SMD Components - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BILLPOD
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2025, 07:14:58 pm
content: Through hole components are being phased out, and the smallest SMD currently available is the 006003 size, measuring 0.16 mm x 0.08 mm. Soon us Hobbyists will have to find another hobby. How much smaller can they possibly go

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2025, 12:22:30 pm
content: I spent hours soldering 0603 or 0805 resistors onto protoboard for easy measurement. And then I got a bunch of 100ppm/C THH resistors delivered, and decided to go with them. And with them on tape/reel, wow was it ever faster to check them, and log the results.I hate trying to measure SMD parts without having at least 1 side soldered down. I've try putting them on sticky putty, that's no good. I guess I'll try electric tape, but then I'd probably want to clean the glue of them too.I do like working with some SMD parts, but yeah 0603 is about as small as I'd use. They fit between the solder pads on common protoboard. So I want to start using them more, but I need a faster way to measure them, besides just going by their tolerance.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2025, 12:39:10 pm
content: As both a hobbyist and professional engineer, I find SMD easier to work with. There are still 1206 and 0805 SMD which you can do with your naked eye pretty easily. 0603 and 0402 and smaller are best (imho) done under a microscope. But microscopes aren't expensive either. I don't generally go below 0603 myself if I can avoid it.

author: Grandchuck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2025, 12:58:41 pm
content: Give up booze and coffee

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2025, 01:54:54 pm
content: For DIY projects/prototypes, I used to default to 0603 sized pads on PCB layouts, but later realized that often there's no need (electrical reasons aside); 0603 and 0805-sized parts can be interchangeable with some of the default SMD footprints in the KiCad default libraries, so for hand-soldering I now default to easier-to-see and easier-to-solder 0805 "hand-solder" pads, and use whatever 0603 or 0805 part I have at hand.In a similar vein, 1206 pads can work with 0805-sized parts too.Another change I've recently made, is experimenting with the KiCad fonts in schematics, so that PDF print-outs are clearer to see. Currently I'm using "Verdana" font, and then select all text and make it larger than the KiCad default; I'm still experimenting.If the circuit is small, then I try to remember to change the page settings for a smaller page to fit the schematic, so that when printing the PDF on normal sized paper, by default it gets scaled up too.With PCB silkscreen (default KiCad font for now), I have 0.15 mm text thickness minimum (I might increase that a little bit further) and increase the text dimensions too. The KiCad default I believe is 0.1 mm thick and 1x1mm dimensions from memory, but it's amazing what a difference a few tenths of a millimeter does for readability. In the attachment, the size is 1.2 x 1.4, but if space it tight I'll experiment with the width or height, since sometimes narrow (but tall) or wide (but short) text can still be more readable than the 1 x 1 mm size.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2025, 09:39:47 am
content: Quote from: MathWizard on August 28, 2025, 12:22:30 pmWhy do you measure them? I seldom measure any parts. Buy them from reputable suppliers & rely on the tolerance.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2025, 11:22:40 am
content: You just need to practice more. Now I can put the 0201 components in place even when my eyesight is blurry and my hands are shaking.