SMD Soldering - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ParKel
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 02, 2010, 05:55:05 am
content: Hey Dave it would be awesome if you can make a blog about SMD soldering. I would consider myself to be a very experienced at through hole soldering. I want to start the next step in soldering smaller components. You can do tips and your technique on SMD soldering.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 08:42:18 am
content: I second the motion!I learned to solder as part of my training in the airforce. Back then (way back then...) SMD wasn't even an option or an acronym!Having recently gotten back into electronics as a hobby, I find my hard won soldering skills to be next to worthless.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 09:03:56 am
content: Go to YouTube and search for smd soldering 101 by curious inventor.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 12:32:48 pm
content: It's on the to-do list. But it takes some setting up to shoot something like that properly.And as mentioned, there are other videos out there on that already.Dave.

author: dengorius
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 12:58:42 pm
content: I third that, a vblog on the soldering world would be interesting, time permitting obviously

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 04:09:06 pm
content: Quote from: shafri on May 11, 2010, 01:06:00 pmI fifth it

author: TheDirty
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 05:11:35 pm
content: Even if you really want to wait for Dave's video on this, go to Youtube anyway and check all the SMD soldering video's there. There are a few methods and its better to check out the different approaches people take to decide what looks best for you and what you want to experiments with.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 05:32:12 pm
content: Quote from: shafri on May 11, 2010, 05:18:23 pmYou can use solder paste, stencil and an oven.. but don't expect miracles. And mistakes cannot be (easily) fixed. And you'll be lucky if you can find out *why* your circuit doesn't work (BGA joints are checked using x-rays).Anyway, why would you want to do BGAs at home?

author: TheDirty
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 05:51:29 pm
content: Well, the problem with DIY BGA is not just the problem reflowing them, but also making boards. To do a BGA, unless it's a small BGA you need to drop VIA's between pads and under the chip, which means pretty tight tolerances. Not something you are doing on a homemade PCB.Search for 'toaster reflow', 'diy reflow', 'pan reflow', 'plate reflow' or terms like that and you'll find a lot of info.

author: jahonen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 06:53:20 pm
content: If you have enough patience, you can connect the BGAthis way(144 balls in that particular BGA)Regards,Janne

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 06:56:46 pm
content: Quote from: jahonen on May 11, 2010, 06:53:20 pmand it works ?

author: jahonen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 07:13:57 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on May 11, 2010, 06:56:46 pmYes, it worked. 32-bit bus through the wires, and 75 MHz clock signal. Of course, there are relatively quite many ground and vcc wires which make it possible.Regards,Janne

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 08:02:17 pm
content: It could, I highly wouldn't recommended it. It's actually a waste of time. BGA chips are usually quite advanced devices, things that work on high frequencies. All those wires won't add to the stability of such systems. Also, it's easy to make mistakes, it's a pain in the **** to solder it like that, and changes are very high it wont (reasons described up high). Digital circuits may be working, but I really don't think you want to get into BGA circuit boards very actively like this.High frequent electronic should be soldered on a board in a proper fashion. If you really want to get going on BGA's, you should have a proper reflow oven at least and a way to check it. You could with X-ray, .. but I don't think you have that laying around..Basically , don't do BGA's on hobbyist equipment. BGA packages are not for hobbyist. Well.. they could, but not for hobbyist equipment. You could if you want to pay thousands of dollars on equipment. You are likely to need like 4 layer boards as well, which you would need to order externally (and get quite expensive).The same almost goes out for those pinless packages like QFN and such these days. You could solder some of them, but that's barely possible. Some also comes down to some fooling around if you look at it from an aesthetic standpoint, like soldering upside down with some wires. Personally I find it all a bunch of rubbish :p, but if it's the last resort; you could try.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 08:13:59 pm
content: I'll be coto cope with 0.05" pitch SOIC stuff

author: TheDirty
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 08:21:31 pm
content: Quote from: hans on May 11, 2010, 08:02:17 pmQFN's are easy with any type of home reflow and are my preferred package type right now. It's more than barely possible. I've done quite a few with just an iron as well, which is not hard as long as the pad comes out far enough to heat up and wick solder underneath.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2010, 08:23:18 pm
content: Sorry, I should have added soldered with an iron. It's only possibly if there is a bit of coper that will stick out to solder on. With a reflow oven, most SMD components are much easier indeed, but unfortunately for most of our purposes (@ college) it's too much effort to fire up the reflow oven (due to lack of support and experience, it will take so much time to get it working for the projects we do).

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 04:34:58 am
content: Quote from: shafri on May 12, 2010, 04:17:57 amCheck the component's datasheet. They sometimes have a soldering reflow profile, or the manufacturer has general guidelines. One datasheet I have open at the moment specifies pre-heating for around two minutes, ramp up to temperature at 3 deg C/s, 10 seconds maximum at 260 deg C, and a ramp down not exceeding 6 deg C/s. You can get ovens that allow you to program the temperature in, but hobbyists often tend to just stick things in at the melt temperature, wait for solder to melt (you can get temperature indicating thingies) and then turn them off.

author: Pyr0Beast
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 05:30:47 am
content: Get lead-free components and solder them with leaded solder. You have about 20°C margin there.All that ramp-up, ramp-down criteria is not worth much when you can see the actual reflow.If you preheat the board there is no way you can burn the chip while soldering. Once you see solder flowing you wait until the process stops and that is it. Remove the heat source and wait for it to cool, clean the flux and turn it on.I have had more problems being careful than not. If you ramp up too slow, paste dries up, too fast and too hot and it bubbles around. You need to get experience with it and that is that. Same as with soldering.(Don't ever use plumber solder or solder-paste on electronics, it is utter rubbish)

author: flolic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 06:22:27 am
content: You can solder BGA chip at home without any $$$$ equipment. Every few days I solder 900 balls (!) BGA package (GPU)when repairing XBOX360 game console.But you need some special equipment, which can be bought or DIY.You need:1. PCB preheater with mounting fixture. PCB must be preheated to approx. 150-170C, you can't solder without preheat.2. Top (BGA) heater. IR or hot air with correct size nozzle. Or you can use cheapest hot air gun as I do3. K-type or IR thermometer to check PCB temperature. I use both.4. BGA stencil reballing station with correct stencil. To arrange solder balls.5. Correct size solder balls. I allways use Leaded (60/40 or 63/37) balls. Size 0.60mm for XBOX GPU.6. Tacky flux paste for ball arangement.7. NO-CLEAN flux for actual soldering.8. Hi-temp Kapton tape and aluminium tape for hot air or IR screening and for attaching temp. sensors.And thats about it. Oh yes, one more thing. You need to practice A LOT on a dead boards before actually trying for realI will upload some pictures of my setup later.

author: BartManInNZ
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 07:13:52 am
content: Quote from: flolic on May 12, 2010, 06:22:27 amThis would make a great vlog - DIY XBox360 repairs!

author: jahonen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 08:40:10 pm
content: Quote from: shafri on May 12, 2010, 04:17:57 amI don't seriously recommend anyone to try doing BGAs "dead-bug"-style. That particular thing was just a try to check the effect of some unconnected pins, as the PCB was 16 layer one, and time needed to re-spin the PCB was greater than time needed to make that up.Like said, BGA's are not very practical for hobbyists, even if you could solder it, due to almost mandatory need of multilayer PCB. You are lucky if you can squeeze it to just 4 layers, more likely it is at least 8 layers, if good signal integrity rules are observed, i.e. every other layer is a reference plane with no slots/splits, preferably ground.Regards,Janne

author: logictom
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 12, 2010, 11:55:32 pm
content: There's a nice guide to SMD soldering herehttp://store.curiousinventor.com/guides/Surface_Mount_Soldering

author: redek
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2010, 02:08:58 am
content: QuoteThanks for the great link! When working with small SMD components I think it is very important to hold the pcb in a vice. I currently use a PanaVise 396, which allows me to rest my iron hand securely next to the board. It also brings the work up higher off the workbench so I don't have to hunch quite as far to get a good view.Cheers,Derek

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 13, 2010, 02:47:25 am
content: Good link, it also links to the SMD soldering 101 video mentioned previously.[Just watching the video, good stuff apart from the annoying habit of referring to it as 'sodering' and not 'soldering']

author: logictom
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 13, 2010, 02:54:19 pm
content: Quote from: tumutbound on May 13, 2010, 02:47:25 amlol yeah that drove me mad when I first starting watching a few American how-to's and the likes. There's an L in there for a reason, use the damn thing!

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 04:00:20 am
content: Having a bit of SMD soldering experience behind me, I'm about to upgrade an existing board (or completely destroy it, stay tuned)The board I have is as follows:after I've finished, it should look like this:Plan is to hand solder, I've a temperature controlled iron with a small tip, flux pen, fine solder, magnifier, etc.On another forum when I asked about this upgrade, someone said that that had successfully updated theirs by using thereflow skillettechnique. While I've read about this method, I'd always assumed that it would be used for an unpopulated board, not a partially populated one.Has any used this method to add components to an existing board?[Sorry about the large embedded images, as a moderator I'm unable to add attachments.]

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 20, 2010, 04:48:03 am
content: Theboardis from aDROthat I'm attaching to my milling machine.The original design used a PIC but to allow for more functions, it was updated to an ARM7 with the board shown.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2010, 01:59:42 am
content: Since it already has through-hole components, I don't think you'll be able to reliably reflow on a hot plate because temperatures may vary too much. Since it already has some components, you won't be able to use a stencil to apply solder paste. It looks like it should be pretty easy to hand-solder anyway - reasonable component pitches and a solder mask will make it straightforward.