I have been repairing some smd stuff ...Right now I am using a weller iron and sometimes it can be a pain soldering smd components and I wanted to hear how you guys do it ??? I was thinking about a getting a 858D Hot air gun Rework Station or am I better off working my technique ?? Also do you guys like smd or through hole better ????

Thanks
Jay Sr

 

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Solder-SMD-ICs-the-easy-way/

For IC with exposed pins, drag soldering works wonders. Hot air is great if you plan on working with jleads or lead-less packages. I'd say determine the soldering you plan on doing, and then decide if a hot air station is worth the investment. Personally, I find most IC are available at least in SOIC or TSSOP packages, and these can be done quickly with a soldering iron, they just take practice.

As far as preference, definitely through hole. My boss seems to think through hole is archaic, as he will only allow it in rare occasions for new designs (e.g. board level transformers). So once work is done and I'm at my personal lab (aka spare bedroom), there's nothing I enjoy more than soldering up a circuit with large, easy to see, through hole components. It's practically cathartic.

 

I avoid any thing surface mount, due to my age!!!! Easier to solder through hole.

 

Hot air is great for desoldering but I tend to use the iron to solder.

 

I use hot air/solder paste for smt protos.. no way could I have done it with a regular iron..
Its SOO much easier/faster/better quality joints.

 

mcgyvr - do you use a solder mask? If so how do you make it, if not how do you apply the paste? Do you tin the board before applying the paste?

 

mcgyvr - do you use a solder mask? If so how do you make it, if not how do you apply the paste? Do you tin the board before applying the paste?

yes it has solder mask and "tinned" pads/lands.. I don't do "DIY" PCB's..
Unless you need something very quickly there is NO point in not buying "professional" boards now. Everything I do is with real circuit boards that I get from itead for my SMT protos.

I apply the paste with a syringe. I may use kapton tape to hold difficult parts in place or to shield a component from the heat if needed.

 

I'm squarely with mcgyvr here in that I do all my prototype work with SMD parts, though I do keep a large supply of SMD to DIP adapters on hand so my point to point wiring is done on a 0.1" grid. Adapters may or may not have a solder mask, and besides a recent disaster with a 0.4mm 100 pin quad pack I have had good results, and I attribute this failure to the recent death of my fine tip pencil (replacement parts on order).

My tool of choice is a Kendal 898D solder station having both a conventional solder iron plus a hot air pencil. I fit the solder tip with the smallest tip Hakko tip there is (don't get a clone they die fast). I can get to each lead of a 0.5mm package easily using either a microscope or more recently a magnifying headset.

If I can solder paste and hot air is best with a low airflow (so you don't blow the parts away), and even if I use the tip side coming back with a hot air reflow makes the connections look better (though that may be a mistake as it adds more stress to the part).

 

Surface mount has stopped me from building. There are many circuits I would love to play with, but is just too small for my eyes. If only we could get these new chips in dip. Or if someone could supply chips mounted on little thru hole boards so we could work with them. I am sure there are many people in this situation. We need an enterprising young man with good eyes to provide an affordable service to us old geezers.

 

thanks mcgyvr, I have used ITEAD and they seem good but getting a batch of 10 boards for an initial prototype just seems a bit wrong

 

thanks mcgyvr, I have used ITEAD and they seem good but getting a batch of 10 boards for an initial prototype just seems a bit wrong

But the price for 10 boards is typically less than you can even make 1 for with a DIY method.. (time and cost included).. Nothing wrong with that.. Its great now that pricing is so low and quality still there.
I just wish I could find a company that had decent pricing for metal clad PCB's.. anyone know of any?

 

Sitopway, a Chinese mfr on EBay lists an Al base PCB service, 10cmx10cm or less, 10 pieces, 60 bucks. I believe I used them for FR2 double sided and they were fine.

 

Sitopway, a Chinese mfr on EBay lists an Al base PCB service, 10cmx10cm or less, 10 pieces, 60 bucks. I believe I used them for FR2 double sided and they were fine.

not bad pricing at all.. thanks.. I will give them a try... time to make some sweet LED fixtures..

 

A reflow oven is definitely the best way to go, but if the board is small I just do it by hand. Make sure you have a very tiny chisel tip for your iron though. Pencil tips and large chisels really don't work well, and are very difficult to control and use.

 

I am 61. I thought surface mount parts would be too small for my old eyes, but, I can do a lot more than I thought I could do. In some cases I prefer a SMD.

 

Thanks you so very much for the info and I guess I need to try some new stuff out..I was going to buy the reflow setup cause I have 2 Xbox 360 that need to be reflowed .. But I am worry about taking up space I don't have and not using it anymore ...Also I found that most new compents are smd not through hole .. Can you reflow a Xbox360 without a Reflow station or am I better off with one ...


Thanks

 

Practice Makes Perfect,You need more practice. You can watch some videos on youtobe about Soldering.of course,if you want to do some about prototyping,also,You can also use some of the services provided by the manufacturer PCBA.