Homebrew PCBs

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.
> > > >
> > >
> >
>