ACL LED Strobe Group Buy Interest Thread - Closing 22nd of April

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I guess I need to learn how to make my own so I would like one complete kit plus and 1 order of paste please.

Regards
Rich
 
Kane said:
Assuming the surface mount stuff can still be done with a normal soldering iron, put me down for a couple sets (90)

Cheers

Kane
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Ask alec I think he did his with a soldering iron, but i tend to think you will need a very steady hand to solder by hand
 
Kane said:
Assuming the surface mount stuff can still be done with a normal soldering iron, put me down for a couple sets (90)

Cheers

Kane
Click to expand...
Kane, I made all mine with an iron. I didn't have any grill or oven available when I started. I kept the PCBs in a long strip which made it a bit easier. I also would dab a small amount of solder on one of the pads for each component which then held it in place. Wasn't all that bad.
 
Kane said:
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll give them a go, so confirm my 2x45 interest.
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From experience with a much more complex SMD board, get yourself a cheap griddle and do the side with all the small parts, then flip and do the other side by hand.

The key is to have the panel on the griddle and then turn on the griddle at about 1/2 temp to bring up the temp of the board slow, then after about 5 minutes, crank it and watch for the gray solder paste to turn shiny. Some board flex is expected, so for areas that do not turn shiny, you just gently press down the board to the griddle and that area will flow. Once everything is shiny, cut the power to griddle and let it cool BEFORE you move it. This can discolor the solder mask a bit but that is not critical.
 
I did all of mine by hand, however it was a bit slow. I'd reccomend the griddle method as it's VERY fast once you get the knack of it.

Kirk, I would be EXTREMELY careful leaving the boards on your griddle for the entire cooldown cycle. Solder needs to cool relatively quickly for a good joint, and I found that my griddle doesn't even approach 1C/s, whereas the max cooldown rate is 4C/s (I approach about 3C/s by gently removing it from the griddle.

They're fairly big chips, and like other members have reccomended, dab a TINY amount of paste on one pad, heat it, trap the part, solder all the other leads, then re-do that lead if necessary. You'll need fine solder and a good fine tip however, a solder sucker is reccomended (or copper braid) in case you use too much.

My $.50 (Paypal Fees, Tax, and inflation)
 
Good point ChillOutDoc- I had not thought about the cooldown speed. I guess removing the board from the griddle carefully if you use this technique is better. Or hand solder them, or use the hot air method, or the oven method, or the volcanoe method. I guess the point is that SMD is within the capabilities of DIY as there are many ways to "skin the cat". I sure like to see everything flow all at once- it is quite a cool experience and less tedious than the hand method.
 
I found using a hot air gun was a simple task as what is shown in the link on the origianal post, i didnt even use a hot plate, just warmed up the boards with the hot air before getting in closer to make the solder flow.
 
I would like:
Complete Strobe Kit: 2
Solder Paste: 1

Thanks for doing this!

Frank
 
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