I've just competed my first go at smd soldering without a soldermask in place and much to my surprise it went a lot smoother than I anticipated, in fact it was perfect. I'm now in two minds whether I actually need to bother with a soldermask or if just tinning the copper will provide sufficient protection against oxidation and corrosion.
I realise there are other benifts to a soldermask but I'm unsure if it's actually worth the hassle given that I had no trouble with the soldering.
The pcbs will be part of a marketed product so maybe a soldermask is required? I know lead solder is big no in this respect and I obviously want to meet any directives that may exist on selling a product containing a pcb.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
I realise there are other benifts to a soldermask but I'm unsure if it's actually worth the hassle given that I had no trouble with the soldering.
The pcbs will be part of a marketed product so maybe a soldermask is required? I know lead solder is big no in this respect and I obviously want to meet any directives that may exist on selling a product containing a pcb.
Can anyone shed any light on this?