In a message dated 4/8/99 6:48:24 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< Wade,
Martha from AMP has some good suggestions, but does not suggest
the best possible alternative. Check with TEKA Interconnect Systems
(www.tekais.com) and see if they have a solder bearing connector in the
style you require. The leadframes are already pre-loaded with solder and
flux, eliminating the paste requirement and the possibility of
bridging/shorting when inserting the connector onto wet paste. Just
slide 'em on and pop in the oven, they work great....
Mike McMonagle
PCA Process Engineering Supervisor
K*Tec Electronics
1111 Gillingham Lane
Sugar Land, TX 77478
(281) 243-5639 Phone
(281) 243-5539 Fax
[log in to unmask] >>
Hi Wade!
Mike took the words right outta my mouth, Teka does solder bearing
connectors in all the weird configurations that are tough to solder. I've
tried the solder paste thing in the past on some PCMCIA Flash Memory cards,
and it kinda' sorta' worked...but it's really not the best way. You'll still
get solder defects that'll make the process a pain in the butt, and at least
in my experience you'll need a fixture to send the whole shebang through
reflow to keep the connectors square in relation to the PCB. That was
critical in my case because of the case for the cards...if the connector had
the least bit of tilt it wasn't acceptable.
There are some dual hot bar machines out there, if you go to
http://www.microjoin.com you'll find a few models of machines that are
made by a company called Toddco General. Microjoin is a new subsidary formed
by a company called Palomar. The last time I looked at one of their machines,
I believe they wanted around $25,000-$35,000 for it....gotta solder a lot of
connectors to justify that! With hot bar too, you do have the maintenance
issues and whatnot that go along with that process...flux residues
building-up on the heating elements and creating uneven heating,
etc....Toddco uses ceramic bars and they're a little better than metal ones,
but maybe somebody that's more into hot bar can give more info than I can
about the issues with it.
But my latest deal with Teka are for PC104 connectors for a bunch of
boards we build for one of our customers...and I have a request from ya'll.
Does anybody have any good recommendations for a machine shop here in the San
Fransisco Bay Area that can work with me to make me a nozzle to use with a
Hakko hot air unit to reflow PC104 connectors? I looked at the Zephertronics
unit that they make specifically for PC104 connectors, and I wasn't
impressed. First off, they want $5,000 for the thing, and it does just a
so-so job. The heat isn't evenly distributed over the connector area...it's
hot in the center and cooler towards the outside pins. In fact, on some of
the connectors they did for me when the unit was demo'd here, the solder
connection wasn't made because of the uneven heat. If you wanted to be sure
to get sufficient heat to the outside pins, you needed to lengthen the
overall time that the board would sit over heated area and wind-up
overheating the board to the point that the mask would discolor around the
center of the connector. I figure I can come up with a nozzle cheaper than
$5,000 if I can find a good shop to work with. My bubble-gum and baling wire
can only go so far...(hehehe)
Thanks guys!
-Steve Gregory-
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