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Re: [Slightly OT] Recommendations for hot air soldering gun

 

Hi Dave,

I don't know what you are planning to do. I got a WEP 898D about two
years ago and I did some larger projects with it. It never failed me.
You can find a video here:

I know there are many much better stations out there but when you are on
a budget, i think this one is worth considering.

Greetings, Simon

PS I just looked up on ebay and they are even cheaper today. 50€


Am 19.04.19 um 18:43 schrieb David Slipper:


Just beginning an adventure in SMD PCBs and wondered if there are any
reasonably cheap units around that would do the job (eg fleabay).

I have a hot air paint stripper but although the heat is about right the
air flow is rather fierce and would probably scatter the SMD stuff to
the 4 winds.

I have the solder paste and a solder mask for the PCBs.

TIA

Dave
Re: [Slightly OT] Recommendations for hot air soldering gun

 

Dave,

I've used one of those low end hot air stations - Yihua IIRC, and it worked just OK. It'll do the smaller parts just fine but using it on larger ICs, especially ones that have a ground on the underside of the chip, it didn't do so well. Slowing the air velocity down for smaller parts cause the thing to start smoking. I've recently replaced it with a Quick 861DW: and for the price, it's amazing. So I'd suggest spending a little more and get a much better unit to start with.

HTH

73! Mark KA6WKE

Website:
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EMail Announcement: [email protected]
Author: 4NEC2 The Definitive Guide
EMail List:: [email protected]


On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 9:43 AM David Slipper <softfoot@...> wrote:

Just beginning an adventure in SMD PCBs and wondered if there are any
reasonably cheap units around that would do the job (eg fleabay).

I have a hot air paint stripper but although the heat is about right the
air flow is rather fierce and would probably scatter the SMD stuff to
the 4 winds.

I have the solder paste and a solder mask for the PCBs.

TIA

Dave
[Slightly OT] Recommendations for hot air soldering gun

 

Just beginning an adventure in SMD PCBs and wondered if there are any
reasonably cheap units around that would do the job (eg fleabay).

I have a hot air paint stripper but although the heat is about right the
air flow is rather fierce and would probably scatter the SMD stuff to
the 4 winds.

I have the solder paste and a solder mask for the PCBs.

TIA

Dave
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Sure it's possible, but at some point you kinda wonder if the effort is
worth it.

Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Harvey White
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2019 2:39 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:02:32 +1000, you wrote:

Electrolysis tinning isn't practical for PCBs. You need current to flow
through all the bits you want tinned, so you'd need some way to
electrically
connect all of the tracks.

Well, it is and it isn't.

One method (was used for multilayer PC boards) was to use a negative
photoresist with a positive image. That gives you a board where the
areas not covered are supposed to be tracks.

That was then tin plated. (copper plated for multilayer and then tin
plated if desired).

Then the resist was stripped off, and the boards were etched. I
remember them being etched in ammonium persulphate, which supposedly
didn't attack the tin.

I remember a current reversal about 1/3 of the time while plating, but
that may just have been for the copper.

Harvey






If you were milling the boards you could tin the blank PCBs beforehand.



If you have a solder pot you can dip the PCB into it, that'll coat all
the tracks
with solder. That's what HASL is. The hard part is the solder layer
comes out
pretty thick so you need to remove the excess (or maybe not).
Commercially
they use hot air (the HA bit of HASL) to blow the excess off.



HASL isn't that difficult, but equipment-wise a bit much for the
hobbyist.



Tony





From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of MVS Sarma
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2019 1:15 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards



I need to enquire regarding this type of tin pate. Perhaps we can do lead
coating also in a similar way.



Ecwpecting to see an electrolysis tinning method

regards

sarma vu3zmv





On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 4:21 am Harald Milatz via Groups.Io
<harrymilatz@... wrote:

Hi @all,



i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is
cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:02:32 +1000, you wrote:

Electrolysis tinning isn¡¯t practical for PCBs. You need current to flow through all the bits you want tinned, so you¡¯d need some way to electrically connect all of the tracks.
Well, it is and it isn't.

One method (was used for multilayer PC boards) was to use a negative
photoresist with a positive image. That gives you a board where the
areas not covered are supposed to be tracks.

That was then tin plated. (copper plated for multilayer and then tin
plated if desired).

Then the resist was stripped off, and the boards were etched. I
remember them being etched in ammonium persulphate, which supposedly
didn't attack the tin.

I remember a current reversal about 1/3 of the time while plating, but
that may just have been for the copper.

Harvey






If you were milling the boards you could tin the blank PCBs beforehand.



If you have a solder pot you can dip the PCB into it, that¡¯ll coat all the tracks with solder. That¡¯s what HASL is. The hard part is the solder layer comes out pretty thick so you need to remove the excess (or maybe not). Commercially they use hot air (the HA bit of HASL) to blow the excess off.



HASL isn¡¯t that difficult, but equipment-wise a bit much for the hobbyist.



Tony





From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of MVS Sarma
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2019 1:15 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards



I need to enquire regarding this type of tin pate. Perhaps we can do lead coating also in a similar way.



Ecwpecting to see an electrolysis tinning method

regards

sarma vu3zmv





On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 4:21 am Harald Milatz via Groups.Io <harrymilatz@... wrote:

Hi @all,



i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Thanks, i got your point.? In industry it is done before etching but with screen print to cover the non track areargards
Sarma. vu3zmv

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 9:32 am Tony Smith <ajsmith1968@... wrote:

Electrolysis tinning isn¡¯t practical for PCBs.? You need current to flow through all the bits you want tinned, so you¡¯d need some way to electrically connect all of the tracks.

?

If you were milling the boards you could tin the blank PCBs beforehand.

?

If you have a solder pot you can dip the PCB into it, that¡¯ll coat all the tracks with solder.? That¡¯s what HASL is.? The hard part is the solder layer comes out pretty thick so you need to remove the excess (or maybe not).? Commercially they use hot air (the HA bit of HASL) to blow the excess off.

?

HASL isn¡¯t that difficult, but equipment-wise a bit much for the hobbyist.

?

Tony

?

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of MVS Sarma
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2019 1:15 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards

?

I need to enquire regarding this type of tin pate. Perhaps we can do lead coating also in a similar way.

?

Ecwpecting to see an electrolysis tinning method

regards

?sarma? vu3zmv

?

?

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 4:21 am Harald Milatz via Groups.Io <harrymilatz=[email protected] wrote:

Hi @all,

?

i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Electrolysis tinning isn¡¯t practical for PCBs.? You need current to flow through all the bits you want tinned, so you¡¯d need some way to electrically connect all of the tracks.

?

If you were milling the boards you could tin the blank PCBs beforehand.

?

If you have a solder pot you can dip the PCB into it, that¡¯ll coat all the tracks with solder.? That¡¯s what HASL is.? The hard part is the solder layer comes out pretty thick so you need to remove the excess (or maybe not).? Commercially they use hot air (the HA bit of HASL) to blow the excess off.

?

HASL isn¡¯t that difficult, but equipment-wise a bit much for the hobbyist.

?

Tony

?

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of MVS Sarma
Sent: Friday, 19 April 2019 1:15 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards

?

I need to enquire regarding this type of tin pate. Perhaps we can do lead coating also in a similar way.

?

Ecwpecting to see an electrolysis tinning method

regards

?sarma? vu3zmv

?

?

On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 4:21 am Harald Milatz via Groups.Io <harrymilatz=[email protected] wrote:

Hi @all,

?

i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

I need to enquire regarding this type of tin pate. Perhaps we can do lead coating also in a similar way.

Ecwpecting to see an electrolysis tinning method
regards
?sarma? vu3zmv


On Fri, 19 Apr 2019, 4:21 am Harald Milatz via Groups.Io <harrymilatz=[email protected] wrote:
Hi @all,

i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

?
I use Testor's transparent green enamel #1601 after etching and drilling a board.? Dries
in minutes and you can solder right though it.? The rest of the board stays
covered/protected with the green color enamel.? Use sparingly.?
Here's a link for a quick look:
?
Charlie
?
On Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:15:51 +0530 "MVS Sarma" <mvssarma@...> writes:

Yes Peter,
?things are getting costly. If we can access any tin rod or a lump, perhaps we can try tin electro plating. The industry adopts roller tinning but at home , it nay not be feasible.

Cheapest appears tobe, some protective smear that could break thro and allow soldering.? This coat could be applied even after populating rhe board, and only limitation is that we need to assemble immediately.

After all we need to prevent oxidisation of copper surface.?
Regards
Satma? ? vu3zmv

On Tue, 16 Apr 2019, 6:10 am Peter Ayearst <ve3poa@... wrote:
I know its being a while since I bought liquid tin, but it seems to be quite expensive these days. Is there a less expensive alternative out there? What does everyone else do? Tin or leave the copper bare?

thanks Peter
ve3poa

?
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Hi @all,

i am using this method for tinning a board. It is working great and it is cheap;)
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Hi there,

This is my first post here.
Try looking this video.?
I bought 99% tin bar from hardware store, near welding equipment. You need also a silver or pottery polisher, but check that it contains thiourea from the ingredients.
Hope that helps.

Cristiano
IZ4HDM
Re: Tinning Boards

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Tinning is nice but not all that necessary, cleaning the copper before soldering and then spraying clear enamel (or whatever paint you have closest) over it should suffice for most things.

?

Your flux should take care of any minor oxidation, but it doesn¡¯t take long to give the board a quick clean.

?

Nail polish should work (more effort than paint), but I did come across this the other day:

?

Interesting.? Maybe his clear polish wasn¡¯t UV stable or something.

?

It¡¯s a common trick to use red nail polish on equipment to make marks stand out, eg on my bike I painted the brake wear indicator arrows to make them visible.? Years later and they¡¯re still there, so who knows.? I doubt there are many studies in the use of nail polish in industrial settings.

?

Tony

?

?

?

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rob via Groups.Io
Sent: Tuesday, 16 April 2019 2:51 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [homebrewpcbs] Tinning Boards

?

IS plain enamel nail polish sufficient to prevent oxidation?

Re:After all we need to prevent oxidation of copper surface.

and
just curious.... how long can a PCB project? be left unprotected and unbuilt?
and
if the copper does oxidize....
do we really care.... if a quick sand paper scrub makes it shiny again?








On 04/16/2019 12:45 AM, MVS Sarma wrote:

Yes Peter,

?things are getting costly. If we can access any tin rod or a lump, perhaps we can try tin electro plating. The industry adopts roller tinning but at home , it nay not be feasible.

?

Cheapest appears tobe, some protective smear that could break thro and allow soldering.? This coat could be applied even after populating rhe board, and only limitation is that we need to assemble immediately.

?

After all we need to prevent oxidisation of copper surface.?

Regards

Satma? ? vu3zmv

On Tue, 16 Apr 2019, 6:10 am Peter Ayearst <ve3poa@... wrote:

I know its being a while since I bought liquid tin, but it seems to be quite expensive these days. Is there a less expensive alternative out there? What does everyone else do? Tin or leave the copper bare?

thanks Peter
ve3poa

?
Re: Tinning Boards

 

?Here is a link to affordable paint for this purpose.
Re: Tinning Boards

 

This is what I used for years, originally published in Ham Radio around 1973.

? Batch size: ? ?? Distilled Water? ? ??????? 100 mL?????????? 50 mL????? 25 mL??????????
???????????????????????? Stannous Chloride?????????? .5g???? ? ? ?? 250mg??? ? 125 mg
???????????????????????? Thiourea?????????????????? ? ?? 2.0g ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? 1g???? ? ? ? 500 mg
???????????????????????? Sulfamic Acid???????????????? 3.0g??????????? 1.5g???? ? ? ? 750 mg
All the chemicals are available on Ebay, they are dry powders, so they keep if kept closed.? A 25ml batch will do a fairly good size board.? Mix up only what you need because it will degrade once mixed and exposed to the air.? Never measured this, but I would use it within a few hours then discard the left over solution.? I would usually only mix up a small batch, usually 25ml or less? You don't really put all that much tin on the board.? Clean the board really well slightly warm the solution and just dunk in the board, no electricity needed.? IIRC the proportions were? not all the critical. ?? Good to use? gloves, this keeps the oils off the board and the chemicals off your skin.? Thioure is classed as a cat3 possible carcinogen? ?
Re: Tinning Boards

 

?You can solder thru the paint easily but test it first for your application.


On Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 2:22 PM indigoredster <indigoredster@...> wrote:
One thing you can do is use Testors translucent( in your fav color )? ?
before or after soldering. If before soldering, you might want to take a tooth pick or qtip-shaft and apply melted beeswax on pads.
You can solder thru the paint and the traces will look nice.
Experiment.?

On Mon, Apr 15, 2019 at 5:40 PM Peter Ayearst <ve3poa@...> wrote:
I know its being a while since I bought liquid tin, but it seems to be quite expensive these days. Is there a less expensive alternative out there? What does everyone else do? Tin or leave the copper bare?

thanks Peter
ve3poa

Re: Tinning Boards

 

One thing you can do is use Testors translucent( in your fav color )? ?
before or after soldering. If before soldering, you might want to take a tooth pick or qtip-shaft and apply melted beeswax on pads.
You can solder thru the paint and the traces will look nice.
Experiment.?

On Mon, Apr 15, 2019 at 5:40 PM Peter Ayearst <ve3poa@...> wrote:
I know its being a while since I bought liquid tin, but it seems to be quite expensive these days. Is there a less expensive alternative out there? What does everyone else do? Tin or leave the copper bare?

thanks Peter
ve3poa

Re: Tinning Boards

Peter Ayearst
 

Thanks all for the suggestions. I looked a some videos on how make a tin solution, and while easy enough, I dont think I'll try it out. At least not until after going with an enamel spray as suggested here.

Peter
ve3poa?
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Krylon is just a brand name for enamel? spray paint. There are others.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 10:13:05 AM EDT, Russ@va3rr via Groups.Io <va3rr@...> wrote:


Clear enamel spray paint.? You can spray it before populating the board, and your iron will melt it when you apply solder.

As per K7QO
Re: Tinning Boards

 

A soldering iron on the pad for a moment clears the pad well enough to accept solder. I do not know conformal coating as to what it means.
Re: Tinning Boards

 

Clear enamel spray paint. You can spray it before populating the board, and your iron will melt it when you apply solder.

As per K7QO
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