Buy your PC boards with solder paste already on them !
Bean
Posts: 8,129
Look here: http://www.colonialcircuits.com/new/
A·salesman was in our plant and left a board that uses a process called SIPAD.
Basically the board already has solder paste on it, with a paper protecting it.
You remove the paper and place the componets, the paste is tacky and the parts do stay in place (even if you turn the board upside down).
You then reflow the board and your done.
I don't know how expensive this is, but it would be great for the hobbiest.
It is something I'm going to check into, thought the rest for you guys might be interested too.
Bean.
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Cheap 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com
COMING SOON "SD DATA LOGGER" www.sddatalogger.com
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own." Mythbusters
Post Edited (Bean (Hitt Consulting)) : 5/17/2006 6:23:12 PM GMT
A·salesman was in our plant and left a board that uses a process called SIPAD.
Basically the board already has solder paste on it, with a paper protecting it.
You remove the paper and place the componets, the paste is tacky and the parts do stay in place (even if you turn the board upside down).
You then reflow the board and your done.
I don't know how expensive this is, but it would be great for the hobbiest.
It is something I'm going to check into, thought the rest for you guys might be interested too.
Bean.
·
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Cheap 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com
COMING SOON "SD DATA LOGGER" www.sddatalogger.com
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own." Mythbusters
Post Edited (Bean (Hitt Consulting)) : 5/17/2006 6:23:12 PM GMT
Comments
What would you suggest for a hobbyist trying to do "reflow". I suspect the microwave is out, and I question if the kitchen oven would be available, as the better half may object to non-foodstuffs in the kitchen. If I could sneak in there on a Saturday, would it work?
Would a pizza oven work? Are you better off with one of those "rework" stations with the "air gun"?
I'm asking both for this process and "manual" pasting.
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John R.
8 + 8 = 10
Toaster ovens can be used for reflow- don't use a toaster oven that you've used for reflow for food.
A Google search for "toaster oven reflow" should provide you with some interesting hits.
Sparkfun has a great writeup on this as well:
www.sparkfun.com/tutorial/ReflowToaster/reflow-hotplate.htm
Ryan
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Ryan Clarke
Parallax Tech Support
RClarke@Parallax.com
Post Edited (Ryan Clarke (Parallax)) : 5/17/2006 4:08:36 PM GMT
Set up three of the burners for varying degrees of heat and move the pan from one to the other and then off.
In school we used a carousel reflow machine. We were using ceramic substrates, and this arm would swing by, and push the ceramic over 3different hotplates.
I don't remember what the temps were, but the middle one was the one that reflowed. The first one got'er warmed up and the last one started the cooling
(one problem with cooling is that the little surface mount resistors would sometimes stand on end; called 'tombstoning').
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Steve
"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
Thanks for the pointers.
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John R.
8 + 8 = 10
Yes, that's why I included a link to their article in my original post [noparse];)[/noparse]
Ryan
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Ryan Clarke
Parallax Tech Support
RClarke@Parallax.com
· Oh, me.·
· Well, everybody started going ga-ga about toaster ovens (don't use toaster ovens for this stuff,·or for toast.)
· What this country really needs... is an affordable, effective, reflow oven (per se.)
·
Steve
"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
I still prefer doing hand soldering for prototypes, dual side population is much easier than having to deal with epoxies (which finding·the·exact type appropriate for reflow·isn't easy). Im still waiting for someone to come up with low resistance, single plane conduction tape. That way you can just stick some tape on the board, place the part and the connection is complete. Since electricty only conducts perpendicular to the plane of the tape, pins would·only conduct with the pad they are directly over. If the tape were clear, placing the parts wouldn't be difficult.
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1+1=10
Post Edited (Paul Baker) : 5/18/2006 4:04:05 PM GMT