Steve,
I had heard about the plating pens from Hunter, guess I'll
have to check one out and compare it to our standard plating setup. If
you're concerned about really doing it right, get the CE-10 Connector Edge
Plating System from Circuit Technology Center
(http://www.circuitnet.com/catalog/1151702.htm) and the proper solutions for
stripping the solder and prepping and replating the nickel and gold
(http://www.circuitnet.com/catalog/1153804.htm). The whole setup will run
you about $1400 total, but will pay for itself quickly if you have to do
this rework very often. If you've already got some of the needed items, you
can 'roll your own' on a piece-by-piece basis. While you're at their site,
you can also download their entire rework guide that provides illustrated
step-by-step rework guidelines that confrom to IPC standards. Or, get a free
CD with the guide, their full catalog and other information on tools and
materials. They've been providing contract repair services and tools and
materials for about 20 years now, so they know what they're talking about
when it comes to rework and repair.
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]
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen R. Gregory [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 8:26 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [TN] Gold Plating...
>
> How are ya'll this fine MONDAY mornin'?
>
> (Whatchoo smokin' Steve?...sheesh, so cheery on a Monday!)
> I'm just glad to be alive is all...hehehe. Anyhoo, I got just a couple of
> replies
> to my little query about repairing solder contaminated gold fingers with a
> manual
> plating system, and I thought I'd share with ya'll how I'm going about the
> repairs.
>
> I was told that I shouldn't plate any nickel over the existing gold, could
> run into peeling
> later...which makes sense. I had originally thought that I should plate
> some
> nickel over
> the area where the solder once was (since you can't get it all completely
> off
> just with just
> solder wick). But you can get all the solder off if you VERY CAREFULLY use
> an
> X-acto
> knife (with a VERY sharp blade) and VERY,VERY carefully scape the solder
> off
> under
> a microscope until you get down to the original gold that was plated on
> the
> fingers. This
> is done after you wick as much as you can from the finger. I can't
> emphasize
> enough do
> this very carefully and gingerly...you want to avoid getting in to the
> original gold as much
> as you can...it can be done. Then I take a burnishing tool (I used the
> round
> smooth part
> on a set of curved tweezers) and smoothed out any scratches I made from
> scraping the
> solder off. Having a smooth surface topography is key to get a nice even
> look
> to the plating
> that you'll do after this step. I prepare the finger for plating with
> what's
> called an absorbent
> or degreaser pen, then I plate away with the gold only. After I'm done,
> you
> can't tell that
> solder has ever been on the finger (As I take a bow...hehehe).
>
> What's really critical, is the solder removal. You've got to be patient,
> and
> not use too much
> force, otherwise you'll get into the original gold and reduce the
> thickness...don't wanna do
> that! I think this method will eliminate most peeling concerns as I'm
> plating
> gold on gold.
>
>
> -Steve Gregory-
>
> << Mornin' All!
>
> Say, I just got in a Gold plating kit from a company called "Hunter
> Products"that I ordered to do repair on solder contaminated Gold Finger
> contacts. They call it a "Micro Metalizer" system, and I gotta' few
> questions for any of you who have used these pens.
>
> I've done my first repair, and the fingers I've repaired don't quite look
> the same as the ones that aren't contaminated. They're a bit lighter in
> the
> shade of gold than the original ones. I'm thinking that's to be expected
> because
> I'm plating each finger manually and there's bound to be some variation
> vs.
> what happens with plating when the fab was first made.
>
> I removed all the solder from the finger, plated first with the nickel
> pen
> that they provide, and then the Gold. The gold plating pen provided is
> labeled 24 carat gold, but you can get 18 carat, and 14 carat pens, the
> 24
> carat pen is what's provided with the kit.
>
> Should I get a different carat pen? The pens are capable of plating 3 -
> 3.6
> microns depending on the time the plating pen is on the surface of each
> finger. How thick should I be plating the gold?
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Steve Gregory-
> >>
>
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