4 ms·
Same here. Learned on Pb last century, but have not touched it much since the industry made the shift (2006). It is so much easier to make bad joints that look
by IndrekR 7y ago
Same here. Learned on Pb last century, but have not touched it much since the industry made the shift (2006). It is so much easier to make bad joints that look good with leaded solder. Bad joint with SAC305 or SN100C looks like a bad joint.
What has evolved a lot since the pre-RoHS lead-free panic (2002..2006) is synthetic flux. Hardly see rosin based fluxed in industry nowadays (where performance matters).
For DIY stuff I mostly use SAC305 solder with synthetic mild flux (REL0) like LF4300 (water soluble, in theory no clean, but you do not want to leave this working in very humid environment) or SMD291NL (true no clean). In production different ones depending on the end product and components. Activity and cleaning requirements are main characteristics to choose by.
- nerdponx 7y agoWhat's your experience desoldering lead-free? In the custom keyboard hobby you often have people desoldering 160+ through hole joints. With good tools (Hakko FR301) and good solder (Kester 63/37) that's a 15 minute job, but the frustration level and time commitment increase significantly as your tool quality or solder quality declines. How would doing a whole keyboard of lead-free compare? Especially if you don't have $300-500 invested in gear. Another question is, how's quality of life on surface mount components in a home/DIY setting? Obviously industry has no trouble here, but sometimes you need to do 0602 or a TQFP by hand.