Re: gEDA-user: OT: need fine (5 to 10 mils) solder

["harry eaton" <bumpelo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave,

I've always used solder mask, but for fine-pitch parts there isn't room for
masking between pins anyway.
I've had good success with the blob technique with lots of flux on a CTS
series 741 resistor array
(http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/CTS/Web%20Data/741-746%20Series.pdf) which
has 10 mil pins on a 20 mil pitch. These parts are really tiny - the hard
part is placing them and holding them in place for soldering. Get it
swimming in flux and drag the iron along the row of pins smoothly but
rapidly. I'd say it takes about 1 to 1.5 seconds to solder one side (8 pins)
of the resistor array. Somehow the flux makes just the right amount of
solder stick to the pads and leaves the remainder on the iron. You can't see
what's happening while dragging the iron because of the flux vapor, but it
looks perfect when you're done. Anyway it works for me.

harry

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Koski" <david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <geda-user@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: gEDA-user: OT: need fine (5 to 10 mils) solder


> But as for blob soldering, it works for
> larger components but I never got it to work for the small one. Maybe a
> solder mask would help.