"Illuminate This" build night - Wednesday, September 25th

Come on down and try your hand at surface mount soldering.

I’ve got about 40 PCBs that need LEDs, you can build one and take it home. Learn how to solder surface mount components at this night.

No soldering experience required, it’ll be a pretty free-form night, so just dive into the middle of it! You don’t need to buy a board to attend, but if you want to buy one, I’ve got them for sale on Eventbrite. Half the proceeds go to VHS. I’m going to have all the boards available, so if there’s extras you can grab them that night. (If you can’t make it but buy a board, I’ll have it available for you to pick up in the dropbox).

If you buy 4, I’ll toss you another one free, if you want to buy more than that, give me a DM and we will work something out. The board isn’t perfect, but we’ve got a good way to make them work, and it should be a great way to get exposure to how the whole process works. More information on the project page here: The "Illuminate This" board

This sounds like it is going to be a busy night, so bring yourself, bring your buddy, bring some excitement, and we’ll have some fun!

P.S. I want my events to be as inclusive as possible. If there’s some way I can make this night more inclusive for you, please let me know. If you cannot afford to buy a board, shoot me a DM and I’ll set aside a board for you.

4 Likes

I just did a quick lunchtime refresher on smd soldering. Here are those vids I like again including one on how to use a stencil mask and a few on what happens inside the oven!

Soldering by hand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_6XJR3D27Y (tack and reflow method by Tom)
https://youtu.be/f9fbqks3BS8?t=354 (more tack and reflow by Leo, longer vid but good closeups)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JM4oCpWnjU (how to desolder)

Using a stencil & paste:

Inside the oven:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5lksMvmqQc (components self aligning - so cool!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrwZlaeonKQ (resistor joints forming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztG0c6lSEp8 (tombstone issues - easily fixed by hand)

VHS reflow oven instructions:
https://vanhack.ca/doku.php?id=tool:smd_reflow_oven

As always a big shout out to @packetbob for building the SMD oven for us. It gets loads of use.

4 Likes

just watched the vid. its very much like silkscreening

2 Likes

soooooo much fun! really brightened my day

3 Likes

lol you joker. I also found it illuminating. :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

since we’re punning it up, my absence was foreshadowed by a week-long headache and a crappy day at work; I was asleep by 7:30. I’d still like to buy some of your leftovers if you have any.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.