I’d like to use some surface mounted components on a board im working on.
Im going to hand solder them. Resistors, capacitors, voltage regulators and the like.
Ive got away with using through hole components up to now.
But some of the newer more interesting components arnt getting made like that now and you can only get them as surface mounted packages. But from what very little i know they come in different sizes and footprints. And i havnt got a clue what i need to plan for or order for the boards.
Can anyone recomend a primer or guide to the different types or sizes of surface mount components?
My google foo isnt working on this as im not even sure what terms to search for. The acronyms i do know are so general theyre coming up with hits in totally the wrong fields.
Which reminds me: what you’ll need is a good pair of tweezers. I don’t have a pair, and the pair in the space (Dermot’s?) aren’t as precise as you’d want for this.
Ive got what i need to solder them.
Ive replaced a few passive smd components in repair before.
And soldered a few bare boards with smd components.
But thats like for like rather than deciding for myself what package to use.
and never designed my own board to use them.
Size-wise ignore 1208, go straight to 0806 or even 0603 if you have a steady hand
Avoid leadless packages if you can, they’re reflow only afaik
SOT23, SOIC and TQFP are good package sizes to start with. Less pins more manageable.
If you’re making your own boards give yourself extra space around solder pads to avoid bridges
If you’re getting someone to make your board, get them to make you a solder stencil. Solder paste with stencils are great.
Cheap suction tool for holding parts; go to a pharmacist and buy some 1 or 3 ml syringes and drawing up needles. Pull the plunger out of one and plop in a compression spring. Replace plunger. You can use a bench grinder to put an angle on it, or possibly a blob of silicone to create a "foot"
Use the rest of the syringes for dispensing solder paste
Im thinking of getting a hot air soldering iron if i end up using solder paste myself.
But for now fine solder and a fine tip, but not too fine that it cant transfer enough heat.
If i end up doing more ill have a go at modifying a counter top toaster oven for reflow
Reflow is nice, I do tend to hand-solder paste but as my dexterity gets worse I move more towards reflow.
Toaster overs and a thermocouple work beautifully if you’re willing to watch it. Add a small microprocessor and you can do PID, temp ramps and the like. All of that is mostly overkill
A spare and dedicated heavy-bottomed frypan also works very well