Soldering components is a difficult job. There are too many things can go wrong. Overheat, weakheat, spikes, broken components by overheats or long heat, etc.
SMD components are useful for easy soldering. You can solder tens of components with only one heating process.
Before, I used injection syringe for put cream solder under components. It is tiring, because there are tens of pads to be injected cream solder.
I met a person who makes plastic stencil with laser CNC machine. Plastic stencil is useful if pcb count is below 50. and then it is broken to pieces.
Steel stencil is ideal for larger volumes.
I want to try a steel stencil cream solder process. Stencil has 160x290mm dimensions. Top layer and bottom layer are on single stencil.
On normal process there should be a pool that pcb will be placed. I fixed pcbs four sides of pcb.
I pulled cream solder with a plastic card like credit cards.
Then I placed components and heat the board.
I heat pcb via ceramic heater (subject to an other project) and measure temperature with TFA laser thermometer.
After soldering DIP components.
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