SMT Repair Rework w/Hands-on Lab

SMT is becoming the dominant technology for the designing of modern day electronic products. With smaller packages, automated assembly, lower parasitics and improvement in electrical performance, many of today's products could not be produced without the use of SMT. Introducing SMT can be accomplished easily by learning where the pitfalls and issues are before you begin designing, therefore avoiding the costly redesigns and escalated production costs to fix avoidable defects.

This two-day course is invaluable to have when learning how to perform SMT repair or rework. It will save countless design hours by providing an understanding of what is critical and how to successful solder and remove assorted SMT component packages.

The first session is a full day of lecture that covers vital information essential to making a successful transition to working on SMT assemblies. The second full day session is a hands-on structured lab where each student spends time performing the techniques and methods presented during the lecture session. There is enough equipment so that each student can have their own soldering station for doing the lab. We can handle up to 20 students in a lab. For larger groups multiple lab sessions will be needed.

Who Would Benefit
The course has proven to be of immense value to solderers, quality technicians, engineers and trainers.

Course Outline

Terminology
There are many new terms used in SMT soldering presented in this entry section. Terms include those pertaining to boards, vias, traces, solder joints, solder fillets, lands, pads, and many more. All are shown with detailed images.

Basics of SMT Soldering
An understanding of soldering is essential to working on today's complex SMT assemblies. Topics presented include:

• Soldering Systems
  
• Metals
  
• Soldering Action
  
• Temperature Effect
  
• Thermal Shock
  
• Soldering and Desoldering Steps

Solder, Flux and Cleaning
The impact of the type of materials used is presented and includes:

• Relationship of Solder, Flux and Thermal Energy
  
• Material Characteristics
  
• Soldering Temperatures
  
• Wire Solder /Types
  
• Flux and Types
  
• Paste Flux
  
• Intermixing Fluxes
  
• Cleaning Methods
  
• Solderwick Sizes and Use

Tip Care and Safety
Tip care and use is critical to keeping tools at their peak performance. Covered are:

• Tip Construction
  
• Tip Designs
  
• Oxidation
  
• Cleaning
  
• Sponges
  
• Tinning
  
• Tip Surface Problems
  
• ESD and Prevention
  

Tip Uses, Shapes and Temperatures
When soldering, knowing which is the proper tip, temperature and how to use it are key to successful soldering. Topics include:

• Identifying Tip Temperatures
  
• Key Factors in Tip Selection
  
• Solder Melt Temperatures
  
• Using to High or to Low Tip Temperature
  
• Uses for Different Tip Shapes
  
• Temperatures for Soldering and Desoldering
  
• Cleanup

Component Soldering
There are many leads styles used in SMT and this section teaches you how to solder each. Topics include:

Recognizing Damaged Leads and Repairing Them
Polarity or Pin 1 Locations
Tack Soldering for each Component Type
Soldering Steps and Techniques for Each Lead Style

Component Desoldering
Sometimes it is more challenging to remove components than to solder them. It is easy to damage components or boards unless it is done properly. Topics covered for this area are:

Component Attachment Methods
Tip Preparation Requirements
Tip Shapes
Techniques
Removal Times for a Wide Range of SMT Packages

Inspection and Defects
Everyone who solders must inspect. Topics covered: Workmanship Standard Manuals Factors Affecting Performance Inspection with Magnification Over-Inspecting Prototypes and Production Inspection Solder Defect Categorizing Setting up for Corrective Actions

Hands-On Lab
The second half of the course is a hands-on lab. In this lab each student is furnished with a Metcal soldering system and tips. Following step-by-step instruction, the student will solder and desolder assorted SMT components including:

• Chip Components (0805, 1206, 1210)
  
• Tantalum Capacitors (C size)
  
• Melf's (MLL-34 and MLL-41)
  
• SOTs (SOT-23 and SOT 89)
  
• SOICs (SOIC-14, SOIC-16, SOLIC-16, SOLIC-20)
  
• QFPs (QFP-120)
  
• Fine Pitch QFPs (QFP-100, QFP-160, QFP-208)
  
• PLCCs (PLCC-44, PLCC-84
  
• PLCC SMT Socket (PLCC-68

Course Materials: Performing Rework/Repair on SMT/FPR/BGA
Instructor: James C. Blankenhorn