>I *really* like JBC soldering irons, and have seen some soldering
>tips for SMT: http://www.jbctools.com/english/advanced/catad2200.html.
>Has anyone tried these tips (ref. 2245-009, 2245-039, 2245-223, and
>"blade" type) or similar ones? How are they used? Should I use solder
>wire or solder paste with them? For the soldering station I'm
>considering the JBC AD2200, or the DI3000 if soldering tweezers are
>*really* good for this task (although a bit out of budget!).

I do not know this particular manufacturer, but provide the following advice
based on my experience using Weller tools.

For soldering, a fine tip in an ordinary temperature controlled iron seems
to work very well. Get some fine solder to do the work, and some flux you
can apply to the component and pad before hand, even though the solder has
flux in it, and if at all possible pre-tin the pad and component. Solder
tweezers are great for removing components such as resistors and capacitors.
Get some "crossover point" tweezers for handling components when placing
them (the kind which are normally closed, and open when squeezed). These are
a lot easier to use than the normal ones, as you will not send components
flying through twisting them in your fingers :))

>Are hot-air solders better? I'm afraid of blowing out the solder paste
>over a semi-assembled board :) Can BGA packages be soldered this way?
>If so, how do you apply the solder paste?

I use hot air only for removing multi-lead packages. I don't use it for
soldering normally, although it has very occasionally been easier to use it
when doing some rework in tight spots. If you want to use solder paste, then
you are probably better using the toaster oven method (see the yahoo group
archives at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/E-Z_Bake/ for further info).
Solder paste is applied using a silk screen, or stainless steel mask, in a
production environment, but for one off type use a syringe is reputed to
work well. The major problem with solder paste is the limited shelf life, so
unless you do it on a regular basis then I would not worry, and use normal
fine solder with extra flux. BGA packages are soldered using infra red
(toaster oven) or hot air I believe, but I have not used these style chips.

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