This is some great info thanks. It's really caused me to take a
deeper look at the equipment out there. But, I do have a couple
questions;
DJ: > I put the board back on the hotplate
What do you use for a hot plate?
Phil: >decent heat gun (Ungar
Is this a hand held dryer style unit like 6996?
Does any one have opinion on the Aoyue 968 combo units?
They're very reasonably priced I wonder if there any good.
At any rate, I've been a Weller guy for years. But reading the
technotes on the Metcal smartheat really causes one to think,
especially when it is corroborated like this.
Thanks
--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stephanie Ann Thompson"
<setlahs@...> wrote:
>
> At my experience in my workplace, the metcal irons worked great.
The
> most used were a 3mm or so conical chisel tip, and a smaller
version
> of it. I found the larger tip helped prevent me from burning the
> board because of the greater mass and surface area, made for great
> thermal recovery. With the larger tip i could easily solder 402
parts.
> We had a Hakko Hot air gun, the main usage was for removal of smt
> parts, not insertion. however on occasion i would use it to
preheat
> large parts with ground planes like power mosfets or the like.
I've
> also used it to solder SOIC parts, though a bit harder. Pre-tin
the
> pads, use some flux and hold the part in place while reflowing
with
> the hot air gun. Often this required touchup later. As for a
stereo
> microscope, it's a must for delicate work. certian SMT connectors
and
> sockets you will need a microscope for. I've tried several
different
> kinds, though the one i liked the most for ease of use was a
> stereoscope with a single viewing window. i don't remember the
brand
> but it used a rotating mirror or something inside it. lol. The
other
> i've used is the two eyepiece type. it did seem to have better
> optics, but keeping the right distance to the eyepiece was
> frustrating. in any rate, buy the brightest light halo you can
> afford. at high levels of magnification you will appreciate more
> light.
> Hope this helps.
> -Steph
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "pgdion1" <pgdion1@> wrote:
> >
> > LOL- Sorry about that Stephan. I agree, anything more than one
or 2
> > by hand is not practical this way. If it gets to that, I have the
> > luxery of sending boards down to or rework group to be done. Only
> > problem is a lot of times they come back and I still have to
touch
> > them up by hand - Arrrrrgh!
> >
> > >
> > > Shhhh, shhhh, don't say that!
> > > I've been preparing them the last few weeks that we _need_
more
> SMD
> > > tools, you can't go around saying things like "not
necessary" ;-)
> > >
> > > I know it can be done with the tools you mentioned (i have
pretty
> much
> > > the same list just other brands), but regularly we need like 5
to
> 10
> > > prototypes at once and it's more and more SMD parts every
time,
> and
> > > they get smaller too. That can easily be a day or more of
> soldering.
> > > At least a pneumatic paste dispenser is a must, applying it by
> hand
> > > with the syringe is hard work if you try doing it for a long
> time. And
> > > the hot air gun is really not ideal for reflow either.
> > >
> > >
> > > ST
> > >
> > > On 8/21/07, pgdion1 <pgdion1@> wrote:
> > > > I've been doing rework for years and although hot air is
nice,
> it's
> > > > not necessary for small builds and proto-types. I use a temp
> > > > controlled Weller iron and I have an older Pace rework (de-
> soldering)
> > > > station that still comes in handy for SMD (sucks pretty much
> all the
> > > > solder off the pads). Some solder wick is also handy to
clean
> things
> > > > up. A soldering tweezer tip (Like Talon) is also very
useful.
> Brand of
> > > > iron is pure personal preference. We have Met-Cals and
Wellers
> at my
> > > > work. Some guys swear by Met-Cal, I prefer Weller (as do
some
> others)
> > > > and hence it's what I have at home.A decent heat gun (Ungar,
> with the
> > > > small nozzles) & flux is the only other items in my arsenal.
For
> > > > inspection I have a good magnifying glass and several
Jewelers
> Loupes
> > > > (5x, 10x, 20x). That with good lighting is all I need. A
Micro-
> scope
> > > > would be a nice plus though.
> > > >
> > >
> >
>