On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 2:51 PM, Mark Rages wrote: > Go to the hardware store and buy 0.003" brass sheet stock. =A0( 0.08mm > for you metric achievers.) =A0 Then you can etch holes in it using > normal hobbyist PCB processes. =A0A metal stencil is much nice to use > than one made from mylar or kapton. Like Wouter I get my boards made elsewhere. I don't really want to get back into etching. I might be able to find someone else to cut them for me though. I would imagine the metal ones last longer and don't wear as much as the plastic ones. > I think hobbyists worry too much about temperature profiles. =A0If you > are a manufacturer building thousands of iPhone circuit boards, then > having a few bridged pins or tombstoned passives on each board is a > complete process failure. =A0For a hobbyist, its no big deal to fix up a > couple minor issues per board, and probably a lot easier than futzing > around with PID controllers and ramp rates. (I admit building a > controller sounds kinda fun.) > > I use a $20 toaster oven using the same temperature profile > recommended for bagel preparation. =A0It works fine. Good to know. Does the bagel setting only use the top elements? > For double sided boards, or heating a small portion of the board for > QFN rework, I have some chunks of aluminum I arrange over the board to > absorb heat in the places I don't want the solder melted. Can you explain a little bit more about how you use this for double sided? On toasters I've seen bagel mode usually means only the top elements. This might be helping you with double sided and is a really interesting idea. I think setting it to broil might also do a similar thing. Josh --=20 A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 -Douglas Adams --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .