Soldering a Mechanical Keyboard PCB Using Reflow

[@the_perigoso]

Stencils are stainless steel not aluminum fyi, sorry. Great content!

[@hadi--]

Makes sense given how rigid it was, and I am definitely trying to be more diligent during script writing these days. Pinned!

[@a1nelson]

Great video series. Minor assembly tips: if you preheat the board a little bit, either in a conventional oven at a low temperature or by using the hot air gun at a greater volume and distance, the actual, per-component reflow will go a lot easier. Reflowing discrete components and the MCU are properly done from above, as you showed in the video. They are designed to take very high heat and are able to dump it back into the board after the solder balls liquefy. For plastic components, such as connectors, think hard whether you really want to use hot air. There's a good chance it will be faster and easier to mount them with a plain-old iron. If you decide to use hot air, in almost all cases, it's better to apply the air from the side, directly on the pin or pins, avoiding as much of the plastic as possible. As you are aware, the hot air being applied using the technique shown is substantially higher than the components were designed to tolerate. Many such parts will melt, bubble, deform and/or ultimately malfunction as the entire part is being heated up (overheated), when the real goal was just to solder down a few, small pins. Watching discrete components align themselves due to surface tension is entertaining, but for larger parts, it's better to apply a tiny dab of adhesive while positioning them, before starting the actual reflow. (This is also done in industry, albeit for a slightly different reason.) Then, they won't move around on you as you blast the pads from the side - as opposed to heating from above. This technique is faster overall and is also the least harmful for the components. Finally, to clear solder bridges, the fastest, easiest way is to, somewhat paradoxically, apply a little bit _more solder to the pins with your iron, remove any excess solder the tip (you have a steel wool cup, right?) and then simply run the iron over the pins a second time. Surface tension is once again your friend; the bridges and newly added solder will hop right onto the soldering iron train as it rolls on through.

[@hadi--]

All good tips! Don't know if I'll be doing assembly by hand anymore, though.

[@epico5805]

Wow this is exactly what I needed! I'm just starting out and I want to learn how to design a pcb. You're like the only youtuber that makes quality understandable videos about this.

[@hadi--]

Awesome, thank you for the kind words, Epico!

[@ayriana22]

Poor man's Meekrovision. I like it! Nice job on the build :)

[@sixdeuces6825]

Very good content. Looking forward to more! Also, International Harvester wants their logo back. ;)

[@hadi--]

Honestly, I had no clue what IH was until you highlighted the company, but I'd like to think my monogram is different enough to fend off litigation :D Thanks for watching, and stay tuned!

[@ericbecourt4699]

Thank you for your great build video! And yes it is a long process to do all that by hand :D

[@stuntbum]

Fantastic job on this presentation! I’m grateful for the clarity and thorough research involved with this series.

[@hadi--]

I'm grateful for you

[@sethamoto9061]

Very professional self presentation and overall video quality

[@hadi--]

Thank you

[@1stGarden]

Fantastic and informative video for people trying to understand what all these PCB design terminology really means.

[@hadi--]

Glad it was helpful!

[@WhiteTeaPoison8998]

Sir you are a legend. I wish I had the mind set to learn what you have learnt. Respect

[@hadi--]

No mind, just time and stubbornness.

[@adrien4337]

Well ... this video is so great, usefull and well made that you are now my favorite youtuber ^^ in addition it's an alice pcb, you are awesome bro don't change.

[@hadi--]

You are too kind

[@bell8492]

Brilliant. Thank you for sharing

[@hadi--]

No problem, Bell! Thanks for watching.

[@Ctulhu911]

I just bought soviet swithces in hope that i can make a functioning keyboard out of it. You videos are really informative, i don't really know much about electronics but you really helping me to do my research!

[@hadi--]

Glad to hear it!

[@harmonicposting]

once you have time after completing the PCB design series, I'd love to see the stacked acrylic case tutorial! Been meaning to try it myself, after months of failed research on polycarbonate cases and how they're manufactured. I just wanna make an icy case :( but a super clear case would also be badass

[@erosenfeld9264]

You can make stacked acrylic cases to be frosted. I think you just have to take sandpaper to it.

[@hadi--]

Maybe sometime soon

[@sethamoto9061]

Beautiful video and great job

[@hadi--]

Thank you

[@jimf.9756]

Awesome Video, very nice explanation. :) I especially like the great detail and step by step. Would love to see more content regarding board design. Very cool build !

[@hadi--]

Hey J.F., thanks for the kind words! And that's the plan for now. Stay tuned!

[@jimf.9756]

Hadi Iskandarani , didn‘t see the second video at first, but when I did, I was really hyped. Really looking forward to it !

[@hadi--]

​@@jimf.9756 soon! The voiceover script and primary filming are all complete for Pt. 2, and I'm cutting everything now. I was aiming for weekly uploads but would rather do as good of a job as possible.

[@activemotionpictures]

This is amazing. So inspiring! Thank you for sharing all these details for the keyboard build.

[@hadi--]

You're welcome

[@iammeuru]

I love it! That's a great video.

[@hadi--]

Hey, thanks, iammeuru! It means a lot, really.

[@iammeuru]

@@hadi-- it is meaningful when content aims to lower the bar of entry to an aspect of our hobby by educating. Please keep up the great work.

[@ferguscatley447]

Cool video. Looking forward to the next video

[@hadi--]

Thanks!

[@sethamoto9061]

9:43 I nearly had a heart attack when I saw c7 trying to escape from its pads lol

[@hadi--]

Run away

[@Andy-rq6rq]

Great quality video! also very educational

[@hadi--]

Much appreciated!

[@notjndatz]

All your videos are so helpful and have sent me on my journey. What brand solder paste did you use or do you recommend?

[@hadi--]

Hey thanks, Jonathan! Any brand should work pretty similarly when used with a stencil, especially if the material compositions are identical. Chip Quik is budget-friendly if you're doing a small run, but consider upgrading to Kester for more extensive projects. Just make sure to check if the paste needs any type of refrigeration (temperature stable), and note that lead-free options will require slightly more heat to reflow properly.

[@a1nelson]

@@hadi-- Agree. Chip Quik and Kester are both well-established, reputable brands. Both have a fairly wide variety of good products. I've used them for ages with good success. If one is new to electronics, it's worth a bit of time to review the options - even if it's just to gain familiarity with the design choices - and then select the one most appropriate for your project. The one gripe I have with Chip Quik paste is its rather short shelf life - about 6, maybe 9 months, tops - even when carefully storing it according to their recommendations. Regardless, I still use it, as I do like its performance when it's new, or at least new-ish.

[@hanzo0252]

Very nicely shot, and I love the video, but no - I think I will stick to soldering components on. Did that with surface mount before and it really isn't that terrible. I'd say no more fiddly than what you went through.

[@hadi--]

Both are good options.

[@ddrfraser1]

Noice. Keep it coming.

[@hadi--]

Hey, thanks Drew! I definitely have more content in the works.

[@pinch-of-salt]

How do you make the acrylic case??

[@yasirahmad7032]

Sir kindly reupload the deleted series (Mechanical Keyboard Design ) , really helpful for us

[@hadi--]

There are much better videos about EDA on the platform. "How to use [EDA software name]" returns a ton of results! I'd recommend starting there.

[@caesarsol]

Greatly enjoyed your videos! Question, how is the keyboard connected with the computer? The JST header is only for flashing, right?

[@hadi--]

There's a daughterboard I mentioned

[@kouheimassey]

Have you tried an actual oven for heating a board? When repairing old iMac GPU's, a solution is to reseat everything my heating it in a normal oven

[@hadi--]

Solder is often leaded. Not advisable if you actually want to use the oven afterwards for food.

[@lauer2356]

Those boxes you have for the pcb components look nice. Where could I find them?

[@hadi--]

Adafruit! They're Wen Tai SMT boxes.

[@todologic]

@@hadi-- The thing I don't understand about those boxes is why the decided to go with a hazy plastic for the lid. It makes it difficult to see the inside unless you open it. And while I have min labelled, colors and shapes help for rapidly identifying a component. :(. No matter the provider or where I buy them they are the same.

[@bruinv3738]

Interesting videos, thanks. What is the cost to have keyboard pcbs made by jlcpcb?

[@hadi--]

JLC's minimum order quantity was five when I ordered, so the unassembled boards came out to around $6 a piece shipped. The stencil was an extra $12 or so, with components (not from JLC) for each running at about $30. This pricing does not include any of the organizers or equipment used, though, and your pricing may vary depending on the size and complexity of your project.

[@cullensaquarium]

Hey hadi, help needed :( I've knocked one of the switch diodes off the back of my arisu (D17) I don't know the spec of what I need to buy, I'd be super happy if you could help me out I Didn't realise anything was wrong, until I flashed the board and saw D wasn't working in via, checked the back of the board, oops regards Tom

[@hadi--]

GitHub repo says SOD-123 1N4148s. 1N4148W-E3-08.

[@cullensaquarium]

@@hadi-- Excellent dude! many thanks

[@protieus]

Do you have a github repository for the pcb gerber files?

[@hadi--]

No, sorry. You should be able to find plenty of other alternatives, though.

[@fattoaddrew2907]

do you have the BOM files by chance? Thanks, Jake

[@hadi--]

No, but I'll be going through assembling one in the PCB Design Series!

[@Aldarris]

Went through all this with an XMMX pcb and couldnt get the DFU bootloader to pop up 😭

[@hadi--]

What's that?

[@roiglinik4816]

Any place to get this keyboard?

[@hadi--]

My house