P
phaeton
Guest
As a kid growing up in the 1980s i took apart everything i owned or get
my hands on to see what was in it. Toy trucks, R/C cars, tape decks,
computers, game consoles, bicycles, typewriters, my mom's sewing
machine, the lawnmower, etc...
Most of the electronic stuff i took apart in the 1980s and early 1990s
had a lot of "through-hole" style (for lack of better description)
components soldered down onto a (usually) single or double-sided PCB.
Resistors, Diodes, Caps, Transistors and stuff just like we've all got
in our lil plastic trays, with the long leads that you stick through
the hole and solder.
Nowadays (i spend a great portion of the day working on computers) most
electronics stuff i see is mostly miniature surface mount components,
which from a manufacturing standpoint makes lots of sense for a lot of
reasons. There are exceptions, i.e.. caps, crystals, chokes (where
size is a factor in its specification or performance) and high-power
transistors or voltage regulators (large to dissipate heat).
Is there plenty of through-hole stuff still being used in manufacturing
these days, or with manufacturing shifted towards SMD, will
through-hole resistors, transistors, diodes and such start to
grandually become less available and more expensive over the next
several years? I can think of some places where through-hole stuff is
a better option, i.e. protoyping or higher powered stuff. Looking at
the catalog at National, there's no shortage of through-hole stuff in
current production at the moment. I'm sure it'd be a long, slow
process (like decades) to phase out through-hole components completely
and use up all the stock/surplus.
I've spoken with a hobbyist on IRC that claims to build most of his
projects with SMD components- he arranges them on his PCB, applies
solder paste appropriately and sticks it in a toaster oven. He could
be full of crap, i've never seen pics, but i can't think of any reason
why he'd lie about it. He's knowledgeable, helpful, and
well-respected, and doesn't smack of someone just trying to be l33t.
Surface-mount is actually his preference, but to me it seems like that
approach would be more hassle and less fun (disclaimer: i've never done
it that way). Through-hole stuff just seems like it would be so much
easier to work with.
Thoughts?
my hands on to see what was in it. Toy trucks, R/C cars, tape decks,
computers, game consoles, bicycles, typewriters, my mom's sewing
machine, the lawnmower, etc...
Most of the electronic stuff i took apart in the 1980s and early 1990s
had a lot of "through-hole" style (for lack of better description)
components soldered down onto a (usually) single or double-sided PCB.
Resistors, Diodes, Caps, Transistors and stuff just like we've all got
in our lil plastic trays, with the long leads that you stick through
the hole and solder.
Nowadays (i spend a great portion of the day working on computers) most
electronics stuff i see is mostly miniature surface mount components,
which from a manufacturing standpoint makes lots of sense for a lot of
reasons. There are exceptions, i.e.. caps, crystals, chokes (where
size is a factor in its specification or performance) and high-power
transistors or voltage regulators (large to dissipate heat).
Is there plenty of through-hole stuff still being used in manufacturing
these days, or with manufacturing shifted towards SMD, will
through-hole resistors, transistors, diodes and such start to
grandually become less available and more expensive over the next
several years? I can think of some places where through-hole stuff is
a better option, i.e. protoyping or higher powered stuff. Looking at
the catalog at National, there's no shortage of through-hole stuff in
current production at the moment. I'm sure it'd be a long, slow
process (like decades) to phase out through-hole components completely
and use up all the stock/surplus.
I've spoken with a hobbyist on IRC that claims to build most of his
projects with SMD components- he arranges them on his PCB, applies
solder paste appropriately and sticks it in a toaster oven. He could
be full of crap, i've never seen pics, but i can't think of any reason
why he'd lie about it. He's knowledgeable, helpful, and
well-respected, and doesn't smack of someone just trying to be l33t.
Surface-mount is actually his preference, but to me it seems like that
approach would be more hassle and less fun (disclaimer: i've never done
it that way). Through-hole stuff just seems like it would be so much
easier to work with.
Thoughts?
)