The blog of a dedicated radio amateur and electronics enthusiast

"Having fun on the air and in the workshop - communicating and creating"

18 March 2014

Reflow soldering - Part (6) First circuit board soldered

"Done... Switch off and open door"
The first circuit board has had the surface-mount components soldered onto it using my new reflow-soldering system. On close inspection afterwards, there was no sign of any heat damage and no repairs or rework were necessary. The tiny parts all seemed to be perfectly soldered.  I later soldered the through-hole-terminated connectors and switches with a soldering iron.
As soon as the board was back to room temperature, I powered it up and successfully programmed the PIC microcontroller. Some initial electrical tests were also positive.
Earlier I had spent some time practicing picking up, holding steadily and placing the parts in a controlled manner onto the circuit board. After the solder paste has been applied there is limited time. A mistake would probably smear the paste, requiring cleaning and start-over. I found tweezers, curved at the ends, to be the best. In the interests of speed, I first took all the components I would be needing from my stock, and separated them by type in a compartmented tray. I decided to place the 44 pin PIC on the board first as a mistake was most likely to occur with the placement of that component.    

No comments: