How easy is it to hand solder QFN?
Is this as easy as this?
I'm planning to order some A4983's [stepper motor driver] for prototyping. Is hand soldering a good idea?
Cheers,
Pracas
If, after watching and reading the link you provided you think you can do it, then feel free to give it a go. One man's "easy" is another's "impossible" so no-one is qualified to answer your question.
My opinion is, without adequate tools and support jigs, in the "impossible" sector
jack
If you're designing your own PCB, you can probably extend the pads further than normally required by the package (or use thick straight traces near the package), making the result only slightly more difficult to solder than a TQFP of the same pitch (heat the trace rather than the pins themselves.)
(This is just a theory, though. I haven't tried it.)
I have done quite a few prototyping using QFN chips. And here are just a few examples:
http://www.kerrywong.com/2010/10/24/rf-data-link-using-si4021-and-si4311/
http://www.kerrywong.com/2010/07/16/an-arduino-compatible-using-cp2102/
http://www.kerrywong.com/2010/04/16/interfacing-lis3lv02dl-using-spi-i/
In the last included link, I briefly described the technique I used (actually, nothing fancy). Anyway, it's doable.
Wow! Very nice.