[Coco] Surface Mount Soldering

Tue Jul 6 12:37:08 EDT 2010

I was initially going to use a BGA SRAM in the DE-1 Expansion Board, but 
when I researched it I found most people probably wouldn't be able to 
assemble the boards (including myself by the way) so I switched to a TSSOP, 
which with a giant magnifier, I might be able to solder. :-)
-J
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Marlette" <mmarlette at frontiernet.net>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Coco] Surface Mount Soldering


>
> Trust me, 5 mil bumps are not easy to deal with.
>
> As I recall, the DE1's FPGA has 584 pins on it, BGA form, about 1" sq.
>
> As it is easy to put down a BGA, it is harder to do it correctly and be 
> able to verify your workmanship which, IMHO requires xray.
>
> Not to many hobbyist are going to drop $100k for Xray... :)
>
> I avoid BGA packaging as much as I can.
>
> Mark
> Cloud-9
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Little John (GIMEchip.com) <sales at gimechip.com>
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:06:59 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Surface Mount Soldering
>
> Uh Oh - I've started a debate :-)
> J/K - I've often wondered how a hobbyist could work with BGA and then I
> decided this morning to look at youtube. Man there are all kinds of videos
> on there - some of the techniques by hobbyists such as myself don't look
> like they could possibly work, and yet they do. I am amazed at the 
> ingenuity
> of some of these folks.
> -John
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mark Marlette" <mmarlette at frontiernet.net>
> To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 10:51 AM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Surface Mount Soldering
>
>
>> james,
>>
>> How does one manually locate/align(x/y/z/theta,down force) of a BGA on to
>> the pads using a hotplate?
>>
>> I use our Air-Vac DRS25 unit and I am spoiled with it.
>>
>> Mark
>> Cloud-9
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: jdaggett at gate.net
>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>> Sent: Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:57:08 -0000 (UTC)
>> Subject: Re: [Coco] Surface Mount Soldering
>>
>> The key to using a soldering iron for SMT work is having enough flux on
>> the board and not to
>> much solder.
>>
>> There are other alternatives to the soldering iron approach.
>>
>> One is a hot plate. A 4in square hotplate by Thermalake is very good
>> alternative.
>>
>> Second is the few toaster oven reflow boards out there. The stand alone
>> controllers range in
>> the $60 to $100 and then add what ever your local Walmart or Taget has in
>> a 1500 watt
>> toaster oven.
>>
>> The lone issue with the toaster oven is that it should have burners on 
>> the
>> top and bottom and
>> a circulating fan inside to reduce hot zones. ALso the toaster oven 
>> method
>> needs to work at
>> max temperature to melt the newer lead free solders. Also the different
>> preheat times will
>> need adjusting.
>>
>> I still like the hotplate for small boards. especially with BGA packages.
>>
>> james
>>
>> On 6 Jul 2010 at 0:30, Aaron Wolfe wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, Jul 5, 2010 at 9:39 PM, Little John (GIMEchip.com)
>>> <sales at gimechip.com> wrote:
>>> > This guy has some amazing videos on SMT soldering - I never get bored
>>> > just watching these. Some have sound, some are silent, but they are
>>> > beatiful nonetheless :-)
>>> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQXhny3R7lk
>>> > This is the vertical drag technique that my dad uses too.
>>> > -John
>>> > P.S. check out all of this guys videos if you have time. They are
>>> > amazing.
>>> > -Lil' J
>>> >
>>>
>>> That is interesting to watch.  I recently got a ham license and have
>>> been soldering together some very simple circuits to reduce
>>> interference when connecting a radio to an PC to decode digital
>>> modes.. anyway, boy am I bad at soldering!  That guy is like the
>>> maestro of solder.
>>>
>>> There are a lot of good "how to" videos on youtube for all kinds of
>>> things, if you're in to do-it-yourself, its a great resource.
>>>
>>>
>>> > --
>>> > Coco mailing list
>>> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>> > http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>>> >
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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