Tweakers' Asylum: Re: Soldering of SMT IC's by Elso Kwak

Hi Mark & Eric,
Mark I am not very happy with your answer.
Ric I have some AD1853 sitting in the shoebox.
From my 5 day a week experience soldering and desoldering up to 80 pin SMT IC's I will disclose how we did it:
First the desoldering the most difficult part. We used a dentist metal toothpick. In the dentist jargon this is called a "Sonde" in Dutch. In English it would be called a probe, sound, explorer??? It is a half circular shaped hook the dentist use to prick in those painfull holes of your teeth. I use a normal 15 watt Ersa soldering iron. We slide the "Sonde" under the lead of the IC while heating with the soldering iron, sliding with the Sonde from inside to outside of the IC. It is important to remember to keep the tracks on the PCB intact as it is very difficult to repair a track. By the sliding action instead of pulling action you have the best chance to keep them healthy. Don't use any force; this will damage the PCB. Desolder the leads one by one. If all the leads are loose clean the pads with desoldering wick (braided copper wire).
Soldering
First check if all the leads are seating on the same plane and are not bent sidewards. If not, correct with small pliers. Position the IC as carefully a possible on the pads, I mean EXACTLY position it as a malaligned IC will give you a headache of a problem. Don't forget where to position pin#1. I have seen many beautiful soldered IC's upside down! Fix it by soldering to opposite pins. It will help by applying a slight pressure with you finger on the IC. Now start soldering the pins with the soldering iron at a angle of 45 degrees at the PCB. I usually start with the groundpin. Don't worry the solder will creep between some leads. If all the leads are well soldered; also take care not to overheat the IC; apply the desoldering wick around he IC. Check carefully all shorts are gone between the leads.
Hope this helps, take your time.
ELSO