Soldering near a filled plane

E

eromlignod

Guest
Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?

Don
 
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:46:25 -0700 (PDT), eromlignod <eromlignod@aol.com>
wrote:

Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. A few months ago, our new boss decided he'd have us save
$20 and leave off the solder mask on a prototype board. It was a fairly
simple board but did have a half-dozen TSOPs on it. Our tech wasn't a happy
camper. To save that $20 he wasted several hours; good use of time.

My suggestion is to acknowledge the lesson learned and suck it up. ;-)
 
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:46:25 -0700 (PDT), eromlignod
<eromlignod@aol.com> wrote:

Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?
Click to expand...
A paste/liquid flux might help by assisting the solder in "wetting" the
traces and the ground plane area. It's probably okay, at least in most
spots, for there to be solder on the ground plane as long as it doesn't
bridge to a trace. The flux should help by making the copper areas more
attractive to the solder so that it beads up rather than laying there in
a passive puddle.

Of course, a small tip on the iron and fine gauge solder will help but I
assume you've already tried that?

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
 
eromlignod wrote:
Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?

Don
Click to expand...
Re-order the board with a solder mask, and chalk it up to experience.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

email: hobbs (atsign) electrooptical (period) net
http://electrooptical.net
 
In article <71eb2f4a-2a93-48f0-b198-
934efcb26756@gh5g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,
eromlignod@aol.com says...

[snip]

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?
Click to expand...
Put nail polish on the ground plane? Fumes
might be an issue if the iron hits it.

Kapton tape, if you can find/afford it?
 
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:46:25 -0700, eromlignod wrote:

Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I got
their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done this
before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board, or
do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?

Don
Click to expand...
That's how I order my boards, and I really don't have much problem. Use
a clean, fine-tip iron, a good magnifier (I use an assembly microscope),
and keep the solder-wick handy for when the solder just wants to bridge.

I find that big uninsulated solder plane to be handy when I need
someplace to put a ground probe, or if I need to dead-bug bits of circuit
onto a prototype board.

--
Tim Wescott
Control system and signal processing consulting
www.wescottdesign.com
 
"eromlignod" <eromlignod@aol.com> wrote in message
news:71eb2f4a-2a93-48f0-b198-934efcb26756@gh5g2000vbb.googlegroups.com...
Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?

Don
Click to expand...
Spray the board with clear KRYLON
http://www.krylon.com/products/crystal_clear_acrylic/
Direct contact with the iron vaporizes the coating while leaving outer areas
protected.
 
On 2011-07-15, eromlignod <eromlignod@aol.com> wrote:
Gentlemen:

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?
Click to expand...
try drawing a solder mask on with a permanent marker, or a paint pen.


--
⚂⚃ 100% natural
 
Well, I tried spraying it with conformal coating and it seems to work
well. Thanks for all your help guys.

Don
 
On Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:40:26 -0600, Randy Day <randy.day@sasktel.netx> wrote:

In article <71eb2f4a-2a93-48f0-b198-
934efcb26756@gh5g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,
eromlignod@aol.com says...

[snip]

I recently ordered a PC board from Express PCB and, to save money, I
got their economy-type board that has no solder mask. I have done
this before for small, prototype projects with good results.

But this time I designed the circuit with a filled ground plane around
the traces. The CAD program automatically leaves spaces around the
traces, but not very big spaces. Now I am finding it extremely
difficult to solder without bridging onto the ground plane.

Are there any soldering tricks that will help me salvage this board,
or do I have to pay for a new one with a solder mask?

Put nail polish on the ground plane? Fumes
might be an issue if the iron hits it.

Kapton tape, if you can find/afford it?
Click to expand...
It's not expensive or hard to find. 18 rolls of 1/2" x 108' Kapton tape is
$30 at DigiKey. A single roll of the same is about $6 at Amazon. Wider and
narrower is also readily available.
 
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