Professional SMT Soldering No. 2 (Revised) - Surface Mount

Advanced surface mount, vertical drag soldering at Washburn Computer Group by John Gammell, Certified IPC Trainer.
SOIC 14, SOIC 20 and QFP 80

• Category

  Howto & Style

[GTXAbunada]

It looks quite easy! ITS NOT, trust me on this one. This man is a true Soldering Specialist. 

[John Gammell]

You are correct. I have done multi-lead soldering for many years on the bench, as a rework specialist. I no longer use any vertical techniques. They are unorthodox and present inherent risks in the undeveloped hand. I only go flat now with my multi-lead and drag soldering and will not reflow unless necessary to meet the criteria.

Remember, excessive heat will induce thermal stress and thermal shock, adversely affecting high reliability and promoting either immediate or latent failure.

[o0oD4n1so0o]

I just dont understand how this is done.... it looks like a magic trick!

[John Gammell]

No magic tricks. Once you reduce the surface tension and manipulate the "wetting forces" one can do some pretty interesting things with solder in its liquidous state. The PCB is verticle, flux de-oxidizes and prevents re-oxidation, the surface tension of the solder is reduced and the solder will always follow its center of gravity so we have manipulated our wetting forces to our advantage. This technique can be very temperamental and I recommend using a flat technique instead.

[linuxgeek81]

You know your craftsmanship, my compliments.

[John Gammell]

Thank you. I have far to go and much more to learn. The more I learn and develop, the more I can transfer my skills to others so they can take these skills with them for the rest of their life.

[Arian van Putten]

I just started EE as a side-hobby (I'm going for my CS bachelor at the moment) and I find soldering very relaxing. I go solder when I need to clear my mind. Though it can be very stressful once you've made a small mistake. Any tips for correcting cold joints, too much solder applied etc?

[zaqwertyfish]

Thanks for the tips

[InuJF]

What solder flux and solder do you prefer?

[Wiebe Cazemier]

I was wondering how soldering MSOP and TSSOP works with this technique. Whenever I try it, I always end up having to use solder wick to remove the bridges, since MSOP and TSSOP are very very tiny.

[Gilvin]

this person is the soldering GOD!

[Eric William]

This is porn for geeks. Nicely done!