Show us your SMD stuff.

[Processaurus]

Outrageous!!

[pickdropper]

I just discovered this thread today, but I want in SO BAD.

Watch these:

http://www.eevblog.com/2011/06/19/eevblog-180-soldering-tutorial-part-1-tools/

http://www.eevblog.com/2011/07/02/eevblog-183-soldering-tutorial-part-2/

http://www.eevblog.com/2011/07/18/eevblog-186-soldering-tutorial-part-3-surface-mount/


SMT is easy. 


Gabriel

Alright, I just watched the videos and my interest has gone up. I'm convinced I can at least try it out. I have a brilliant set of tweezers and a Weller WESD51 soldering station with a couple different tips. Can anyone recommend a basic project for me to get my hand dirty with SMT? Low parts count would be preferable as I don't have any SMT parts on hand and would be ordering everything.

If you want some SMT pedal boards, shoot me a PM.  I have a few different boards.

[vigilante397]

If you want some SMT pedal boards, shoot me a PM.  I have a few different boards.

PM has been sent.

[amz-fx]

Low-Noise Buffer prototype





Complete info here: http://www.muzique.com/news/buffer-direct-box/

regards, Jack

[G. Hoffman]

Another quick project for my rig rebuild - a bit more time than the MIDI splitter above, but still probably less than 20 hours into it.  It's a stereo transformer isolated audio splitter, based on one of R.G.'s transformer isolated AB/Y boxes (well, really, I just cut out the switch).  It's going to be a while before I can do much with it, but in the limited amount of time I've spent playing with it so far it sounds pretty transparent, which is pretty impressive for a sub-$5 transformer!

I had to put the power supply caps and protection diodes on the back side of the board, which I don't like, but with those transformers it was really a struggle to get the size down to something reasonable. 







Gabriel

[cloudscapes]

Probably smallest UniVibe clone in the World housed in 1590B Hammond enclosure.
Made in SMD technology with light bulb and all components and options as Shin-ei Uni-Vibe.

masterful work!

[slacker]

My first adventure into real SMD, a bit of a learning exercise in PCB layout and SMD soldering. Things I've learned so far, soldering ICs is easier than I thought it would be, soldering passives is surprisingly tricky. Hopefully I'll have my technique sorted once the board is finished, as you can see at the moment I suck at it.
It's a development of this with a Wolfson WM8510 audio codec to handle the ADC and DAC duties.

[Ice-9]

My first adventure into real SMD, a bit of a learning exercise in PCB layout and SMD soldering. Things I've learned so far, soldering ICs is easier than I thought it would be, soldering passives is surprisingly tricky. Hopefully I'll have my technique sorted once the board is finished, as you can see at the moment I suck at it.
It's a development of this with a Wolfson WM8510 audio codec to handle the ADC and DAC duties.

When soldering in the like caps and resistors I usually usually feed a little solder onto just one pad then with tweezers place the component in place while flowing the solder on that one pad, this allows the part to lay flat on the pcb. Then solder the other side.

Also for parts that are not sitting square on the pads use a flux pen to wet the part then with a hot air soldering iron reflow the part, it will actually bring itself into line. gas hot air irons like the Irodo SolderPro 120 are cheap and ideal for this.

When it comes to removing large IC's with 48 pins it so much easier than removing those pesky through hole IC's

[amptramp]

You usually have to hold passives down when soldering or they will lift up when you remove the soldering iron.  I prefer not to use leadless components because if you flex the board, they tend to pop off.  Through hole as long as possible for me!

[cloudscapes]

slacker, you're not the only one who prefers SMT chips to SMT passives. even 0.5mm pitch stuff.

the passives keep flipping around upside down, and my OCD won't let me solder them crooked or on their side even though they'll still work fine.   that's why I use tiny 1/8w through hole resistors with my SMT chips

get some electronics cleaner on that

[cloudscapes]

[Ice-9]

slacker, you're not the only one who prefers SMT chips to SMT passives. even 0.5mm pitch stuff.

the passives keep flipping around upside down, and my OCD won't let me solder them crooked or on their side even though they'll still work fine.   that's why I use tiny 1/8w through hole resistors with my SMT chips

get some electronics cleaner on that

Yeah I can't let myself solder in SMD resistors white side up, my next project has to be an SMD oven from a toaster oven so that I can do SMD better than hand soldering.

[stevie1556]

I've been bitten massively by the SMD bug. This one is a Cornish Buffer, in the smallest enclosure I've ever used!



This is a SHO clone



Yellow Snow - circuit I used is a underdrive, however, I would describe it as a very transparent boost with a  clipping option which makes it sound very hamonicy.



A one knob fuzz. I found a schematic laying around with all my build docs, so I designed a board for it.



Absolutely the best booster I've ever used.



A LofoMofo. absolutely awesome pedal, can't recommend it enough!



And a few more I'm still going through verifying.

[G. Hoffman]

My first adventure into real SMD, a bit of a learning exercise in PCB layout and SMD soldering. Things I've learned so far, soldering ICs is easier than I thought it would be, soldering passives is surprisingly tricky. Hopefully I'll have my technique sorted once the board is finished, as you can see at the moment I suck at it.
It's a development of this with a Wolfson WM8510 audio codec to handle the ADC and DAC duties.

One tip for board layout - if you are using standard footprints, I always extend the long dimension of the pads so they are easier to solder.  On SOIC parts, I've modded all my footprints so the pads are 0.150" - 0.075" long (which isn't quite as large as it sounds! the standard size is .125").  It gives you a bit more wiggle room on exactly where you place the part. 

Gabriel

[free electron]

Solder paste + hot air station give a nice, almost "factory" results:

[vigilante397]

I got some lovely PCB's from Pickdropper a while back and they had just been sitting on my desk for a few months. But today I finally went nuts and blew $50 (it felt like a lot ) on SMD components, so in the next week or so when things start to show up I hope to really participate in this thread

[duck_arse]

a [two!] question of nomenclature: what would be the correctest name for a surface mount on perf big muff? perhaps one of the russians, because of  the "fat, thunderous bottom end" (and the chance of vodka and trololo .....)

[and can anyone tell why those that are are called "civil war"?]

[danielzink]

[and can anyone tell why those that are are called "civil war"?]

Internet rumor says:

The nickname "Civil War" came from the fact that the early 90's Sovtek Big Muffs were primarily in blue and grey enclosures.

it's actually because of the colour scheme on the originals. It was blue and gray, like the uniforms of the opposing sides in our own civil war.

ymmv, imho, my .02 etc etc.....

[wavley]

Here's two 1 to 2 GHZ amps in the same package I designed for the Phased Array Feed at work, most of it is 0603 stuff, but I cheated and used a microscope and conductive epoxy, I only soldered the power supply connector.

The transistors are unpackaged SiGe that I wire bonded by hand.

[amptramp]

^

I am surprised conductive epoxy would provide a good enough contact with low enough resistance to be usable for an RF amplifier.  It certainly does overcome the problems of excessive soldering heat.