SMT Soldering 101

I get a lot of questions regarding surface mount soldering. The thing is, with the right tools and a bit of practice, SMT (Surface Mount Technology) soldering is really not difficult.

First, please view this excellent video created by CuriousInventor.com (no affiliation. I just like this video very much). I’ve been doing SMT soldering for a while now, but was very impressed with the techniques shown in this video.

Here’s the list of tools/material you need:

• Temperature controlled soldering iron/station (such as Hakko FX-888. Standard size tip works fine.)
• Thin soldering wire – 0.015 inch (0.4 mm)
  Regular 0.03 inch (1 mm) gauge solder wire is too thick for small SMDs. A very common problem with SMT soldering is to apply too much solder. Small parts like 0603 resister only need tiny amount of solder.
• Flux – pen type flux such as Kester 951 recommended. Apply generously – it will dry out quickly and does not harm the PCB.
• Tweezers with small tips – get a good pair that’s confortable to use.
• Magnifying glass – you can’t solder if you can’t see. I wear magnifier visor (OptiVisor #4).
• Good lighting – you need much brighter lighting then reading a book to see the small details of SMT soldering.
• Solder wick – as excess solder is the enemy of good SMT soldering, you need solder wick to remove excess solder. Perfectly soldering fine pitch packages like QFP is very unlikely without a help of solder wick. Thinner one like 1.5 mm wide is easier to use.

Traditional through hole technology is phasing out, and so many new devices are not offered in through hole style. Learn to solder SMT will broaden your choices.

(Let me know if I forgot to add anything here.)

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