I've recently got into milling circuit boards, and I've had a lot of fun on the way. But now I'm looking into making more permanent boards by applying a solder mask. Both to preventoxidation, and to prevent unwanted shorts when soldering.
Does anyone have any experience of applying solder masks? I'm currently looking at different UV-flashlights but I'm unsure of what to buy. Do I need a specific wavelenght? Is 395nM appropriate?
One that I've looked at is this one from Banggood:
And of course: If anyone have some other do's & don'ts/tips & tricks, feel free to share your experience!
The simple solution for the wave length is to read the label on the material, it will save time and money. It may also be specified in its add. For applying solder paste I have used silkscreen for larger volume, on smaller items I use a syringe designed for this, and some of the past is sold this way especially in small volumes. I would recommend getting an appropriate oven to do the actual soldering. It is cool to watch the little parts wiggle into place as the solder melts. They are not to expensive on eBay but yo can also make one out of an infred toaster oven. There are several DIY using an arduino to make one.
Good Luck & Have Fun!
Gil
MarkT:
395nm is on the boundary of visible. 350nm would be more likely to give you a tan. Sunlight contains enough UV for curing as far as I can make out.
Solder paste? You mean solder mask?
Yes, I ment to write solder mask, sorry for the confusion. I've also seen that some people use the sun to cure solder masks, but personally I would prefer to have a flashlight. Both so that I don't have to wait for so long, but also so that I can make solder masks even on cloudy days. Do you have any experience? Did you use an artificial light or the sun? And in that case, wich lamp did you use?
gilshultz:
The simple solution for the wave length is to read the label on the material, it will save time and money. It may also be specified in its add. For applying solder paste I have used silkscreen for larger volume, on smaller items I use a syringe designed for this, and some of the past is sold this way especially in small volumes. I would recommend getting an appropriate oven to do the actual soldering. It is cool to watch the little parts wiggle into place as the solder melts. They are not to expensive on eBay but yo can also make one out of an infred toaster oven. There are several DIY using an arduino to make one.
Good Luck & Have Fun!
Gil
I've actually never heard of the toaster-thing, thanks for the tip! And yeah... I was actually ment to write "solder mask", but I'm also intrested in working with solder paste very soon so thank you for sharing your experience. I can imagine watching those tiny components fall in place is very satisfying!
Paul__B:
So which is brighter, the sun or the flashlight?
(I would have thought an 8 W mercury vapour lamp like in my old EPROM eraser if I knew where it was!)
I would have my doubts about a flashlight. The lamps that were used for the EPROM erasers always had warnings to never look at their light, so much too intense and into the non-visible range.
DuVetVilkenEmil:
I've actually never heard of the toaster-thing, thanks for the tip! And yeah... I was actually ment to write "solder mask", but I'm also intrested in working with solder paste very soon so thank you for sharing your experience. I can imagine watching those tiny components fall in place is very satisfying!
I actually built one of these if you decide to go this route. Arduino Uno , LCD and a couple buttons plus a custom firmware you can find online. It's a bit janky but it does the job. The hardest part was adding insulation to the oven so it reaches the target temperature in a reasonable time.
Katemonster33:
I actually built one of these if you decide to go this route. Arduino Uno , LCD and a couple buttons plus a custom firmware you can find online. It's a bit janky but it does the job. The hardest part was adding insulation to the oven so it reaches the target temperature in a reasonable time.
I put a PID controller and a Type K thermocouple into an old toaster oven and disconnected the upper heating element so the IR wouldn't burn the board. Works like a charm.
I also added Kaowool ceramic insulation blankets inside to keep most of the heat from leaking out. I agree it's cool to see the components snap into alignment when the solder melts.