How to Solder QFN MLF chips Using Hot Air without Solder Paste and Stencils

This video demonstrates how to solder .5mm pitch QFN chips using only hot air and a soldering iron, without solder paste or a stencil. It also discusses hot air temperature and air settings, and flux type.
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[@OriginalJetForMe]

This is a fantastic video. Very nicely produced, doesn't waste time, covers the alternatives before getting into the real content. Outstanding.

[@jpabmx]

I'm not sure if people realize just how small these qfn's really are. It's amazing to see this done with a solder stick!

[@DucatiDude1198S]

I am really happy I stumbled upon this video. I have been soldering and repairing motherboards for years and this is very similar to how I do certain chip replacements. I don't often meet many people that even in this type prototyping spend the time to understand what is important and why. You are sure to have fewer failures and possibly next to none. Professional Video and Kudos.

[@iamwilliamb]

Very good video. I love how clear you are on the explinations.

[@susie3702]

many thanks for posting this video I have never tried to solder these types of chip as I believed it to be beyond my skill level but after watching I think I am able to give it a try using the tips you have here. Regards Poppy Ann.

[@AndrewDodson_AdamsAtoms]

great flow on this how-to. I have a WQFN package I have to use because of its great thermal and current handling properties. I was worried but not any more!

[@seveno1]

retired electronics engineer from the 60s to mid 90s lost touch with latest techniques thanks for a well explained video

[@technoshamanarchist]

Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.

[@notoncemoreagain]

Wow.. Great video. I've always been weary of QFN without the side connectors. Thanks!

[@f5khan]

Best solder tutorial ever.

[@joeclectic]

Brilliant, very well done tutorial videos. So refreshing to see amidst the usual youtube garbage. Thank you!

[@SirDizarm]

Thanks for another good vid. Hope to see more of them,

[@justingreen8006]

Excellent presentation. so clear!

[@BOMBOVA]

good presentation, excellent, another learning moment for me, thanks. Nov. and Dec. is my build board time, going to be better this time out, thanks .

[@yishujia186]

Thank you for the tips! Solder paste is just too expensive. I like this method.

[@carl_84]

Good video quality and very useful explanations. Thanks

[@beautifulsmall]

if you don't have a heatgun . I have drilled a hole through the pcb center pad and used long pads for the connections so solder can be flowed in. Solder the perimiter pads first then the centre from the underside.The centre hole can be large and a copper foil on the underside will heatsink wonderfully. Nice video

[@bli19ful]

Very inspired tutorial! thanks you !

[@MRSketch09]

Well, I have to say I wasn't sure at all what was going on in any detailed manner... because this is not my thing. BUT ... I still enjoyed watching. It was a learning experience.You explained everything nice and clear.

[@callme1000]

thanks for this tutorial, very useful for me.

[@CuriousInventor]

@tkall You'd need to remove surrounding components first (or put them back later!), or cover them with kapton tape. You can also use kapton tape to prevent nearby plastic parts from melting. Surface tension does a remarkable job at keep small neighboring components from blowing away.

[@Denisfk1985]

Thanks for make it excillent toturial!

[@Jez4prez]

thanks for putting in the time to make these videos. I got alot to learn haha

[@MengQiMusic]

Very detailed, thanks!

[@fl4650]

Great video, thanks!

[@FrancescoCapano]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[@telegualin]

Verry nice! More tutorials! Thanks!

[@SMDSchablonen]

This is a nice video , thanks to share with us :)

[@deleteyourcomputer]

Nicely done vid. I have confirmed I won't be doing this.

[@madmax10101]

rly useful vid :) TY for upload

[@tts27a]

thank u. great video.

[@gortnewton4765]

This is a good video. Sorry that I accidentally hit the rate-down when I meant to hit the 'Add-to'.

[@1000und1led]

nice tutorial.

[@ig33ku]

Great vid, add a little help to the prob i am having with my hp compaq lappy that has the nvidia gpu on it. Apparently, the amd cpu overheats n desolders the nvidia gpu. Since it has no lead itself. I tried the oven method of preheating to 200C for 10 mins then turning it off n throwing in the mobo n it helped a bit but i am sure not all the solder joints r connected so i was considering the hot air method. Luckily, u guys released this vid. Gives me more insight on the prob.

[@3mielu88]

for SAC305 the peak temp is around 230 to even 240 degrees. Soaking time about 2-3 mins

[@rdc02271]

Hello, Thanks for uploading these helpful videos. May you please tell me what camera system do you use to zoom in while you are soldering? Thanks, J.C.

[@EfieldHfield_377]

Thank you for a very helpful video. EXCELLENT video quality BTW and well choreographed; its obvious you put a lot of time into this. HELP: I am horrible at QFNs, and I use solder paste. I have more issues with QFNs and cold joints then I do any other package combined, times 10. I use a liquid flux. What type of flux are you using, MFG and MFG PN if you have it handy.

[@CuriousInventor]

@praxeological The meter wasn't measuring temperatures on the chip, so the numbers would have been misleading.

[@38911bytefree]

Brilliant !!!!

[@originalchippy]

Terrific!

[@haeseonii]

Great video. What kind of flux do you recommend?

[@VEC7ORlt]

Awesome, really neat how-to. MLC is rather easy, real pain is doing LGA... they have their pads recessed into the chip... Any comments on those ?

[@killarmy220]

Thanks a lot !

[@zezeA380]

Thanks!

[@DuM4R10]

yes,100% good

[@spleenharvester4four]

Which wattage soldering iron should I use? Also, how do you tin the pads without getting a giant globe of solder across everything?

[@jonhdoe1395]

Excellent video! What microscope are you using?

[@Zeron18]

is it safe to use flux under the board while trying to join the 2 parts together? I'm thinking of doing the same thing to join led boards onto mpcb boards with lux and a hotplate.

[@praxeological]

Why is the display on your meter obscured at 5:35? And thanks for the great vid!

[@TheBypasser]

Well, got a little nervous about soldering a QFN40 IC to be done during the prototype assembly planned for the upcoming week. Is the preheating required in this case? The package is really tiny, guess a standard hot air or even a pentorch method like with other SMD (mainly 0805 and alike) rework would be enough - or am I missing something?

[@TomashPL58]

@anceop Advice - DO NOT TAP a chip when solder is melt. It's making tragic shorts, allso u might use too much temp. It destroys chips usually shortening interior connections. And for third, what about other components? Maybe some condensators in parallel ?

[@winsucker7755]

Subscribed-thakns

[@texdoms]

Hi, thanks for posting this very nice video. Could you tell me when I can buy the flux that you are using in the video along with the exact part number? I have tried a different flux solutions but they dont look as clean as the one you use. Thanks so much!

[@CuriousInventor]

twitter.com/ScottDriscoll/status/558261187553415168

[@anceop]

i tried this method to solder idg500 gyro, initially when i check continuity between vcc and gnd i didn't get short but eventually after some time it gets short. i did this twice and both of the time after using it for 2-3 minutes i get vcc and gnd short. any advice would be great.

[@silvestrealvarezgomora23]

y como se llama el fundente o como lo pido

[@kashturbocivic]

What small pre heater is that?

[@Elamin008]

what the iron temperature @ 0:29 thank you sir that is very educative

[@kallioras]

Amazing video... However you soldered this QFN with no other tiny tiny components nearby. How can someone use the hot air method on logic boards with many components one next to each other, without damaging nearby components?

[@MrVacceo]

¿pueden explicarlo en español ?muchas gracias

[@kuba2ve]

Help! I'm trying to repair a broken micro USB connector in a HTC EVO 4G, I tried to use a Kester 951 Low Solids, No Clean flux... but it EVAPORATES when you put hot air on it!! What kind of flux should I use, and what type are you using in this video?

[@thedest1ny]

PLEASE HELP ME !!!! yesterday i was trying to repair the power switch on my dell inspiron 5160 laptop motherboard and i accidently solderd off a metal pad can this still be fixed???

[@3Own3d]

what is the name of that plastic protector?

[@baruchaviram1521]

What was the tempreture you set?

[@gabrielortizb]

What type or brand of flux do you use?

[@ISMAILHAFIZZH]

11 years old video, I am watching at 2021

[@AgentOffice]

Wow

[@fargreat]

what is the name of crystal liquid that u using before soldering ????/

[@jrcampen]

From Wikipedia: The word solder comes from the Middle English word soudur, via Old French solduree and soulder, from the Latin solidare, meaning "to make solid". The only place in the world its called soder is in America.

[@DannyWilliamH]

Old but good video. However, any beginner should know that you cannot shield a component from heat with kapton tape. The tape itself can withstand high temps, not block high temps in any way. If you cover a plastic connector and blast it with hot air you will melt that connector.

[@FASTBOOBS]

4:49 what is that clear gel?...what for?..what's his name?

[@nicksonyap]

Can I use a jet lighter at a distance instead of a hot air blower?

[@tttuberc]

Please enable the slider on the video. Can't drag back and forth because when I click on it, it goes to YOUR LINKED in page

[@Mudux]

MLF? more like FML

[@yrofbar]

what is a flux?

[@AzVidsPro]

Your finger print is same as mine lol

[@HK50468]

Kapton tape

[@milos1993milos]

WOW,he have exactly the same fingerprint as me

[@exscape]

Small size, low inductance. Not great for hobbyists, but they most certainly have their uses.

[@FatBoySlim696]

I was under the impression you shouldn't touch the leads and such with your fingers. Shouldn't you be holding with tweezers or an air pick? Or maybe lay the part on a surface and point to things with a pick?

[@jrcampen]

Great tutorials, I love it, thanks for your time to make these. My only minor gripe is why do you call it "soder"? There is an L in solder and that's how it is pronounced. Or is this just another stupid miss translation by American speakers? Because everyone else in the rest of the world calls it Solder. as in actually pronouncing the L. Give it a try and see how you go.

[@curiousengineer7126]

Which flux is that?

[@CuriousInventor]

twitter.com/ScottDriscoll/status/558261187553415168

[@TheEgg185]

thats what i saw...

[@coyjones1]

im watching this but dont know why i dont do this

[@fatqwert200]

@fargreat flux

[@Ghlargh]

Great instructions, but you spend a little too much time talking about reflow temperature profiles. From what i can find these profiles are only really relevant with large volume production or extremely special multipart chips such as optical devices. I have soldered hundreds of QFNs with no regard for thermal profiles and only had one fail, and that one was removed and resoldered 3-4 times.

[@bestamerica]

' heat / hot can ruin this black IC chip

[@chuckjls]

This is great video. I guess the 104 down votes are from envious evil competitors.

[@Pahrump]

@aptsys Like if you sold a girl some lemonade. You would say "I sold 'er some lemonade. Thanks!.

[@Sephiroth241415]

who else hthought they saw milf in the title

[@paulkazjack]

I DONT LIKE MLF CHIPS WAAAYY TOO FIDDLY AND UNESSECERY

[@aptsys]

Try saying solder correctly.

[@dalriada842]

There's no such thing as an official pronunciation. Americans pronounce it with a silent "l"; most other native English speakers pronounce the "l". This is just a part of the natural variation in speech. The etymological root of the word is irrelevant. Not only is Modern English highly irregular with regards to spelling, but you ignored the Latin and Old French predecessors, that had an "l"!

[@grande1899]

Dafuq did I just watch?

[@worldentropy]

It happens to be S O L D E R not S A D E R :D

[@WhileTrueCode]

... regional accent, dude. envelope or envelope.. which is correct

[@surajbhawal2474]

Exactly!

[@techkitsune]

Why do we call it 'soder?" Because that's the OFFICIAL pronunciation. The L is MEANT to be silent. Starting back in 1325-75; (noun) Middle English soudour Never was an L in it to begin with.

[@timramich]

It's a silent L in the US because it just sounds stupid if you try to say the L. Keeping the L works with a British accent because it's going to be pronounced like soul-durr. Now with an American accent try saying saal-durr.

[@minamoradi7358]

You speak tooo fast