I need to assemble a few prototype boards with mostly surface mount =
components. I have done quite a bit of surface mount soldering over the =
years, but I am looking for ideas to make my work more efficient. For =
previous boards, I would solder each pin of an IC to its pad, adding a =
bit of solder as I applied the soldering gun with its fine tip. I talked =
to my PCB manufacturing house and they said they could plate the PCBs =
with up to 1mil of solder. If I go with specificying 1mil of solder =
plating, I am wondering if soldering the pins of an IC will be as simple =
of touching the soldering tip to the pin to melt and "reflow" the solder =
plate below, without adding any additional solder. This of course would =
make for a quicker, neater connection and eliminates the chance of =
bridging two adjacent pins. Can anyone give me some insight to whether =
this method works? If I go with this method, do I need to add flux to =
the soldering area? Has anyone made this method work with a heat gun =
instead? Any soldering tips would be greatly appreciated. I may have to =
do several boards, and its not cost effective to have them soldered by a =
company with a pick-n-place machine. Thank you all for your time.

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