This morning I was struggling with soldering a TQFP64 package. As I was inspecting for soldering defects I by chance discovered something something many will know - shining a bright light from the reverse side of the PCB can be very helpful.
I quickly rested the board on a frame over the bright light and attempted some touch up work. Wow! So much easier to see if those pesky solder bridges were being wicked away or otherwise being corrected. Later in the day I went to the shop with my better half, planning to swing by the hardware shop for some timber to make something more suitable. Left to my own devices I wandered around and stumbled on a bamboo organiser type box for around $10. Dimensions 12.5cm (H) x 17.8cm (W) x 31cm (D)
Flipped upside down with a hole and homemade LED light source mounted below the hole I now had a light-box for SMD soldering.
 | ||||
| No light |
 |
| Light On |
With the light on I can easily find solder bridges, whiskers and remnant flux. I can apply solder wick, or iron plus flux, to a bridge and easily see if it has corrected the problem.
Well worth the effort to make and it will be a huge timesaver for years.
73's
Richard
No comments:
Post a Comment