Towards a better PCB...

[Wond3rboy]

Hi i have been having problems with desoldering home made PCBs.In my case it is effectively forbidden because when i desolder any component, its pad comes away with it.Do other people face the same problem or is is just because of inferior board quality.I use wire traces of .02 inch for connections and put via's of 0.086 inches on components that have small pads.

 

[crutschow]

You have be careful about the amount of heat you apply to the pad. A temperature controlled soldering iron is best for this purpose.

 

[Wond3rboy]

I will try that.Thanks.

 

[3v0]

How the part put was put in determines how much damage you will do when removing it. When soldering parts with wire leads keep the leads at a right angle to the PCB. Doing so will keep the leads from pulling on the solder pads while removal.

Some PCB stock is more prone to pad lifting then others. I have some stuff from Electronic Goldmine (most of there stuff is/was good) that will lift the traces if you look at it. I never use it for prototyping, just proven designs and then never fine pitch parts. This stuff has some sort of soft white plastic substrate.

 

[DirtyLude]

The only time I have ever lifted a pad was when using really small pads and thin traces. I think it's the PCB quality that really helps with this. The only stuff I use is MG Chemicals copper clad, just because it's convenient to get it from a local B&M store.

 

[Wond3rboy]

Thanks for the tip 3V0.As far as PCB quality is concerned we only get Chinese boards there is really not much choice.Will try to look for a better ones though.

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

I used to make my own pcbs and had similar problems. The temp controlled iron will help a lot (I like the inexpensive Hakko), but the real problem is that you're dealing with single sided boards. Either make the pads quite a bit bigger than what you see others use for double sided boards, or just send out for double sided boards with plated through holes. That's all I bother with now, even if it only has traces on one side. For single sided boards I'd rarely use a pad smaller than 0.1" just for the repair reasons.

CH