Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

[ryn404]

Does anyone have any soldering techniques for small flat chip capacitors?
caps similar to these

http://media.digikey.com/photos/Keme...L,4.3W_sml.jpg

i am trying to solder them onto tracks but im trying to find any tried and true techniques before doing so...im just using a 60w solder gun with a fine tip

[selldoor]

Re: Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

http://store.curiousinventor.com/gui..._Soldering/101

[ryn404]

Re: Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

sweeet! THANKS!

[mariushm]

Re: Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

EEVblog #186 - Soldering Tutorial Part 3 - Surface Mount

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FC9fAlfQE

[joe4227]

Re: Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

I viewed the video, and that made me more comfortable. However I still have one problem. The Caps I am replacing are top-hat shaped metal cans. I think the lead spacing on the SM Caps is wider.

Has anyone run into this? I feel like the proverbial "square peg, round hole" syndrome is work!

[severach]

Re: Soldering techniques for flat chip capacitors?

SMD Electrolytic caps are quite difficult. How to do them depends on quality. When I'm ripping them off boards to be discarded I apply an iron to each lead and push twist the caps off. This destroys the boards and about 30% of the caps too but it's fast. SMD ceramic and tantalum come off the same way but with no board or cap damage.

High quality removal and installation of SMD electrolytic caps requires heating the board behind the cap with hot air. This and some flux allows a light touch from the two irons to melt the solder outside to inside and the part desolders quickly before the heat can damage the cap. SMD electrolytic should be melted on both sides at once because the long flat unmelted side does not allow the cap to be lifted up when only one side is melted. If you're going to destroy the old cap by using one iron why not just rip it off the board with a pliers and remove the leads one by one the easy way? That's not such a good idea because lands are often small and small lands don't have much glue holding them on. The part itself may be glued to the board. Heat helps soften this glue.

SMD caps are easy to install with just one iron so long as one land is clear of solder. Preheat the board, melt and drop the fluxed cap into the solder pool. The other side solders as normal.

Sometimes boards are traced for both SMD and through hole caps. I pick through hole every time.