My new SMD soldering jig

Actually, this came to me by accident. I knew that with so many Cylon Raider PCBs that needs to be soldered, the normal way of sticking it to a piece of double-sided tape and making them less tacky does not work anymore. So, I have to think big, as in production line big. But how?

The first idea was to have a turntable. This would solve my first problem of the double-sided tape. It is very troublesome and time consuming ripping the PCB off and putting it back on another angle every time I need to solder a new component or, troubleshoot. And if the tape is sometimes less tacky, pulling the PCB off by force would mean accidents with the components. By having a turntable, I can eliminate this problem.

Secondly, with the double-sided tape, I can only work on one PCB at a time. By having a turntable with a large 'table' in theory, I can eliminate this problem too.

And so, by accident, I saw this for sale at the Multifilla counter. Initially, I was there to look for some clear 2mm acrylic rods which, ran out. Then, the Plastruct ladders are also, 'out of stock' as well.

Anyway, for RM20.00, this is worth it because, its not easy to find any used 5 ¼ Hard Discs where I stay and a real 'Lazy Susan' is out of the question too since its too big. So, this is a nice solution, where, a gutted hard disc space serves as a base for the upturned motor.

Alas, in my limited time, I could not go to the Pasar Road shop which sells the round glass covers for rice cookers (yes, it does exist) as the table and so, I got a Rm1.00 metal dish instead. It needs to be either metal, porcelain or glass since I am using a soldering iron on them. Unfortunately, the curved rim of the dish is causing some problems, which affected the quality of the soldering. I need to find another 'table'. Fast.

The tiredness of it all



Kaelynn had a very exciting night. This was the scene after we came back to the house from dropping Kristine off to school.