And thats why I get big sighs when I use 0201 size parts..... Jose Da Silva wrote:On October 15, 2005 01:43 pm, Bob Axtell wrote: > People who have components on both sides have the second side > assembled by hand. Few shops can reliably mount SMD components > automatically on both sides, and ever fewer are located inside the > USA. The smaller the component, the fewer assembly houses that can handle it too. If you can go with 1206 smd, you are able to use more board houses than if you go smd 603. Likewise, the smaller the part. Some part placement machines will drop those tiny grain of sand sized parts, so you will probably need more (spare) parts to stuff a board. > I always mount SMD on top side, then install bottom SMD manually, > finally top or bottom sided thru-connectors manually, I have almost > NO confidence in SMD conectors. You shouldn't have confidence in them. You are basically relying on a blob of solder to hold the component in place, which tends to go brittle as it is repeatedly stressed during time... add to that, you are relying on the copper pad to stay firmly in place, and that is not trustworthy enough considering you sometimes need a lot of heat to remove connectors (pad can become semi-unglued during heating). Thru-hole is the only reliable way to go if you plan on long-life connectors. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist