✧✦Catherine✦✧Jul 10, 2023
does anyone know a technological solution to "hands are too shakey for SMD soldering"? I am thinking of some sort of device you can place your hand on that dampens the tremors
(please RT, would really love for my gf to be able to solder fine pitch SMD stuff)
Show thread★ Amy Star ★Jul 10, 2023

@whitequark I've become addicted to solder paste with stencils. getting the solder paste exactly where i need it means the part typically sticks to where i need it when putting it on, so my hands don't have to be super steady to place things properly

but if you already do that then i'm not sure. certainly cheaper than a PNP.

Show thread★ Amy Star ★Jul 10, 2023
@whitequark oh also, reflow oven (which is a toaster with a PID controller; the project that Adafruit has a tutorial on).
Show threadKarenJul 10, 2023
@AmyZenunim On the reflow oven, how exactly does that work? Because I've looked into doing this stuff as well, and even the low-temp solder paste seems to have a temp curve that goes way over fr4's Tg value, am I just missing something from the equation (because it obviously works for other people)
Show thread★ Amy Star ★

@karen I'm not sure about the specifics but you'd have to check if the PCBs you've ordered are reflowable

with a stencil to get the solder paste exactly where it needs to be, I just put the parts on the board (single-sided), put the boards in the oven, load the correct profile into the PID controller, and then let it run. it gets it right about 95% of the time.

Jul 10, 2023 at 1:38pmWeb