[yejun]

my radioshack solder gun's tips melt in half hour, which type tips is good for smd?

 

[AndrewB]

Yejun,

You might strongly consider getting a quality iron, especially if you're playing with SMD's.

Check out Weller or Hakko. The iron should be ESD safe and temperature variable.

 

[MDuser63]

You certainly shouldn't be using a soldering gun to do surface mount work! I have a Weller WES50 adjustable temperature controlled iron that I like a lot. I also regularly use a Weller WTCPT that is very good. I like the WES50 better because the temperature is adjustable just by turning a knob on the front of it, whereas with the WTCPT, the tip is what determines the temperature. Get yourself some good tips in varying sizes, and you'll be all set. I use a "screwdriver" type tip mostly, and the size of tip I have is just about right for both SMT and through hole stuff. I bought my WES50 locally for $120, but you can probably find a better price on the 'net.

 

[AndrewB]

Quote:

You certainly shouldn't be using a soldering gun to do surface mount work!

You're right, I use a toaster oven. Unless it's for rework, then I use a very fine point iron and solder wick.

 

[yejun]

Quote:

Originally posted by AndrewB You're right, I use a toaster oven. Unless it's for rework, then I use a very fine point iron and solder wick.

sounds easy to use oven, which temperature? and how long?

 

[Gariver]

I use a Hakko 937 Soldering Station with 0.8mm Hakko soldering points. Believe me, it works very, very well.

I suggest that you quickly wet the legs with solder. Then you position the chip and tape it. Once it is secure, you then you quickly heat up all the legs with a 0.8mm soldering point.

Notice that I say quickly. Well, that's important. You don't want to heat up the chip too much. And, yes, you can do this work quickly. There's no need to linger at all. It can be done fairly fast!

Good luck!

 

[AndrewB]

yejun,

Preheat the toaster oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Use a solderpaste syringe to 'paste' all the smd lands.
Place your components , the paste will hold them to the board.

place in the toaster oven, watch the paste carefully, you will see the flux begin to turn liquid then go clear, very soon ( with in minutes) the solder will flow. Once the solder flows, carefully remove the board from the oven and let it cool to room temp.

You may have to touch up a few joints for either bridges or opens, but thats easy work.

I also use a Hakko 936 for SMD and discrete soldering.

[edit: oven temp]

 

[AndrewB]

Solder paste is a flux with finely ground solder mixed in.

 

[Squalish]

Any new toaster w/ a temp control should do(obviously, food and lead don't mix well).

Just as an aside: Solder guns aren't really good for even non-SMD work. Get yourself a pencil iron. Ratshack's pencil iron, while terrible compared to other higher-end products, is usable and costs $10. Look for something with a pointy tip, and optionally(I havn't tried this, but I've been told it's useful) a screwdriver shaped tip.