Just wanted to post a quick reminder that this Thursday, November 17th, we are holding our popular Solder Stenciling Class! If you have designed a board that uses many SMD components, solder stenciling can truly be a lifesaver.
Just not that fun to solder by hand.
We'll start with a presentation on stenciling techniques and tips by our stenciling specialists. Students will then learn in small groups how to use stencils, solder paste, place SMD components and test the finished product to make sure it works. Everyone will create a panel of Arduino Pro (5V/16MHz) and take one home!
While we believe nothing beats hands-on instruction, we know that travel can make it difficult to attend our classes. If you can't make the class, check out the above video tutorial to learn how you can do solder stenciling at home. Hope to see you there!
SparkFun,
Have you thought about setting up webinars for some of these classes for those of us that live out of state?
OR...
Perhaps have someone travel to other cities to teach these classes. You could query your DB to see which areas you sell to the most then make a tentative schedule based on the results. Take the schedule, post it and see how many people in those areas would like to attend. Just a thought. It could help grow your brand and recognition as a leader in DIY electronics.
Nathan
i think maybe doing something like a goto meeting with a webcam or even offering a DVD based version would be an excellent idea, i've found at least 10 different classes i would LOVE to take, but I'm in canada making this impossible without 2days travel time for a 2hour class. please Sparkfun, make them online or even package purchasable. you're missing a HUGE opportunity to expand your brand in new ways.
so sparkfun offers PCB services, a mini factory type service, but i find nothing from them on making the stencils... am I blind? (PS: getting a JSON return saying i need to be logged in to post, yet i am)
sorry about double post. problem with SF.s posting system
so sparkfun offers PCB services, a mini factory type service, but i find nothing from them on making the stencils... am I blind? (PS: getting a JSON return saying i need to be logged in to post, yet i am)
You should offer generic stencils, like one for the 100 pin ATMEGA2560 chip and one for the FTDI chip ect. I can solder the caps and resistors easy enough and I don't want to have a stencil made for every beta board but specific stencils would allow me to get the hard chips on for the hot plate, then I'll do the rest. :)
hey speaking of generic stensiles... I literally got this in my mail today. http://imgur.com/GYwXB
One trick you can try for stuff like the 100 pin ATMega 2560 and the FTDI chips is whats known as "drag soldering". Personally it's the technique I use as its quick and cheap, no added costs other than an iron and the standard spool of solder. It takes a bit of time to get used to, but once you do you can use it for a very wide variety of parts (and yes, I've replaced the micro on a Arduino Mega with this method). This is a pretty good source for learning more about it
flux + 0.5mm solder + 144 TQFP = no problem using this technique, and it'll look magical when you are done.
Yep - that's what I do now. Works well but time consuming. The 100 pin chips are the worst as the pins are so close together it is really easy to get solder up underneath and bridge them all. - but thanks!
I had to do manual surface mount soldering. I am still not skilled enough to do drag soldering. What I did was with magnifiers, I soldered corner pins to the pads to get it placed then did the drag soldering at the very dip of the pin (to try and avoid giving more head to the pin to let the solder crawl up).
It took awhile to complete, but I had maybe 1 solder bridge. I was using the Freescale S12UF32 MCU.
USE FLUX!
Have some solder wick handy to touch up any bridges. It is actually very easy to do once you get the hang of it and realize that any solder bridges (very few if you use a lot of flux) can be easily fixed with solder wick.
About 9 months ago I provided tips that I used when I was following the stencil tutorial back in college.
Relevant.
I knew that when you get rickrolled the link is often said to be relevant, so for a moment I was suspicious and checked the link. ROFL :D
Wish I could have made Sunday's ATMega class! Had prior commitments. Hope to see you for the next one though. For anyone thinking of the stenciling class, take it. It's fun!