Those SMD chips getting on your nerves?

[Lisandro_P]

Someone might try this... just ran into it:

http://www.seattlerobotics.org/encod...6/oven_art.htm

[peranders]

This is common stuff. I getting nervous about 0.5 mm BGA chips but I have never really actually worked with those...yet.

[jackinnj]

over the years I have gotten pretty good at drilling holes on 0.100 centers, and not breaking my carbide bits, but SMT is so much easier, and SMT 100N and 10N caps are so nice for power supply bypass as they fit right on the traces.

I have a little Weller 12 watt soldering pencil which is great for most SMT, but those BGA's -- you don't want to try this at home if coffee makes you jittery.

[Havoc]

Worst mightmare is to have to lift a pin in the middle of a fine pitch LQFP. Or having to solder wires to 5 consecutive pins of one of those. This can take some time.....

[Pjotr]

Originally posted by Havoc
Worst mightmare is to have to lift a pin in the middle of a fine pitch LQFP. Or having to solder wires to 5 consecutive pins of one of those. This can take some time.....

Soldering large SMT’s like TQFP’s by hand is easy if you do it the following way:

Use a large (but not too large) regular screwdriver style tip. Now apply sufficient solder and you end up with all pins connected together. Hmm .. not what you intended, is it? This does the trick: Remove the surplus of solder with de-soldering braid like “Soder-Wick”. If you do it right you end up with just enough solder between the pins and PCB traces to make good contact but no shorts between pins. Be careful not to overheat the part. I manage to mount 100 pins, 0.5 mm pitch ones in 5 minutes this way.

[Havoc]

Soldering them on is no problem at all. Use a bit of flux in liquid form. It is when you have a design problem and want to de-solder a single pin in the middle of a row (without messing up the whole lot or breaking of the pin). 0402 resistors are also nice. And you can have 0201 if you really want..... Great stuff are the die scale mini BGA: a single opamp as a die with 5 balls, no package

[Pjotr]

Originally posted by Havoc
It is when you have a design problem and want to de-solder a single pin in the middle of a row (without messing up the whole lot or breaking of the pin

I use that thin (0.1mm thick) stainless steel strip for it. Remove as much solder with de-soldering braid. Then carefully shift the strip between the pin(s) and the board. You have to re-solder the pins besides the pin of interest then.

[jackinnj]

I want to come over to Holland and see you do that after 2 or 3 schnaps.

[Pjotr]

You are welcome I am living in the very centre of Amsterdam.

LOL,

But I know what you mean, also too much coffee…

But the trick is also to pre-heat the stainless steel strip. Hmm… I have to modify an old Weller tip by mounting the strip directly onto the tip

[jackinnj]

I'll buy dinner at the Schwart Schep !