Electronics Forum | Wed Feb 20 13:49:54 EST 2013 | tkotwal
I'm looking for a preheater for hand soldering, but haven't used one before so I could use some advice. Does anyone have any preferred styles or brands? Is there anything in particular that I should either look for or should avoid? I've seen prices r
Electronics Forum | Thu Feb 21 12:49:07 EST 2013 | deanm
We had the same problem with one of our boards with ground planes so that it required preheat using a hotplate before hand soldering. Then I learned about the Metcal MX-5000 series soldering irons. I was skeptical at first but we can now solder the s
Electronics Forum | Thu Feb 21 14:40:42 EST 2013 | hegemon
My own preference in this arena is towards the forced air convection style preheat, the key being the forced air. Radiant preheat is too slow for some, and IR preheat can have other issues that convection (or radiant) will not. Zephyrtronics has bee
Electronics Forum | Fri Feb 22 15:23:54 EST 2013 | tkotwal
Thank you for the advice. I have the same concerns with applying that much heat from a single point, so I will probably go with a Zephyrtronics preheater. Tom
Electronics Forum | Wed Feb 20 15:20:34 EST 2013 | hegemon
Depending on your requirements, you could range from a hair dryer, heat gun, toaster oven, hot plate, on up to digitally controlled surfaces and convective systems. You'll have to gauge for yourself whether you are just trying to add some heat energy
Electronics Forum | Thu Feb 21 09:30:05 EST 2013 | tkotwal
Thank you for the advice Hegemon. I agree that there is a wide range of options available. I'm looking for something that can give me some repeatable surface temp control, is easy to work with, and has at least decent build quality. I don't necessari
Electronics Forum | Sat Apr 19 12:00:07 EDT 2003 | modeltech
I am completely new to SMT design and for my next project I plan to use SMT for the first time. Since production volumes of the PCB's will be low, hand soldering is definitely an option, and will be necessary for my prototype PCB assembly. My proble
Electronics Forum | Mon Apr 21 08:55:35 EDT 2003 | russ
The pads you use for Reflow will be be fine for handsolder. Russ
Electronics Forum | Mon Apr 21 21:46:04 EDT 2003 | davef
We agree with Russ.
Electronics Forum | Tue Apr 22 05:38:56 EDT 2003 | mk
This sounds like a job for ssd. No pad shapes to worry about. Look into http://www.sipad.net and please contact me off line to discuss it. Matt Kehoe mkehoe@sipad.net
