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Fine pitch and BGA placement tool

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Fine pitch and BGA placement tool

By Otatiaro
-  Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:31 am #142751
Hello,

I used to assemble my prototypes myself, but it's getting more and more difficult ...
Small components are not a problem, I even did 0402, but switched back to 0603 for convinence.

No, the real problem is this QFP64 part (STM32F205) that is really difficult to put on the paste spot on.
I'm also considering BGAs for new designs ...

This is why I'm looking for the right tool to place fine pitch / BGA components.
I need something simple, I have my PC on the same bench, so vido output or USB are not a problem, but room can be a problem (80cm x 100cm is by FAR the biggest useable area, but I'd prefer something a lot smaller).
I'd prefer something not too exensive, of course.

Any idea ? I found some products (from Essemtec, for example), but it's very hard to get a quotation ...

I will also need a small oven with profile management, I saw this one which is cheap and seems to fit : http://madelltech.com/MD5001.html

Thomas.

Re: Fine pitch and BGA placement tool

By lyndon
-  Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:21 am #142766
I've been seeing that oven on sale for a while and I am thinking of picking one up sometime. If you do purchase one, please report back here on how it works.

As for manual solder deposition for the QFP64, I find that the most error-free way is just to lay down a thin layer of paste with a syringe. Run it across all the pins and then run a line of flux just inside that. Since I've been doing this, I haven't had any problems with bridging. I've never done BGA, so I can't offer anything there.
I've been placing components with tweezers but I am considering building a vacuum-pickup tool.

Re: Fine pitch and BGA placement tool

By numato
-  Sun Oct 28, 2012 1:47 pm #151138
We have tried soldering some CSG225 FPGAs using toaster oven method with no tools at all for placement. It works fine so far without any glitches. We follow the following steps.

1. Apply a thin layer of solder on the board
2. Apply good quality solder paste, water soluble preferred.
3. Place the chip on the pads with footprint boarders aligned with the edges of IC. Solder paste keeps the IC in place.
4. Warm up the board/IC with hot air gun to make the flux melt and evaporate to some extent. What we saw from our experience is that this step is crucial. If a lot of flux stays under the IC, it can bubble up during reflow and move the chip.
5. place the board in toaster/skillet and do reflow.

This seems to work for as of now for prototyping, but quantity production is still a question. We have some photos of the assembled board here http://numato.com/kicad-more-complex-bo ... an6-csg225
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