[TriEmbed] Solder paste dispenser

[Pete Soper]

To add one personal judgement to Brian's excellent remarks, once you've 
used an OSH Stencils stainless steel stencil that is positioned properly 
with a vinyl tape 'hinge', you will stop thinking about squirting paste 
anywhere except onto your squeegee.

-Pete


On 09/25/2018 10:24 AM, Brian via TriEmbed wrote:
> On 9/25/18 8:19 AM, alex--- via TriEmbed wrote:
>> - brute force; cheap but wears out your hand
>
> I'm guessing you mean the small syringe style of dispenser, like what 
> Chip-Quik comes in?
>
> If you find operating the plunger to be too fatiguing at room 
> temperature, try immersing the dispenser (properly sealed, of course) 
> in a hot water bath for 10 minutes or so.  Flux viscosity drops 
> rapidly as temperature increases.
>
> I definitely recommend going the stencil route if you're placing more 
> than a few parts.  Steel stencils aren't that expensive these days; 
> OSH Stencils (https://ohsstencils.com) offers stainless steel stencils 
> in a variety of thicknesses for less than $2/sq-in.  There's really no 
> need for an alignment jig; all you need is a flat surface and some 
> blue (or green) painter's tape. Tape the PCB to the surface, align the 
> stencil by hand, and tape it down along one edge (so you have a hinge, 
> essentially).  If the stencil is larger than the PCB, tape waste PCBs 
> around it to provide a level surface for the stencil (OSH includes 
> laser-cut L-shaped acrylic frame pieces in every order for just this 
> purpose).  Also, a little misalignment won't kill you, especially if 
> your board has a proper solder mask; the solder will strongly prefer 
> the unmasked copper, and minor misalignments will clean themselves up 
> just through surface tension.  You might have to do a little clean-up 
> with some braid and a soldering iron, but you were gonna do that 
> anyway, right? :o)
>
> Happy reflowing!
>
> -Brian
>
>
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