has excellent glass, unlike my first foreign knock-off mag lamp which
had every form of optical distortion known to man, and I eschew anything
smaller than 0805. And then you need tiny solder, tiny solder wick, tiny
tweezers, tiny containers for the tiny parts, tiny everything! 


And then there is the relentless March of Progress i.e. new parts are not
available in PTH. So if you're totally over the moon with, say, the new
OPA1678, you're out of luck. I use PTH in my kits for obvious reasons, but
the mainline products get the SMT treatment.


So I get you, I really do. But when you have to, you figure out a way.

--timbo



On 7/18/2017 4:58 PM, David G Dixon wrote:


Well, the key is WHY it is frustrating.  First of all, I have dropsy -- I
drop every component at least once, it seems, on my lap or on the floor.
Drop a TH part, no big deal.  Drop an SMD part, and it winks out of
existence in this part of the universe and ends up in Captain Janeway's
minestrone.  Second of all, I don't see all that well close up anymore.
Third, I have never ever made what looked like a decent looking solder joint
on an SMD part.  My TH joints look like perfect little shiny volcanoes.
Fourth, I have a system for TH work which makes it go extremely quickly.
 
The bottom line is that I can spend more time trying to install a single SMD
resistor on a board than it takes me to stuff the whole board with TH
resistors.  And when I'm done, the TH resistors will look perfect and the
SMD resistor will be at an ugly 30-degree angle to its pads with solder all
over it.
 
SMD was developed for robots.  I don't feel a need to hone a skill to
compete with a robot, thanks.


  _____  

From: Tom Wiltshire [mailto:tom at electricdruid.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 4:18 PM
To: David G Dixon
Cc: 'Elain Klopke'; '*SYNTH DIY'
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit (OT?)


It's only frustrating until you get some good at it. then it can be quite
rewarding to do something that you initially thought was impossible. That's
pretty much the definition of learning any new skill, isn't it? 

Tom

==================
       Electric Druid
Synth & Stompbox DIY
==================



On 18 Jul 2017, at 22:23, David G Dixon <dixon at mail.ubc.ca> wrote:


This post sums up why I simply will not do SMD by hand.  Not... worth...
the... frustration.


  _____  

From: Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org] On Behalf Of Elain
Klopke
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 12:16 AM
To: *SYNTH DIY
Subject: [sdiy] Need help with a SMD kit (OT?)


Hey list, 

I bought the Elements diy kit from Synthcube and managed to get all the
surface mount components attached using solder paste, a tiny syringe, and a
hot plate. Everything melted nicely and I only burnt the solder mask a bit
because I wasn't quick enough getting it off the hot plate, but the copper
traces appear to be still attached to the board so I'm not too worried.

And then the problems started. I let the board cool down and then started
going about eliminating solder bridges on a couple of the ICs. I cleaned up
one side of the microcontroller and then made the other three worse. I got
one chip that was a little crooked seated properly and then another popped
free and I couldn't get it resoldered. 

I've stepped away from the kit so I don't do more damage or throw it against
the wall in frustration.

Is there anyone experienced in surface mount soldering (preferably in the
US) that would be willing to fix this mess for me. I'm way out of my depth
and am willing to pay postage both ways and a fee for your time.

Thanks in advance.

_______________________________________________
Synth-diy mailing list
Synth-diy at synth-diy.org
http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy




 

_______________________________________________

Synth-diy mailing list

Synth-diy at synth-diy.org

http://synth-diy.org/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy


-- 

--Tim Ressel

Circuit Abbey

timr at circuitabbey.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://synth-diy.org/pipermail/synth-diy/attachments/20170719/6dff343c/attachment.htm>