I thought it would be much more complicated than that. I might try that myself.
Great video, thank you!
This video is nice, but i use a different way to do it. i will try to make a video on myself to show you how i do it on your own. I think that my method is simpler and basically, better. The reason that my method is better is that you have both your hands free, you don’t use a soldering iron and you don’t stretch the pcb, which might cause damage to it.And the most important, i press the led down to the pcb while soldering, in order to squeeze out the soldering paste that is not needed, so as to create a minimum thermal path between the led and the pcb. I will go to test my macro cameras abilities and i will try to record it!
I noted that you had to lay solder on three different strips. If one of these strips connects with the other, will it short! That looks hard.
I watched a video on YouTube by Cutter Electronics, and they layed down one strip of solder accross all three bars.
I’m very confused. I thought you just set the LED onto a drop of solder and heated it until it sat down.
Yes, there are three different pads. The one in the center is the heatsink pad and the ones on the sides are positive and negative. The reason it is fairly easy to do is due to surface tension (I think that is what I should call it here), the solder which is liquid would rather bead up where it will stick than spread out. This is the same thing that happens with water when it beads.
In this video bu Cutter Electronics, they lay solder accross all three strips?
One of these should work. Sometimes ipad links aren’t the same as regular.
Great video. I learned something today!
I just reflowed my first led today using a Old Lumens video as a guide. Was kind of forced to do it.
I had spent a little bit sanding down a 16mm led to fit in a C3 it was a xpe warm white well I guess somewhere in the the process I messed up the led. It would no longer light so I used pulled the xpe led off the filed down board. I had a xpg warm white on a 20mm board and was not about to file it down so I pulled it off the 20mm board and put it on the newly filed down board and reflowed it on to it. IT WORKED even when I was done!!!
THANKS OL!!! I finally was able to recreate something that you made a video on!!! Now maybe someday I can do the copper sinkpads and maybe even fit those all those copper pieces together for the AA Mag
Can’t see the video, but I think it’s a matter of everyone does it different and whatever works. As long as the end result is achieved, I don’t think it matters. I will have to watch it after work, if I can remember.
I do it one strip at a time because that works for me. Sometimes on a small led, I will lay solder on all three at one time. The solder is only going to stick to the metal, not the white layer, so as long as all three have a tiny bit of solder, that's all that is needed. You could even put solder on the bottom of the led. I do that on them sometimes. Some of the leds I have gotten look like they have a film on them, like they sat around a long time and they don't want to stick, so I run the soldering iron across those tabs, just to put a hint of solder on them. I usually put some solder on my iron and dab it off, then run it across the pads, so it just gives them a silver look to them and they work better when soldering to the star pads.
this is encouraging… OL makes it look so easy even a caveman could do it (the caveman is me LOL)
Give it a try you never know it may be easy! Figured i didnt have anything to lose! Was not ever going to use that 20mm xpg anyways. It worked alot betelter then expected so much so that i ordered an xml2 from IS. now here is the real test!
it’s really not hard, although I use my electric hob instead. Solder paste makes it even easier, but the main thing to remember is to only barely tin/ cover the 3 pads. You can force any excess out the side of the LED (it’ll never bridge the pads) but that’s a hassle to do before the solder cools. If you do put too much on and the LED won’t settle down onto the star (sits too high, lopsided etc), then just press it down with a pair of tweezers placed on opposite corners, then remove from the heat. The excess solder blobs out the side and you can then just scrape it off with the tweezers.
I’m feeling confidence welling up inside me.
Now, while you are talking about, I feel it too. :bigsmile:
Sorry, that’s not confidence. It’s just last night’s pizza dinner. J)
Well the confidence is still goin (maybe the enchiladas). Well did an xre today not as easy getting off the 20mm star went on the 16mm pretty easy but think got it to hot and clouded the dome area.
Sounds like a good reason to de-dome it…
I tried reflowing like OL tonight with my new Weller. I know it puts out more than enough heat for the job, but it just wouldn’t work. I finally put it in a frying pan.
I think my problem is that the all metal ” Helping Hands” I’m using to hold the star is just sucking all the heat up. Maybe something like a vise grips with thick leather pads glued onto the jaws to hold the star would be better. Would a stumpier soldering tip help transfer heat easier?
thanks, very nice video.
The jaws on my vise have leather on them. It isolates the heat, so the heat stays in the star.