So i ended up ordering tssop package opa1655 by mistake and now i have a whole reel of them that im stuck with.
Im thinking of drawing up a pcb for them but not sure its practical to try to solder them by hand.
What do you guys think?
And also do tssop and soic parts perform the same?
Im thinking of drawing up a pcb for them but not sure its practical to try to solder them by hand.
What do you guys think?
And also do tssop and soic parts perform the same?
With a soldering iron: try to align it the best you can and solder two diagonal pins. Check the alignment again, adjust if needed, then solder the rest. Don't worry if pins get soldered together, a bit of solder wick will usually solve that.
The maximum power dissipation may be less than the SO version, the CDM ESD rating might be better, otherwise they are the same.
The maximum power dissipation may be less than the SO version, the CDM ESD rating might be better, otherwise they are the same.
If you use plenty of flux, the solder will stay on the bit, not get between the pins.
A friend who does a lot of TSSOP and QFP chip replacements told me that flux is crucial, eg a flux pen and the chip will 'jump' into place if only lined up approximately after the pads have been tinned. No extra solder or wick is needed.
Glad you asked. Lately, I've been having to solder these little guys to a small PCB. I've learned a pretty reliability way is to:
Some of these may be obvious, but are worth repeating.
1) Needed: Super glue, a straight pin, SMD tweezers, .032 60/40 Rosin-Core solder, and most important, steady hands. 🙂
2) Make sure the PCB is secure and can't move.
3) On the physical pad of the device on the PCB - using the pin - place a teeny, tiny speck/drop of glue.
4) Using the tweezers and gently place on top of the glue spec - lining up the feet to the solder pads.
5) Let it setup for a minute or two.
6) Using a very small, but not a tiny solder tip, gently spread the solder (with lead and rosin core) across all the pins on each side. The solder will flow across all pins.
7) Take some solder wick (Superwick #425), with soldering pencil in hand wick off the top layer of solder, making sure none of the adjoining pins are not connected. (These make take a couple passes).
8) BTW, if your soldering multiple types of SMDs with different footprints, do these first, as it helps you be able to work on the sides and not from the top. (Very important.)
9) Use a Flux Remover pen clean the chip.
This works for me, but it's still a tedious process. I haven't ventured into hot air, or ovens yet. 🙂
Some of these may be obvious, but are worth repeating.
1) Needed: Super glue, a straight pin, SMD tweezers, .032 60/40 Rosin-Core solder, and most important, steady hands. 🙂
2) Make sure the PCB is secure and can't move.
3) On the physical pad of the device on the PCB - using the pin - place a teeny, tiny speck/drop of glue.
4) Using the tweezers and gently place on top of the glue spec - lining up the feet to the solder pads.
5) Let it setup for a minute or two.
6) Using a very small, but not a tiny solder tip, gently spread the solder (with lead and rosin core) across all the pins on each side. The solder will flow across all pins.
7) Take some solder wick (Superwick #425), with soldering pencil in hand wick off the top layer of solder, making sure none of the adjoining pins are not connected. (These make take a couple passes).
8) BTW, if your soldering multiple types of SMDs with different footprints, do these first, as it helps you be able to work on the sides and not from the top. (Very important.)
9) Use a Flux Remover pen clean the chip.
This works for me, but it's still a tedious process. I haven't ventured into hot air, or ovens yet. 🙂
A step I left out...
5a - With a flux pen add a little across the top of the pins before soldering step 6.
Another way, although I have not tried it, is to put a dab of solder paste on the feet and place the chip on top and then solder. This is suppose to hold it in place. But I think that method is used more with hot air than soldering tool. Trying to solder the individual pins on an TSSOP is, IMO a lost cause.
5a - With a flux pen add a little across the top of the pins before soldering step 6.
Another way, although I have not tried it, is to put a dab of solder paste on the feet and place the chip on top and then solder. This is suppose to hold it in place. But I think that method is used more with hot air than soldering tool. Trying to solder the individual pins on an TSSOP is, IMO a lost cause.
I have hand soldered TSSOP packages, Nexperia BCM846BS, but it needs a soldering iron that can maintain the temperature at the end of a very small tip. I use a Metcal MX5000 (I think) system. I also use fine gauge solder, 0.38 mm diameter. A flux pen can help if the PCB or component leads are a little tarnished. I also find using a magnifer helpful, degraded vision and glasses are a consequence of old age. It depends what you are used to but I find hot air tends to blow the part away, particularly if it is small. Different techniques can all produce a good end result. I am used to using a iron and it works best for me.
A while back (2 yrs ago) I bought a Soldering Rework Station for a large project that was all SMDs. The project never materialized, and I never took it out of the box. Never really had the need for soldering a lot of SMDs. I figure it may come in handy at some point. 🙂 But you are right, different strokes for different folks. I started way back in the early 60s with a solder pencil that was perfect for what I was doing then. I later upgraded to a small Weller pencil, that was short in overall length. Very easy to use and manipulate around a PCB. It had the perfect chiseled tip too, and was my iron of choice for 30+ yrs before it died. When I started in this hobby I invested in a Hakko, but to my dismay, I have not found the perfect tip that was similar to the one on the Weller. They are either teeny tiny, or too wide to work around an IC. Anyway, so I find myself always having to change tips on the Hakko which really isn't a problem and it works well. I also find I have to crank the Hakko up to at least 700 degrees to get really good joints. 🙁
I use a Kester flux pen and a fine tip on the soldering iron. Add flux to the part and the board. Solder two corner pins, check for alignment, then solder the rest. As pointed out above, you can clean up with solder wick after. That'll leave enough solder between the pin and the board for the chip to make good contact. Then clean up the excess flux.
If you have the option to populate the chip as the first device on the board (or the board is predominantly SMD parts) I'd get a solder paste stencil made. OSH Stencils will help you out. It's super easy to solder SMD when all you have to do is to place the parts into the solder paste and bake the board.
If you're buying reels of parts (QTY 2500+) that tells me that you're doing production on a larger scale than the typical DIYer. Why not bite the bullet and have the boards built by machine?
Tom
If you have the option to populate the chip as the first device on the board (or the board is predominantly SMD parts) I'd get a solder paste stencil made. OSH Stencils will help you out. It's super easy to solder SMD when all you have to do is to place the parts into the solder paste and bake the board.
If you're buying reels of parts (QTY 2500+) that tells me that you're doing production on a larger scale than the typical DIYer. Why not bite the bullet and have the boards built by machine?
Tom
I’m soldering IC’s down with 0.65 mm pin to pin pitch with a soldering iron. Same technique as 👆with the solder wick