Through Hole vs. Surface Mount
in [Design]
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From: Don Klipstein on 29 Mar 2010 01:14 In <1ba030e8-aa92-4799-b33d-3ac84f977924(a)j16g2000prn.googlegroups.com>, Chris wrote: >On Mar 28, 7:29�pm, Muzaffer Kal <k...(a)dspia.com> wrote: <With myself editing for space even where I don't note doing so> >> On Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:29:50 -0500, "k...(a)att.bizzz*" wrote: >> >On 28 Mar 10 16:16 -0700, Chris <christopher.man...(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >>I have just completed a designing a board that has 5 16 pin ICs. �I >> >>was planing on etching and drilling myself, but after my last project >> >>took for ever to drill far fewer holes, I was considering going >> >>surface mount. �I am only planing to make three at first. �Should I >> >>stick to through hole for the ease of hand soldering, or should I >> >>switch to decaf and wait a month and try my hand at surface mount. >> >> >Surface mount is pretty easy down to 0603, anyway. �Some IC packages >> >are a PITA, but most can be done with some practice (some even do BGA, >> >but I wouldn't bother even trying). �Forget RoHS and use real 63/37 >> >lead/tin solder. >> >> I've found out recently that even my bifocal needing eyes can do 0603 >> parts relatively easily with a sharp pair of tweezers, a fine iron and >> a stereo microscope; qfp and soic packages are not that difficult >> either. In our office we routinely do 0402 resistors in low quantities >> with the same setup above. > >Yea, I think I might bite the bullet and try SMT. I have had to do >some minor soldering in SM before. Do you guys recommend some type of >adhesive to hold the part still while soldering? About 3 maybe 4 years ago I had to be pep-talked into "hand-soldering" SMT components for prototype development purposes. Strangely enough, the one to pep-talk me into this described means and comfort level only good down to 1206 ("3216 metric") size. Thankfully, I was as always and still am an adventurous and experimental type, and the "pep-talk" pep-talked me into trying "being my own dog" for hand-soldering "0603 size" ("1608 metric") componments onto boards of my design. Turns out, I succeeded. I have my own favored technique (even if it is a Don Klipstein Jr nutcase-bicycle-messenger-sort-of-technique): I peel containing-outer-tape-layer from cut-tape to dispense components onto my workbench. Next, I paint rubber cement onto the edge of my left index fingernail. (I am right-handed 40% ambidextrous). To stick a component onto my fingernail edge to transport the compionent onto the board, first step of that has been for me to "land" my fingertip onto the workbench surface into a position where my freshly-gluey fingernail can be lowered onto the component. Next, I make my left index finger more vertical, so as to "land" my "freshly-gluey" fingernail edge onto the component. That usually gets followed by myself successfully transporting the component in question to a millimeter or two above where it has to be soldered into. The next step is for me to "rotate" that finger of mine or tip thereof into a more vertical position, to push the component onto the board where it belongs. If that does not work out so well, then I back up a bit and repeat, sometimes yelling 4-letter words or "And the horse you rode in on". When I get the component successfully or "reasonably successfully" "placed", by that time my right hand is holding a soldering iron or is about to do so. At that point, I use the soldering iron to tack one end or lead of the component in question onto the board. Following that, I use thin rosin core solder wire and the iron to "properly hand solder" all connections fromthe board to the component in question, with the one that I quickie-earlier did being last. - Don Klipstein (don(a)misty.com)
From: Robert Baer on 29 Mar 2010 15:44 Chris wrote: > I have just completed a designing a board that has 5 16 pin ICs. I > was planing on etching and drilling myself, but after my last project > took for ever to drill far fewer holes, I was considering going > surface mount. I am only planing to make three at first. Should I > stick to through hole for the ease of hand soldering, or should I > switch to decaf and wait a month and try my hand at surface mount. > > Comments Welcome, > Chris Maness If you are young (good eyes), the smallest parts to use would be 0402. That said, fine pitch QFPs are not a big problem if pads are pre-tinned.
From: Robert Baer on 29 Mar 2010 15:47 Joerg wrote: > Martin Riddle wrote: >> "Chris" <christopher.maness(a)gmail.com> wrote in message >> news:fbd910e4-f10e-42d8-a193-bb9c7a1cd19f(a)c2g2000pre.googlegroups.com... >>> I have just completed a designing a board that has 5 16 pin ICs. I >>> was planing on etching and drilling myself, but after my last project >>> took for ever to drill far fewer holes, I was considering going >>> surface mount. I am only planing to make three at first. Should I >>> stick to through hole for the ease of hand soldering, or should I >>> switch to decaf and wait a month and try my hand at surface mount. >>> > > A glass of Guinness works much better :-) > > >>> Comments Welcome, >>> Chris Maness >> >> I second the SMT try. It's not as difficult as it seems. Get a good >> magnifier , headband type. >> A good pair of tweezers, fine tips for your iron, and fine 0.015" >> solder helps too. >> > > I like 0.015" Kester No-Clean best. No mess. > > >> There are some good parts out there that only come in SMT. >> > > Yep, like tons of great RF transistors or fast opamps. > "No-Clean"? GACK! avoid that junk like the plague it is...
From: Fred Bartoli on 29 Mar 2010 04:09 Tim Williams a �crit : > "Martin Riddle" <martin_rid(a)verizon.net> wrote in message > news:hooplg$9m6$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >> I second the SMT try. It's not as difficult as it seems. Get a good >> magnifier , headband type. >> A good pair of tweezers, fine tips for your iron, and fine 0.015" solder >> helps too. >> >> There are some good parts out there that only come in SMT. > > I've got a school project which, like most of my stuff, is through hole, but > I cheaped out on gate drivers and went with complementary MOSFETs instead. > They only come in SO-8, of course: > http://myweb.msoe.edu/williamstm/Images/EE409_PWM1.jpg > Way easier than laminating two sides that don't line up, then drilling > cockeyed holes. > > Tim > You definitely need to improve your process (or switch to one of the cheap PCB makers) -- Thanks, Fred.
From: Robert Roland on 29 Mar 2010 04:21
On Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:16:18 -0700 (PDT), Chris <christopher.maness(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Should I >stick to through hole for the ease of hand soldering, or should I >switch to decaf and wait a month and try my hand at surface mount. SMD is a lot less difficult than it looks. The space savings and the option to mount components on both sides of the board are a nice bonus in addition to the drilling. -- RoRo |