hand soldering 0201 packages? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: zitt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 19, 2021, 12:34:50 am
content: Does anyone have any tips for hand soldering or hot plate soldering 0201 resistors and an 0201 LED?Every time I try; I just butcher the poor things. I'd doesn't help that a strong breath from the cat across the room causes them to disappear.I keep telling myself I'll never use 0201 packages on future designs... then I run into real estate issues necessitating their use.Options:1) I have a reflow "hot plate" built from Sparkfun's reflow oven controller,2) One of those mini usb hot plates:https://www.adafruit.com/product/49483) and a Ebay Metcal with STTC 141 tipI do have a smt steel stencil for the PCB in question; but I recall last time that I didn't have a lot of luck with the 0202 parts.

author: rfclown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 19, 2021, 07:37:00 pm
content: Too big a tip I think. Just looked at the tip I have on my METCAL now. STTC-126, which is 0.4mm tip size. Yours is 1.3mm tip size. I'm 60 years old and I absolutely MUST use a good microscope (at home I have B&L Stereo Zoom 4) and good curved fine tip tweezers. I hate working with 0201 parts, but I'm forced to do rework on them occasionally. I can do it, but I don't like it.

author: zitt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2021, 04:16:47 am
content: I didn't realize they made smaller tips.I have STTC-126 and -190 on order for arrival on Tuesday.Hot air seems to blow my components off at this size. That said; my paste tends to be old... so the flux may not have enough "stickiness".I do have agood scopebut haven't had a lot of luck with 201s using it. Again probably due to tip size.I'll try again with some new solderpaste under the microscope.

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2021, 05:58:47 am
content: I'd get some high temp glue and secure the components in place before trying to solder them. Perhaps a speck of UV mask would get the job done.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2021, 11:56:59 pm
content: Quote from: zitt on December 20, 2021, 04:16:47 amCan you turn down the airflow setting more?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 10:24:58 pm
content: You need a very small tip indeed - so the heat transfer is minimal, otherwise it's very easy to just "vaporize" a 0201 in no time.As to hot air for such small parts? Crazy. Any kind of airflow will just blow them off unless you can very strictly control both the flow and it's direction, which is usually not the case. I would suggest IR reflow machines instead. With no air flow.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 10:41:53 am
content: Hot air is no problem per se and provides better results than IR (which is why reflow ovens usually circulatehot air). You just need decent paste, print correct amount, and stick the parts in the paste properly. If one flies off, that's just a sign paste printing or placement failed on that part.Yeah, I admit, hand-placing 0201 parts so that they stick in the paste is really challenging. But youhaveto get this right anyway, IR reflow won't fix large placement errors.With 0201, you have no margin for error. Don't play around with expired paste. Also the type of paste matters, for example T3 won't cut it anymore at 0201. Also paste printing becomes challenging, see if making opening larger and using a thinner stencil to compensate helps. Stencil mounting is critical, it needs to have good contact with the PCB at every spot.

author: geggi1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 02:04:47 pm
content: I use tweesers on very small components.The tweeser im using is a oposite operation type that you have to squeece to open.If the LED is on an edge og a PCB you can use it as a vice to squeec the component down to the PCB.Another option is to use a toothpick with a tiny drop of pine resin at the tip to get the tip sticky.When you have managed to tack one leg of the component down everything is pretty simple.I have also heard of people that used solder paste on the solder pads to get them sticky enough to hold the component in place prior to soldering.Use the finest soldering tip on your iron.

author: Chalcogenide
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 02:27:45 pm
content: My personal experience with 0201 is that they can be soldered by hand, but it's an absolute pain and usually you need to preheat the board before attempting to solder them, otherwise you risk cooking them by the time you get a good solder joint onto the pad. With hot air it's easier, but you need very hot air at very low flow, or they'll get blown away. I usually use a stencil with T5 paste: it's expensive, but absolutely worth the price considering how much easier it gets to solder fine pitch components.

author: asmi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 07:29:21 pm
content: Good stereo microscope, fine tip tweezers, small soldering iron tip and steady hands are required for 0201. It can be done, and I've done enough of that, but given the choice I prefer to reflow them all in a single go.

author: loki42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2021, 09:32:43 am
content: I can do 0201 fine with my metcal but a stereo microscope (and ancient Carl Zeiss in my case) is required. Good tweezers are required too, I like Erem.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2021, 09:36:05 am
content: 1) Microscope2) Some good quality ultra find tweezers. The kind that are really easy to damage and you have to keep them stored in a hard case for protection.3) Hot air at lowest velocity, high temp and at a long distance from 0201. (or just reflow oven)Get a dead cellphone and practice

author: Teledog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 05:39:56 am
content: Zen mood...no coffee or screaming children around..I use two JBC irons with 0.3/0.4 tips and a stereo microscope.Flux pen the old components, remove them with 2 irons ..&/or tweezers if need be.Clean the pads with flux/wick, then wipe/clean with alcohol & a kimwipe.Flux pen again & solder tiny dots (of solder) to the pads.Flux pen again & let dry.Place the 0201 component on the previously made sticky solder bumps with tweezers (erop7sa) ,.. it should stay there.Use the two irons again...just a touch should do it.Done.My 2 cents worth anyway.. done that many more times than I can count...