Does anyone know what is needed to work with surface mount ic's, what sort of starting price tag are we talking about? (Assuming I have ready made boards, i.e. only the soldering phase is required)
Surface mount ic's
Started by ●January 1, 2007
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
smount wrote:> Does anyone know what is needed to work with surface mount > ic's, what sort of starting price tag are we talking about? > (Assuming I have ready made boards, i.e. only the soldering > phase is required) > >How long's your piece of string? Specifically, what type of SMT package are you using? If SOIC, PLCC etc., you can do it with just a fine-tip soldering iron. Poeple have reported doing BGA's in a toaster, but I haven't tried it myself. Is this a one-off hobbyest situation, or volume production?
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:47:14 -0800, David R Brooks <davebXXX@iinet.net.au> wrote:>Is this a one-off hobbyest situation, or volume production?Ooh, you've lit the touch-paper on one of my hobby-horses (and mixed metaphors, but hey, it's the New Year): hobby, hobbyer, hobbyest: progressively increasing levels of similarity to a hob :-) hobbyist: someone who indulges in a hobby But David is right: PQFP/PLCC/SOIC can be done with a soldering iron ***and some good-quality liquid or, better, gel flux***. BGA is definitely beyond my hobby skills, but I too have seen reports of people using domestic toasting-ovens - note another linguistic barrier here: in the UK, a "toaster" is likely to be something that has slots to accept bread in a vertical plane, which is unlikely to be helpful for soldering BGA devices on to a board! Even if you could assemble BGA at home, you would then have to worry about inspection or test. As far as I'm aware, JTAG testing software is still not widely used by amateurs, and X-ray inspection tools are even rarer. -- Jonathan Bromley, Consultant DOULOS - Developing Design Know-how VHDL * Verilog * SystemC * e * Perl * Tcl/Tk * Project Services Doulos Ltd., 22 Market Place, Ringwood, BH24 1AW, UK jonathan.bromley@MYCOMPANY.com http://www.MYCOMPANY.com The contents of this message may contain personal views which are not the views of Doulos Ltd., unless specifically stated.
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
<smount> wrote in message news:4599cdbe$1_4@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...> Does anyone know what is needed to work with surface mount > ic's, what sort of starting price tag are we talking about? > (Assuming I have ready made boards, i.e. only the soldering > phase is required) >Hi, Try this Google search:- solder group:comp.arch.fpga author:freidin Philip gives a list of links you'll find interesting. HTH, Syms. p.s. On the subject of US vs. UK toasting techniques, IMO the problem in the US is not the toaster machines, it's the post-toasting technology. The toast just gets piled up on a plate. The US seems to be a veritable toast rack desert, so the toast always ends up soggy. I guess that's why it's IHOP and not IHOT! :-)
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
Jonathan Bromley wrote:> On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:47:14 -0800, David R Brooks > <davebXXX@iinet.net.au> wrote: > > >Is this a one-off hobbyest situation, or volume production? > > Ooh, you've lit the touch-paper on one of my hobby-horses > (and mixed metaphors, but hey, it's the New Year): > > hobby, hobbyer, hobbyest: > progressively increasing levels of similarity to a hob :-) > > hobbyist: > someone who indulges in a hobby > > But David is right: PQFP/PLCC/SOIC can be done with > a soldering iron ***and some good-quality liquid or, > better, gel flux***. BGA is definitely beyond my > hobby skills, but I too have seen reports of people > using domestic toasting-ovens - note another linguistic > barrier here: in the UK, a "toaster" is likely to be > something that has slots to accept bread in a vertical > plane, which is unlikely to be helpful for soldering > BGA devices on to a board! > > Even if you could assemble BGA at home, you would > then have to worry about inspection or test. As far > as I'm aware, JTAG testing software is still not widely > used by amateurs, and X-ray inspection tools are > even rarer. > -- > Jonathan Bromley, Consultant > > DOULOS - Developing Design Know-how > VHDL * Verilog * SystemC * e * Perl * Tcl/Tk * Project Services > > Doulos Ltd., 22 Market Place, Ringwood, BH24 1AW, UK > jonathan.bromley@MYCOMPANY.com > http://www.MYCOMPANY.com > > The contents of this message may contain personal views which > are not the views of Doulos Ltd., unless specifically stated.In addition to what others have said, a really nice soldering station can set you back a bit, but if you're doing small SM resistors/caps etc., then *two* fine pitch irons will ease your pain a lot. Most of the high end stations have multiple irons from a single controller including tweezer irons for such things, but it's usually beyond the needs or price range for a hobbyist. If you're getting older (as I most certainly am), then a magnifier with light (at least) will be welcome boon - it would probably be welcome anyway :) Cheers PeteS
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
> > Does anyone know what is needed to work with surface mount > > ic's, what sort of starting price tag are we talking about? > > (Assuming I have ready made boards, i.e. only the soldering > > phase is required) > > > > > How long's your piece of string? > Specifically, what type of SMT package are you using? If SOIC, PLCC > etc., you can do it with just a fine-tip soldering iron. > Poeple have reported doing BGA's in a toaster, but I haven't tried it > myself. > Is this a one-off hobbyest situation, or volume production?As I said, starting price tag, meaning proffessional one off production. Or hobbyist will do, as long as it is not ad-hoc type scenario.
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
Symon wrote:> <smount> wrote in message news:4599cdbe$1_4@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com... > > Does anyone know what is needed to work with surface mount > > ic's, what sort of starting price tag are we talking about? > > (Assuming I have ready made boards, i.e. only the soldering > > phase is required) > > > Hi, > Try this Google search:- > solder group:comp.arch.fpga author:freidin > > Philip gives a list of links you'll find interesting. > HTH, Syms. > > p.s. On the subject of US vs. UK toasting techniques, IMO the problem in the > US is not the toaster machines, it's the post-toasting technology. The toast > just gets piled up on a plate. The US seems to be a veritable toast rack > desert, so the toast always ends up soggy. I guess that's why it's IHOP and > not IHOT! :-)I live in the US and use a toaster to toast bread. The bread goes in vertically. I don't know what restaurants use. A toaster oven is a small counter top appliance. I've never used a toaster oven to toast bread or cook anything - I use mine to relow SMD parts using solder paste ;) For a more commercial SMD oven, I think Zephyrtronics has some desk-top units. They sell solder paste that's a lot cheaper than Digikey. -Dave Pollum
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
"Dave Pollum" <vze24h5m@verizon.net> writes:> I've never used a toaster oven to toast bread or cook anything - I > use mine to relow SMD parts using solder paste ;)I use the toaster oven to toast bread, and a hot plate to reflow SMD parts.
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
"DJ Delorie" <dj@delorie.com> wrote in message news:xnhcv9ayfq.fsf@delorie.com> "Dave Pollum" <vze24h5m@verizon.net> writes: >> I've never used a toaster oven to toast bread or cook anything - I >> use mine to relow SMD parts using solder paste ;) > > I use the toaster oven to toast bread, and a hot plate to reflow SMD > parts.And there is some else out there in "net land" that uses an electric skillet to reflow SMD parts although I personally think they are better for making grilled cheese sandwitches...... -- James T. White
Reply by ●January 2, 20072007-01-02
"James T. White" <SPAMjtwhiteGUARD@hal-pc.org> writes:> And there is some else out there in "net land" that uses an electric > skillet to reflow SMD partsI got the idea from sparkfun.com See also http://www.delorie.com/pcb/hotplate/ for a picture of the hotplate I use. It's a small but cheap $20 unit from Target. Here's a board I reflowed on it: http://www.delorie.com/pcb/m3a/
