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Who needs SolderMask !

HellasTechn

Apr 14, 2013
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Ok so this is a PCB that i made without solder mask just for fun.

This PCB is a little larger than a US 25 Cents coin.

It is a TDA2005 10W+10W power amplifier.
Beleave it or not it works perfect! Not a single short circuit !

Besides conformal coating will protect copper just fine.
 

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Harald Kapp

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This will work fine when the pitch is not too fine (depending on the worker's skill) and the PCB is soldered manually.
For automated soldering, specially wave soldering, a solder mask is required to prevent solder bridges between copper. Also most boards are not coated after soldering. In these cases the solder mask prevents the copper from oxidizing.
 

HellasTechn

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Yes ofcource i very well know all that. But tell me do you think the board i made needs solder mask now ?

I am only talking about DIY doards like this and very careful soldering.

Dont warry i am also a fan of solder mask. It's that because it is not very easy to apply that makes me a little lazy to do so on pcb's that i make for myself
 
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HellasTechn

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I am not sure i understand.

like from 0 to 10 how would you rate it ?
 

shrtrnd

Jan 15, 2010
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Not very good, but I'm wondering if it's you, or your iron.
What's your soldering iron, and what does your tip look like?
Are you using a sledge hammer when you should be using a tack hammer?
 

HellasTechn

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i use a cheap chineese no name solder iron with a needle nose tip.

I am surprised you say not very good. All joints are nicely shaped and shiny. why you say that ?

Dont forget it is a tiny board (the picture is really colse up).
 
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(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Using about 1/3 the amount of solder would be an improvement.

I find that very fine tipped (and conical tips in general) tend to result in it being easier to apply too much solder (and making it harder to remove some of it) as they have very little capacity to hold solder themselves.

I always recommend a double flat (screwdriver) type tip where possible.

It also appears like you cut the leads before you soldered them. This removes the possibility of dragging excess solder along the component lead.

One of my recommendations to people is that they use 3mm solder for regular work. Whilst this sounds weird, it really does get you used to only applying a tiny amount of solder. When it comes to very small joints (we're talking hand soldering 0402 resistors and smaller) you will already have the "touch" required to fed in almost infinitesimal amounts of solder.

Oh, and the other lesson... Don't look too really closely at fine work :-D
 

Sadlercomfort

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Oh, and the other lesson... Don't look too really closely at fine work :-D

The pictures you've shown are very big, and the board looks much bigger than it really is. Therefore it makes it very easy to judge the soldering based on an average board size.

Its not easy soldering this precise, however there is always room for improvement. I agree that 1/3 of the solder could be used.

I also recommend a double flat tip.. I would also avoid lead-free or rosin-free solder while soldering smaller boards.

Other than that it seems alright :)
 

HellasTechn

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