Homebrew PCBs

"art_lammoglia" <art_lammoglia@...> writes:
> I was wondering if anyone here has attempted home reflow
> (toaster/hotplate) soldering of a fine pitch device on a non-
> soldermasked board? All comments appreciated.

I do 0.5mm pitch without mask on a hotplate.  At that fine a pitch,
the mask doesn't really help much anyway.  Just use some solder wick
if there are any shorts.

I've also done some tiny QFN parts that way, but I don't recall the
pitch (they were for a friend).

Even on boards I've done through fab houses, the pins are often too
close together to put mask between them anyway.

Getting the right amount of paste on the pads is somewhat important,
and if you can ensure the paste doesn't bridge the pads, it helps keep
the solder from bridging.  I use a sharpened toothpick between pads to
wipe out any bridging paste..