Tim O'Neill

Tim O'Neill has submitted responses to the following questions.

Mixing Different SAC305 Solders
I wouldn't have solder joint reliability concerns, but there can be performance differences between vendors due to material inputs and ...

Competing Reflow Oven Zones
The 'recipes' that are included in profiling software are provided as a user convenience. They should not be relied on ...

Exposed Copper Defect
Per IPC 610G 5.2.1 "Soldering Anomalies - Exposed Base Metal" Some printed circuit board and conductor finishes have different wetting ...

Application Using No-Clean and Water Soluble Fluxes
This process is NOT recommended. While there's not enough information to know all of the liabilities, there are several areas ...

Reflow Oven - 5 Zone or 8 Zone
A longer oven with more zones will provide more capability and flexibility to the reflow process. Meaning, assemblies with a ...

Insufficient Barrel Fill on Through-hole Components
There are a number of variables that would need to be addressed to provide specific guidance, but here are some ...

Specific Solder To Control Dendritic Growth
It is not uncommon for contract assemblers to use multiple solder pastes based on customer requests. However, doing so can ...

Recommended Solder Paste Aperture Configuration
Successful ultra-fine pitch printing as required for 008004 and 01005 components pushes the boundaries of current paste, stencil and equipment ...

Selective Solder System Purchased At Auction
This is a relatively easy fix as selective pots are usually 100 pounds or less. Simply fill the pot with ...

Application of Flux for Hand Soldering
In addition to the method of application and perhaps more importantly, 'Is the flux appropriate for the application?' If no ...

Mixed Process Solder Joint Appearance, Smooth or Grainy?
Without knowing the component type and plating it's difficult to make any general statements. For example, NiPd plated parts (TI ...

Tough Hand Soldering Problem
Assuming wire solder is being used and not solder paste the temperature of the work environment would not be the ...

Viscosity of Solder Paste Before Printing
Solder paste viscosity varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and from product to product. This makes it impossible to make a ...

Solder Paste Prep Before Use
Refrigerated storage is always preferable to room temperaturestorage as it ensures the paste is stored in a controlled environment andlengthens ...

Tiny Solder Balls After Reflow
I have more questions than answers and without more information this response is speculative. Here are a few places to ...

Cleanliness Testing
Aside from visual inspection, the industry accepted practice of ROSE/Ionograph testing remains the standard for testing in the production environment. ...

Pin in Paste Solder Dropping
In order to maximize the paste available in pin & paste operation there are some key considerations. The pin to ...

Solder Paste Past Shelf Life
If the solder paste appears normal after allowing it to come to room temperature, with no visible separation... it's probably ...

Excess Flux Residue After Hand Soldering
Flux residue is proportional to the percentage of flux in the wire and the amount of wire fed into the ...

What Causes Component Rotation During Reflow?
Component skewing is the result of unbalanced surface tension of the molten solder acting on the component. There are multiple ...

Extending Shelf Life for Jars of Solder Paste
Some paste manufacturers will re-certify material by running a sample through the same QA tests used during initial production i.e. ...