11 Aug
2006
11 Aug
'06
9:08 p.m.
On 8/12/06, der Mouse <mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca> wrote:
While parts can slip or be pulled by solder wicking things around, a
few simple tricks (soldering corners of QFPs first, using scotch tape
to hold down a 1206 SMT resistor while soldering one end...) make
things a bit easier.
That said, the
notion that surface mount is somehow "harder to
solder" is nothing but a load of crap. It is DIFFERENT...not harder.
I've never tried surface-mount chips. But I've tried soldering things
of similar size, and for me, yes, it *is* harder. Admittedly, that could be a lack of tools. Given a
stereo loupe,
pantographic waldos, and a really fine-point soldering iron, it quite
possibly wouldn't be all that tough. But those ain't cheap, and I
think needing significantly more expensive equipment counts as
"harder".
I put together an IOB6120 (QFP FPGA, 0.5mm-pitch TSOP FLASH...) with a
Weller iron and no special tools... just solder wick for clean-up, and
a flux pen to help everything flow nice and cleanly. I've also done a
few CF connectors for a couple of Spare Time Gizmos projects (Elf2000
disk board, MP3 player...) To be fair, I wasn't doing it with over-40
eyes, but I expect that someday, I'll have to start using my bench
lens/light for everyday stuff.
Just this week, I did a hybrid through-hole/SMT project with an Atmel
90S2313 on a Dick Smith protoboard (Datak 12-611B for the curious) -
the CPU and other chips were through-hole, but I used some SMT caps to
pack enough goodies on a 24-pin-long protoboard. It was the first
time I used SMT parts on a protoboard, but it was so effective that it
won't be the last.
I guess I just got lucky enough to get into SMT projects in the early
1990s and didn't really worry about it. I can recommend that if you
are going to be doing a lot of them that the proper tools really make
things easier. I did a stint with a Dremmel-sized hot-air soldering
gun and an RF soldering iron and a foot-activated solder paste pump,
and I have to say that it was _nice_, but I don't own those tools
myself (wish I did). Even so, you can still do a lot with SOTs and
1206 resistors and a 1/32" soldering iron tip and tools that you
_ought_ to own for through-hole projects.
-ethan