So, I'm no expert, I just like assembling things, I can't really put my head to work on designing circuits. I fell into working on electronic by accident after I quit IT. I'm slightly Aspergers so I have some learning difficulties or cognitive complications. I also means I tend to write a lot, so I hope you're in book-worm mode and not in the hurry for a quick answer.
I was at work the other day removing SMD fuses from a batch of PCBs and replacing them with 0R0 links, 1206 size I think they were. Hot tweezers were used to remove the fuse (my first time using those!), then instead of using braid to remove solder from the pads, I used my quicker method. No, not with the sucker. Tissue!
I found myself doing this in a previous job where I first started soldering SMD, down to 1206 size, and hadn't yet mastered the way to use braid, I had a go but it was just too time consuming and braid kept getting stuck to the pad and I couldn't clear enough solder off.
So how DID I do it? Well I just took a small piece of paper tissue, rolled it up super thin (as wide as the pad) and chopped the end off square, held it in some tweezers and used the squared end of the tissue roll to push the solder off the pad as I remove the iron. So, it happens all really quick, the iron goes on, and as soon as the solder on the pad has melted I move the solder side-ways with the tissue (so it slides across the pad) taking the iron away as soon as tissue makes contact with solder (upwards more than sideways, lets say roughly 45°). Most of the solder comes away on the iron, hardly any sticks to the tissue, some blobs might end up on the non-stick surface of the PCB but it's not too hard to get them off. The pad is left looking clean, flat and it's still solder-coated. I can put a new a component on and new solder adheres to everything without a problem. This works better with lead-free/rosin-free solder. I think I tried it a bit with leaded/rosin solder too and tissue traces were left stuck on the board with the leftover flux so I had to clean the board some more.
So anyway, just the other day my supervisor came in and asked me why I was using tissue and requested I resort to using just the braid because it was the industry standard and tissue wasn't. There's plenty of people out there who love to pick at anything and find every reason why not to. He said someone said there could be a risk of residues left on the board.
Could anyone with the equipment go and test this out? Measure and compare the difference in resistance through a solder joint which *MIGHT* have a layer of foreign atoms in the way.
Also what other problems could there be with this?
Or...if you know of a place where it says it been tested (tissues method for solder removal from pads) point me to it.
Hey, this method was just an idea of my own - and nobody told me there was a set way to do things, I learn as I go, different ways from different people. The tools we already have are there to be used, but that doesn't mean new ways can't be invented and used, right? We just get the rule-followers spouting the usual top-down dictatorship, industry standards, regulations, law, etc, so they don't accept creative ideas or the slightest chance of risk anymore, not even 'if it works, use it' - no, everything has to have an official stamp of approval, traceability, and accountability.
In the meantime...it's looking like this solder-braid method could be just a nifty little earner for the copper industry, and may be a reason why there's not a lot of competition. hehe Save some bucks, use TISSUE!
I was at work the other day removing SMD fuses from a batch of PCBs and replacing them with 0R0 links, 1206 size I think they were. Hot tweezers were used to remove the fuse (my first time using those!), then instead of using braid to remove solder from the pads, I used my quicker method. No, not with the sucker. Tissue!
I found myself doing this in a previous job where I first started soldering SMD, down to 1206 size, and hadn't yet mastered the way to use braid, I had a go but it was just too time consuming and braid kept getting stuck to the pad and I couldn't clear enough solder off.
So how DID I do it? Well I just took a small piece of paper tissue, rolled it up super thin (as wide as the pad) and chopped the end off square, held it in some tweezers and used the squared end of the tissue roll to push the solder off the pad as I remove the iron. So, it happens all really quick, the iron goes on, and as soon as the solder on the pad has melted I move the solder side-ways with the tissue (so it slides across the pad) taking the iron away as soon as tissue makes contact with solder (upwards more than sideways, lets say roughly 45°). Most of the solder comes away on the iron, hardly any sticks to the tissue, some blobs might end up on the non-stick surface of the PCB but it's not too hard to get them off. The pad is left looking clean, flat and it's still solder-coated. I can put a new a component on and new solder adheres to everything without a problem. This works better with lead-free/rosin-free solder. I think I tried it a bit with leaded/rosin solder too and tissue traces were left stuck on the board with the leftover flux so I had to clean the board some more.
So anyway, just the other day my supervisor came in and asked me why I was using tissue and requested I resort to using just the braid because it was the industry standard and tissue wasn't. There's plenty of people out there who love to pick at anything and find every reason why not to. He said someone said there could be a risk of residues left on the board.
Could anyone with the equipment go and test this out? Measure and compare the difference in resistance through a solder joint which *MIGHT* have a layer of foreign atoms in the way.
Also what other problems could there be with this?
Or...if you know of a place where it says it been tested (tissues method for solder removal from pads) point me to it.
Hey, this method was just an idea of my own - and nobody told me there was a set way to do things, I learn as I go, different ways from different people. The tools we already have are there to be used, but that doesn't mean new ways can't be invented and used, right? We just get the rule-followers spouting the usual top-down dictatorship, industry standards, regulations, law, etc, so they don't accept creative ideas or the slightest chance of risk anymore, not even 'if it works, use it' - no, everything has to have an official stamp of approval, traceability, and accountability.
In the meantime...it's looking like this solder-braid method could be just a nifty little earner for the copper industry, and may be a reason why there's not a lot of competition. hehe Save some bucks, use TISSUE!