ACL 5050 Strip assembly advise?
- Thread starter Skunberg
- Start date
fathead45
Fiedler Christmas
i use paste as hand soldering leaves alot of flux that causes shorts. so i use paste and a skillet to do mine. but other than that there pretty easy.
Flux left after hand soldering doesn't cause shorts Matt. You must be just doing it wrong! LOL 
fathead45
Fiedler Christmas
lol i wish that was the case haha. i had to scrap a few b/c of the shorts of flux.
toaster oven is fine as long as it fits the strips but most wont. i use an electric skillet.
toaster oven is fine as long as it fits the strips but most wont. i use an electric skillet.
I found the hot air method to be so simple, just apply some paste with a toothpic so you ensure you get good coverage but ensures you dont apply too much paste, then use a hot air gun at 360 degrees C, preheat the panel and parts before moving in close to finish the job off and make the paste flow. After the first couple of strobes i did that turned out crap, i then started using this method and had 100% success rate with no shorts. One thing to ensure whan using a hot air gun is that you can control the airflow so you dont blow the parts off the panel before it solders on.
Just to clarify so bad things don't happen. When Eddy is talking about a hot air gun he's talking about something like http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2in1-Hot-Air-Gun-Digital-Solder-Rework-Station-SMD-OZ-/350409771145?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item51960cc889 not a heatshrink or paint removal hot air gun. I used to hand solder every smd component that I used and I use lots but now I use paste and a hot air gun almost exclusively. I use an 18 gauge needle to dispense with and i've shortened it down to only about 5mm as the paste can be a bit hard to squeeze through. Ideally a thinner needle or a proper dispensing needle would do a better job at applying a fine bead but with persistence and care the needle will do. I found the size of the dispensing needle that comes with the strobe and I assume the 5050 kits to be too large and the bead that you lay down gives you too much solder.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/534188178-TT-tapered-needle-Smoothflow-Tapered-Tips-wholesalers.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/534188178-TT-tapered-needle-Smoothflow-Tapered-Tips-wholesalers.html
AAH said:
The great thing is it backs up as a heatshrink gun as well, well worth the money in my opinion. Once you start using a hot air gun you will wonder why you didnt use one before
Skunberg said:
Im not sure what the size is of the air gun tip is but i use the size that was the middle size of what came with the air gun. That was last year. This year i doubt i will actually even use a tip on the airgun as what is really important is that you dont use too much air pressure so that the parts get moved with the air.
ԆцряєсϮ
Senior elf
I do mine exactly the same as Eddy, This is the first time I've ever done SMD and so far haven't cocked up any (touch wood)
I've found it a lot easier than I thought it would be, but as Alan says you have to get the amount of paste right.
Best thing I ever bought was the rework station.
And Ed I use an 8mm nozzle with mine I find you can control where the heat goes a bit better, especially if you have to go over old ground and you don't want to upset any other parts already in place.
I've found it a lot easier than I thought it would be, but as Alan says you have to get the amount of paste right.
Best thing I ever bought was the rework station.
And Ed I use an 8mm nozzle with mine I find you can control where the heat goes a bit better, especially if you have to go over old ground and you don't want to upset any other parts already in place.