I'm sure that everyone here would be VERY interested in folk's out
there
"ideas" ..."know-how's"
...PICTURES (hint hint !) and website links for sure...
Apologies if this has been discussed previously to this depth... Just
thought it an interesting Thread for everyone involved "newbie's" And
"Pro's" alike..
Well, we all have our own opinions. I have built several boards using
a standard iron with a small tip and small diameter solder. I was not
pleased the the result as I never quite got the parts to lie perfectly
on their pads. A query on the SoftRock list brought several responses.
As a result I got a $20 heat embossing gun and some solder paste.
Total investment: $25. It works great but the embossing gun *can* get
the board too hot if you are not careful.
Since I found myself working on multiple board and with the prospect
for more in the future I ended up investing $80 in a temperature
controlled hot-air rework gun with multiple tips to direct the hot air
where I want it. I find it perfect for rework on SMT boards. I can
easily remove a single component and then put it back in again. I find
it even works well on through-hole boards for getting things like
chips out.
So, for someone starting from scratch:
1. heat gun -- an embossing tool or, better still, a temperature-
controlled hot-air rework tool;
2. a syringe of solder paste.
The solder paste has a shelf-life of 6+ months when kept in the
refrigerator.
So you can approach this any way you want to. I personally find that
an $80 temperature-controlled hot-air gun with solder paste works
really well for me.
YMMV.
Brian Lloyd
Granite Bay Montessori School 9330 Sierra College Bl
brian AT gbmontessori DOT com Roseville, CA 95661
+1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.791.912.8170 (fax)
PGP key ID: 12095C52A32A1B6C
PGP key fingerprint: 3B1D BA11 4913 3254 B6E0 CC09 1209 5C52 A32A 1B6C
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