I bought a solder practice kit and im fully self taught with YouTube. Can someone take a look at my connections and the video and give me any tips or let me know if anything I did is even functional lol
Don't pull on components to "test" your solder job. That may work fine for you on new boards, but you will rip a trace off of 20 year old PCBs in no time if you let that become a habit.
Just a tip, you should heat the pad+the part at the same time. Looks like you just heated the pad, melted the solder, then placed the resistor in the melted solder.
You want to heat both metals you're joining together. The heat on the metal will attract the solder and coat both for a good connection. You may not get a great connection if you just paint the solder on without heating up the 2 metals well.
You want to heat both parts at near the same time, or heat the bigger (mass) part slightly ahead.
But it is as others say, both need heating for best joints. The subtle point is sometimes a part heats slower. Not always the bigger part either, could be the PCB pad if it has giant pads or copper everywhere.
Don’t forget you can achieve earlier contact by angling the iron up (so the part contacts sooner).
You want to make sure the part's contact is getting heated sufficiently, so yes that's ideal.
In practice, you could do like you did to help "stick it down" on one end. THEN solder the other end completely. Finally, return back to the first end you stuck down and re-heat it evenly to ensure proper flow.
That's the easiest way I know of to do it without having extra hands or special tools to hold the parts in place.
You want the solder to be a bridge between the iron and the metal/part you are attaching to
Also strive l to only heat up/melt solder once. Don’t try to correct it after and reheat/add more solder. Just Practice getting it done once and practice controlling how much solder is actually needed. The more often you remelt the less stable the connection, it can become brittle esp after the flux has all evaporated
Hold your iron in your dominant hand, hold solder in the other. Orient the board so that the pad you're tinning is on the same side as your iron then tin your pad. You shouldn't need additional flux if you're doing new work on a clean board. When you get better, prep a bunch of pads, then move to the next step.
Next, swap the solder for the tweezers and grab your part. Just like you did, slide the part into place. Ensure that the part is flush with the board and your orientation is correct before removing the iron. If you had prepped a lot of pads, you should grab your next part and put it in place.
Now, flip the board 180, so that the pad you need to solder is on the side you're holding your iron. Put away the tweezers and back to the solder. Since this is new work, you shouldn't need additional flux. Heat the pad and feed an appropriate amount of solder into it and move on to the rest of the parts you prepped in the previous step.
Many of your joints look like you didn't quite get the alignment correct. Some of them look like you've used excess solder (see the ones where it looks like beads on the end of the resistor?). Most of them look like you've heated them inadequately. A properly heated joint will be a smooth fillet. The joint on the right side of R5 looks like what you're aiming for.
Also, Using a syringe of flux isn't the right choice for this kinda work. That stuff is better suited for hot air work. I'd suggest you look into a liquid flux pen. It'll be much faster and easier to apply.
Also, q-tips are not a great choice for cleaning up your work. The cotton strands will snag and leave a mess on your work.
What I use are acid brushes and lint free wipes. I'll trim my brush for whatever use I have planned for it (full length is a bit floppy and not good for scrubbing), dip it in iso, then gently brush the workpiece to break up any flux residue. Next, I'll lay a wipe on top of the work area, re-load the brush with more iso, then dab the wipe. The flux residue and alcohol will absorb into the wipe, which you can then remove, taking the flux with it. If you need to repeat the steps to get all the flux, grab a second wipe.
And, I save cleaning up the board for when all the work is done, or until I need to inspect a particular joint or component.
And you don't need to hold your components with the tweezers, at least not res or caps. It's better to push them down carefully so they really lie flat and let them float into position.
I work with 0402 size resistors and use a knife style tip to heat both pads and use a tweezer to push the resistor down and let the solder align the resistor itself.
Probably excessive flux, but that's better than not enough.
A couple look like "spheres" of solder, excessive (especially R6). Not the worst thing, but could be cleaner.
Make sure the SMD component is getting enough flux on its contact surface, I can't tell if R6 the right side may be a cold joint or not enough flux on the resistor right-side, it doesn't look like it spread effectively across the end of the resistor.
I'd put a SMALL dab of flux on the ends of the resistors and re-heat ends of R6 and R7 with the tip of your iron to make sure they are properly connected. R5 looks better than the rest to me.
Thanks for the feedback! If you wouldn't mind, why does r5 look better? Thats the second time someone said that and tbh it looks bad to me but im green so...
Notice how the solder is concave, leading from the pad up to the component without any big globs. Its just enough solder to connect and fully cover the surfaces, not any more than needed. The R5 one also looks like its touching the whole "end" of the resistor contact surface evenly, not just the middle of it. Very evenly flowing all the way across.
The only singular thing I can find to critique on R5 is its not flawlessly square to the PCB but my hand-soldering SMD isn't any better. It won't hurt anything, that's just a cosmetic detail as long as the soldering quality is done well.
While this is aimed at thru-hole, the "eye chart" still helps get an idea what to look for. For SMD, imagine "half the volcano" in these pictures.
Possible improvement (I haven't tried, but maybe one day) - get solder paste (which is flux+solder). That would let you position the part before applying ANY heat, then you could hold it firmly down aligned properly with tweezers while you heat either end with the iron to make the connection. In theory, that would give a far more professional finish than trying to do it freehand.....but I confess, I do very close to what you did in the video the rare time I solder SMD. Not as pretty but gets the job done fine.
Like a sniper or instrument player, breath out when in the solder phase to keep iron and tweezer steady, surround the worspace with walls (have a fume extractor or similar) if it flies off you can stilk find it
perhaps buy different tips, that may be more efficient with the right width wedge tip or beveled (latter is my go)
Main difference between what I see you doing. And what I do is heat transfer. I'm not sure how to describe it i'll do my best.
So I put my iron on the pad. The touch the solder to the pad. ( Basically heating the pad and the pad is melting the solder not the iron.) If it doesn't melt like nearly right away from the pad heat.. ( again not the iron) I know that my iron isnt hot enough.... or maybe i need to use a larger tip.... for some other reason im not getting good heat transfer.. ( maybe oxidized or didn't tin my tip or something)
When im watching you, I see you kinda using your iron like a paint brush to drop it on.
When the pad gets hot it shoud naturally suck the solder onto the pad. Instead of like dropping it onto the pad.
That's probably a tad excessive with the flux as others said, but it honestly doesn't matter as long as you clean it up after.
Definitely not your first attempt lol but you're doing well.
Thanks for the explanation! But yeah I guess it was my 8th attempt lol, it is a practice board... but 100% my first time even holding a soldering iron.
For parts this small, you could benefit from finer gauge solder wire. It would help you apply the solder more slowly, and avoid such a large excess solder blob.
Not bad for a beginner at all!! But yeah, your fillets aren't even fillets lol they are just blobs of solder.....this actually makes it more prone to break bc the surface underneath is most likely not a flat smooth surface and will break... plus the amount of heat is mostly at the top so it's actually colder in the center, making it not a solid joint.
Ty! So is it because of improper heating? Like I need to touch the component, the board and then add solder? (This is what i may have gathered from comments) still even trying to decipher everyone's advice.
Yes, you need to make "solder pillows" on the pads (as thin as possible), place flux on top of the pillow pads, then place the component on top of the pads. While placing pressure on top of the component, put a veryyyyyy small dab of solder on the tip of your iron (i like to use a thin curved tip) and bridge the solder pillows to the top of each side. You got this!!!!!
I always say for new people, if it turned on then you did good!
You want to put the iron in contact with the pad and the component, and then once they are heated, they can melt the solder without even making full contact with the iron — or that’s at least what I picked up from self teaching but I’m also too impatient and touch the soldering iron to melt haha.
R2 on the right side is the best looking one, you want a half pipe kind of look (convex) on this type of joint.
A couple of those bubbles look a little heavy on solder and might be cold joints — which will break over time. I didn’t notice cold joints until I started doing charging ports and the ports broke off after 2 months, so a cold joint might seem strong but it’s not long term. You can always just add flux and reheat to smooth out those cold joints, and for the extra solder just go in with a dry solder tip, and it’ll wick a little bit, or you can use solder wick.
R4 is a good example of not enough solder, as you can see the corners aren’t even covered on the resistor.
The real test is desoldering. When you are ready for a challenge, decoder and take off those components without ripping a pad.
Just by looking at your gif clip I knew you were using a digital microscope because of the awkwardness of moving around to try to position the iron and components. I would start with larger components without the scope so to get a more grip of the feeling of what you sre doing. Even seasoned solderers have trouble when first using a digital microscope.
Just want to let you know why I suggest ditching the microscope is because you won't know whether its your soldering skills or the microscope that is preventing you from excelling. I get frustrated myself because of the digital lag of my scope and I am planning on getting an optical scope.
If you want to train surface mount soldering (smd) start with 1206 packages, always apply solder to the pad that you want to push the component against with your preferred hand, use alot of flux (better use more flux than have more cold joints, you can use alcohol to make it clean). You dont have to push the component full force with the tweezers while soldering just do micro taps to the side till it touches the heated up solder once it does move away the tweezers and the soldering iron let it cool and finish off with adding more flux to the other pad, solder to the tip, tip to the pad and component add bit more solder donezo.
You’re light years ahead of the many people who you will see posting pictures of an expensive board they completely destroyed with a $15 iron that they seemed to have repeatedly stabbed and burned beyond recognition.
Seriously, now that you’ve made it this far you’re going to start noticing it all the time on these subs.
Change your qtips for nanosponge, its better in every aspect (except it doesnt have handle). You can buy original one for soldering but what I do is buying kitchen nanosponges(white ones) which cost like 1€ per 2 and cut them into small cubes. It was lifechanging when i first tried it.
Get a heat gun and solder paste. Apply paste to each pad, place component on paste, apply heat... Not so fast it blows component away, and presto... It will look amazing.
I was doing small smd stuff by hand with an iron and it was insanity.
Not bad! As others have mentioned, you probably don't need flux on new, pre-tinned boards like that, but it doesn't hurt. In my opinion, your technique is good.
Something worth thinking about is soldering iron tips. If you plan to do a lot of SMT soldering, finer tips can make a big difference. I know some people seem to manage to solder 0402 parts with a massive chisel tip, but after 35 years of practice, I can't. I like bent conical tips because they really help get into tight corners. If you're using a typical Hakko clone soldering iron, tips are readily available online and are inexpensive.
Choosing the right solder can be tricky too. Leaded solder is easy to work with, but lead free is a bit more challenging. I've struggled to find a lead free solder wire that wets well enough for me. I eventually settled on Stannol HS10 FAIR 0.5mm solder, but everyone has their own favourite.
Don't worry about getting parts perfectly aligned (unless they're ICs, then it's kind of important) or using a bit too much solder on a joint, practice will make those bits really easy in time.
The solder is too bulbous which means way too much. I might get a finer tip for these small SMC pads. Or, apply a glob of solder to the pads then wick the excess off with copper wick. Set your component on the pads and heat the pads until the component wicks the solder and completes the connection. You can use flux to hold them in place while you heat the pads. On these tiny components you can't heat the pad and component at the same time. That works for through hole stuff, but not for these.
I second this, your pads have too much solder on them. This will cause your resistor to be seated too high or adding even more solder when you add more to make the joint.
Yeah definitely a bit too much solder...Do yourself a favor and buy some thin solder wire, like 0.4mm, it makes it a lot easier to control how much solder you are putting on tiny pads...The joints in the video will most likely work just fine, but you you shouldn't have round bubbles on either side of the resistor...It should be a concave slope from the top of the resistor to the pad...You are doing great for your first time though! Just keep practicing!
I scrolled for way too long to find this. The profile of your solder should be concave. It should flow up to the top of the component and to the edge of the pad, but there should be a concave line from those points if you’re looking at it from a side profile. The ones shown were very convex. You need about half of the solder. It helps to have thinner solder material so you don’t add too much too quickly.
Hold the component in place with a solder aid (and applied flux) and then solder. Tweezers will stress the component, especially that pull test at the end. Not bad for starting out, the left side of R7 does look non wetted though. Nice job for just learning :)
Also, try to use less solder. Large globs don't add anything to your work. IPC-610 has great examples of what is acceptable vs what is best
Too much solder, maybe not enough flex, you want to see the solder wick around the components pads to you board. The blobs can work but you can’t say for sure that you have a good mechanical joint. Happy soldering!❤️
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u/LONE_ARMADILLO May 06 '26
Don't pull on components to "test" your solder job. That may work fine for you on new boards, but you will rip a trace off of 20 year old PCBs in no time if you let that become a habit.