Hi all,
I am currently making a board with one surface mount component that has to be reflowed. I am only going to be making one board, so I was hoping to save money by not buying solder paste. I was thinking about trying the following:
Melt some regular solder on the pads on the board. Let it cool.
Place the board in the skillet.
Place the part on the board (that has solder on already, but not paste).
Heat the board to reflow the solder to the part.
Will this work? Anyone tried it?
What package is the part?
It would be dramatically easier to hand solder the component, as long as all pads are exposed.
If its QFN or similar, your method will work, but will have major difficulty with keeping the part aligned and flat to the solder (nearly impossible for the latter).
Yea it is a qfn. I would just solder it directly if I could get to the pads. I’m gonna try it out. I’ll let you know if it works.
For QFN parts I make the pads a bit longer to make soldering easier.
Leon
If you’re really worried about cost, just get something like this ($3.57 including shipping from Hong Kong):
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4711
(Note that some of the stuff these guys sell as “solder paste” is actually just flux)
MichaelN:
If you’re really worried about cost, just get something like this ($3.57 including shipping from Hong Kong):
I get all of my paste from dealextreme.com and I have had great luck with it. I buy several jars at a time and keep them stowed away in the fridge until needed.