SMD (Was: Micro Fuel Cell)
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Posts: 46,084
> They have a
> SMT model that might work, but I can't do SMT.
Yes, you can do SMT! I am terrible at soldering and if I can do it
everyone can do it.
You need "adapter" PC boards. We've considered making these since we use
them pretty often ourselves and if we made them we'd sell them. However,
Capital Products has the surfboards which are good, but they don't make
very big ones. I've also used the ones from ePBoard design
(www.epboard.com). They are inexpensive (SOIC-24 for $7.50). See
http://www.al-williams.com/smd.jpg for a sample of my poor work :-)
There are pins beneath the board. This picture was before the flux was
cleaned off the board so it looks "messy" but that all washes off with
alcohol.
The secrets are:
1) Flux
2) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
3) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
4) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
Did I mention you need a good pair of binocular magnifiers?
I don't even use a particularly small soldering iron tip (although it is
pretty small). The trick is use a chisel tip and hold it sideways). I
find this heats better than the tiny needle points (I use an Edsyn iron
mostly).
Flux the board liberally with liquid flux (I use a flux dispenser pen
that is quite inexpensive). Flux the part's pins too. I tend to use very
thin solder, but I have done it with larger solder also. Position the
part exactly. Some people use a little glue, but I find the flux is
tacky enough that if you press hard the part will sort of stick. Here's
the tricky part. Get a little solder on the iron tip and touch two
corner pins. You don't care if it makes a good joint or not. You just
want to immobilize the part. After you do one corner check the alignment
and if it is good (or you can still wiggle the part to where it is good)
do the other corner.
Now just solder each pin. With magnification (and light) and a sideways
chisel tip, it really isn't that hard. Be careful not to feed too much
solder. Once you have a bunch of pins done you can redo the corners that
you did sloppily. Clean the flux with alcohol (or water if you are using
water soluble flux, then alcohol to displace the water).
You can get really good results like this but the key is magnification.
In fact, I don't solder ANYTHING anymore with out magnification. Avoid
the cheap magnifiers from Harbor Freight, they seem like a deal, but the
Velcro straps won't get tight enough and they just turn into a pain. Get
the kind that have a knob in the back. When you twist the knob the strap
tighten on your head and so they fit exactly and stay in place. I got
mine before Radio Shack ate Electronics America or whatever they were
called. But
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0011547&
type=pod&rid=7510101020603 seems to have about the same for a pretty
good price. Or
http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=8142. Or here
http://www.ppcitools.com/catalog.idc?cat=Magnifiers&sub=Binocular (but
avoid the Velcro).
There is another method I've used which sounds stupid, but actually
works very well IF you are using a board with solder mask. Tack down the
part as before (or use a little glue under the body if you prefer) and
then just "paint" a ribbon of solder all the way across one side of the
part. Then do the other side. Then take solder wick and remove the
solder. If you don't over do it, you'll remove all the bridge solder and
just leave a little bit on the pins. This does a really good job, but I
always feel stupid doing it. You can use a huge iron. You should check
your work with an ohm meter, though, because you can remove too much
solder. This method works well with very fine pitch devices that you
can't realistically do with the other method.
So you CAN do SMD. Trust me. If a klutz like me can do it, you can do
it.
Al Williams
AWC
* NEW: PAK-VIa - Read PS/2 keyboards or mice -- double the buffer, lower
current consumption.
http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak6.htm
> SMT model that might work, but I can't do SMT.
Yes, you can do SMT! I am terrible at soldering and if I can do it
everyone can do it.
You need "adapter" PC boards. We've considered making these since we use
them pretty often ourselves and if we made them we'd sell them. However,
Capital Products has the surfboards which are good, but they don't make
very big ones. I've also used the ones from ePBoard design
(www.epboard.com). They are inexpensive (SOIC-24 for $7.50). See
http://www.al-williams.com/smd.jpg for a sample of my poor work :-)
There are pins beneath the board. This picture was before the flux was
cleaned off the board so it looks "messy" but that all washes off with
alcohol.
The secrets are:
1) Flux
2) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
3) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
4) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
Did I mention you need a good pair of binocular magnifiers?
I don't even use a particularly small soldering iron tip (although it is
pretty small). The trick is use a chisel tip and hold it sideways). I
find this heats better than the tiny needle points (I use an Edsyn iron
mostly).
Flux the board liberally with liquid flux (I use a flux dispenser pen
that is quite inexpensive). Flux the part's pins too. I tend to use very
thin solder, but I have done it with larger solder also. Position the
part exactly. Some people use a little glue, but I find the flux is
tacky enough that if you press hard the part will sort of stick. Here's
the tricky part. Get a little solder on the iron tip and touch two
corner pins. You don't care if it makes a good joint or not. You just
want to immobilize the part. After you do one corner check the alignment
and if it is good (or you can still wiggle the part to where it is good)
do the other corner.
Now just solder each pin. With magnification (and light) and a sideways
chisel tip, it really isn't that hard. Be careful not to feed too much
solder. Once you have a bunch of pins done you can redo the corners that
you did sloppily. Clean the flux with alcohol (or water if you are using
water soluble flux, then alcohol to displace the water).
You can get really good results like this but the key is magnification.
In fact, I don't solder ANYTHING anymore with out magnification. Avoid
the cheap magnifiers from Harbor Freight, they seem like a deal, but the
Velcro straps won't get tight enough and they just turn into a pain. Get
the kind that have a knob in the back. When you twist the knob the strap
tighten on your head and so they fit exactly and stay in place. I got
mine before Radio Shack ate Electronics America or whatever they were
called. But
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0011547&
type=pod&rid=7510101020603 seems to have about the same for a pretty
good price. Or
http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=8142. Or here
http://www.ppcitools.com/catalog.idc?cat=Magnifiers&sub=Binocular (but
avoid the Velcro).
There is another method I've used which sounds stupid, but actually
works very well IF you are using a board with solder mask. Tack down the
part as before (or use a little glue under the body if you prefer) and
then just "paint" a ribbon of solder all the way across one side of the
part. Then do the other side. Then take solder wick and remove the
solder. If you don't over do it, you'll remove all the bridge solder and
just leave a little bit on the pins. This does a really good job, but I
always feel stupid doing it. You can use a huge iron. You should check
your work with an ohm meter, though, because you can remove too much
solder. This method works well with very fine pitch devices that you
can't realistically do with the other method.
So you CAN do SMD. Trust me. If a klutz like me can do it, you can do
it.
Al Williams
AWC
* NEW: PAK-VIa - Read PS/2 keyboards or mice -- double the buffer, lower
current consumption.
http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak6.htm
Comments
You sold me. Maybe I can do SMT. I'll order one of the boards you mentioned
and try mounting the MAX chip I was talking about on it. If I can make this
one work, it would solve the problem of the fuell cell for me.
Thanks for the encouragment and the detailed advice, I'll let you know how
it turns out.
Jonathan
www.madlabs.info
Original Message
From: "Al Williams" <alw@a...>
To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 8:09 AM
Subject: RE: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] SMD (Was: Micro Fuel Cell)
> > They have a
> > SMT model that might work, but I can't do SMT.
>
> Yes, you can do SMT! I am terrible at soldering and if I can do it
> everyone can do it.
>
> You need "adapter" PC boards. We've considered making these since we use
> them pretty often ourselves and if we made them we'd sell them. However,
> Capital Products has the surfboards which are good, but they don't make
> very big ones. I've also used the ones from ePBoard design
> (www.epboard.com). They are inexpensive (SOIC-24 for $7.50). See
> http://www.al-williams.com/smd.jpg for a sample of my poor work :-)
> There are pins beneath the board. This picture was before the flux was
> cleaned off the board so it looks "messy" but that all washes off with
> alcohol.
>
> The secrets are:
>
> 1) Flux
> 2) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
> 3) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
> 4) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
>
> Did I mention you need a good pair of binocular magnifiers?
>
> I don't even use a particularly small soldering iron tip (although it is
> pretty small). The trick is use a chisel tip and hold it sideways). I
> find this heats better than the tiny needle points (I use an Edsyn iron
> mostly).
>
> Flux the board liberally with liquid flux (I use a flux dispenser pen
> that is quite inexpensive). Flux the part's pins too. I tend to use very
> thin solder, but I have done it with larger solder also. Position the
> part exactly. Some people use a little glue, but I find the flux is
> tacky enough that if you press hard the part will sort of stick. Here's
> the tricky part. Get a little solder on the iron tip and touch two
> corner pins. You don't care if it makes a good joint or not. You just
> want to immobilize the part. After you do one corner check the alignment
> and if it is good (or you can still wiggle the part to where it is good)
> do the other corner.
>
> Now just solder each pin. With magnification (and light) and a sideways
> chisel tip, it really isn't that hard. Be careful not to feed too much
> solder. Once you have a bunch of pins done you can redo the corners that
> you did sloppily. Clean the flux with alcohol (or water if you are using
> water soluble flux, then alcohol to displace the water).
>
> You can get really good results like this but the key is magnification.
> In fact, I don't solder ANYTHING anymore with out magnification. Avoid
> the cheap magnifiers from Harbor Freight, they seem like a deal, but the
> Velcro straps won't get tight enough and they just turn into a pain. Get
> the kind that have a knob in the back. When you twist the knob the strap
> tighten on your head and so they fit exactly and stay in place. I got
> mine before Radio Shack ate Electronics America or whatever they were
> called. But
> http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0011547&
> type=pod&rid=7510101020603 seems to have about the same for a pretty
> good price. Or
> http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=8142. Or here
> http://www.ppcitools.com/catalog.idc?cat=Magnifiers&sub=Binocular (but
> avoid the Velcro).
>
> There is another method I've used which sounds stupid, but actually
> works very well IF you are using a board with solder mask. Tack down the
> part as before (or use a little glue under the body if you prefer) and
> then just "paint" a ribbon of solder all the way across one side of the
> part. Then do the other side. Then take solder wick and remove the
> solder. If you don't over do it, you'll remove all the bridge solder and
> just leave a little bit on the pins. This does a really good job, but I
> always feel stupid doing it. You can use a huge iron. You should check
> your work with an ohm meter, though, because you can remove too much
> solder. This method works well with very fine pitch devices that you
> can't realistically do with the other method.
>
> So you CAN do SMD. Trust me. If a klutz like me can do it, you can do
> it.
>
> Al Williams
> AWC
> * NEW: PAK-VIa - Read PS/2 keyboards or mice -- double the buffer, lower
> current consumption.
> http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak6.htm
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
Body of the message will be ignored.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
http://www.web-tronics.com/breadboards---prototyping-boards-ic-board-pro
toyping-boards.html
Al Williams
AWC
* 8 channels of PWM
http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak5.htm
>
Original Message
> From: Jonathan Peakall [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=Nq5_5TKPrH5ui1PQ9SiuarzymZBUG-h9ZUu9-onB-FBzPklpFFjlIQ8u7kjMfg77oRclLlQQaZIfdrBMq0jTZQ]jpeakall@m...[/url
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 2:05 PM
> To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] SMD (Was: Micro Fuel Cell)
>
>
> Al,
>
> You sold me. Maybe I can do SMT. I'll order one of the boards
> you mentioned and try mounting the MAX chip I was talking
> about on it. If I can make this one work, it would solve the
> problem of the fuell cell for me.
>
> Thanks for the encouragment and the detailed advice, I'll let
> you know how it turns out.
>
> Jonathan
>
> www.madlabs.info
>
>
Original Message
> From: "Al Williams" <alw@a...>
> To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 8:09 AM
> Subject: RE: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] SMD (Was: Micro Fuel Cell)
>
>
> > > They have a
> > > SMT model that might work, but I can't do SMT.
> >
> > Yes, you can do SMT! I am terrible at soldering and if I can do it
> > everyone can do it.
> >
> > You need "adapter" PC boards. We've considered making these
> since we
> > use them pretty often ourselves and if we made them we'd sell them.
> > However, Capital Products has the surfboards which are
> good, but they
> > don't make very big ones. I've also used the ones from
> ePBoard design
> > (www.epboard.com). They are inexpensive (SOIC-24 for $7.50). See
> > http://www.al-williams.com/smd.jpg for a sample of my poor work :-)
> > There are pins beneath the board. This picture was before
> the flux was
> > cleaned off the board so it looks "messy" but that all
> washes off with
> > alcohol.
> >
> > The secrets are:
> >
> > 1) Flux
> > 2) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
> > 3) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
> > 4) A good pair of binocular magnifiers
> >
> > Did I mention you need a good pair of binocular magnifiers?
> >
> > I don't even use a particularly small soldering iron tip
> (although it
> > is pretty small). The trick is use a chisel tip and hold it
> sideways).
> > I find this heats better than the tiny needle points (I use
> an Edsyn
> > iron mostly).
> >
> > Flux the board liberally with liquid flux (I use a flux
> dispenser pen
> > that is quite inexpensive). Flux the part's pins too. I tend to use
> > very thin solder, but I have done it with larger solder
> also. Position
> > the part exactly. Some people use a little glue, but I find
> the flux
> > is tacky enough that if you press hard the part will sort of stick.
> > Here's the tricky part. Get a little solder on the iron tip
> and touch
> > two corner pins. You don't care if it makes a good joint or
> not. You
> > just want to immobilize the part. After you do one corner check the
> > alignment and if it is good (or you can still wiggle the
> part to where
> > it is good) do the other corner.
> >
> > Now just solder each pin. With magnification (and light) and a
> > sideways chisel tip, it really isn't that hard. Be careful
> not to feed
> > too much solder. Once you have a bunch of pins done you can
> redo the
> > corners that you did sloppily. Clean the flux with alcohol
> (or water
> > if you are using water soluble flux, then alcohol to displace the
> > water).
> >
> > You can get really good results like this but the key is
> > magnification. In fact, I don't solder ANYTHING anymore with out
> > magnification. Avoid the cheap magnifiers from Harbor Freight, they
> > seem like a deal, but the Velcro straps won't get tight enough and
> > they just turn into a pain. Get the kind that have a knob
> in the back.
> > When you twist the knob the strap tighten on your head and
> so they fit
> > exactly and stay in place. I got mine before Radio Shack ate
> > Electronics America or whatever they were called. But
> >
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=001154
> 7&
> type=pod&rid=7510101020603 seems to have about the same for a pretty
> good price. Or
> http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=8142. Or
> here http://www.ppcitools.com/catalog.idc?cat=Magnifiers&sub=Binocular
> (but avoid the Velcro).
>
> There is another method I've used which sounds stupid, but actually
> works very well IF you are using a board with solder mask. Tack down
> the part as before (or use a little glue under the body if you prefer)
> and then just "paint" a ribbon of solder all the way across one side
> of the part. Then do the other side. Then take solder wick and remove
> the solder. If you don't over do it, you'll remove all the bridge
> solder and just leave a little bit on the pins. This does a really
> good job, but I always feel stupid doing it. You can use a huge iron.
> You should check your work with an ohm meter, though, because you can
> remove too much solder. This method works well with very fine pitch
> devices that you can't realistically do with the other method.
>
> So you CAN do SMD. Trust me. If a klutz like me can do it, you can do
> it.
>
> Al Williams
> AWC
> * NEW: PAK-VIa - Read PS/2 keyboards or mice -- double the buffer,
> lower current consumption. http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak6.htm
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject
> and
Body of the message will be ignored.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject
and Body of the message will be ignored.
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