"Tacking"

[Mike B]

Is something I learned from a tech at a job I had a long time ago.

You solder each part to a PC board one at a time.  Don't bend over any leads, they are all perfect straight up center of pad.

You put a blob of solder on the tip of the iron, hold the part down with a finger and apply the blob to the pad/wire and remove.  This "tacks" the part to the board with a cold joint.  You then turn the board over and solder the untacked lead normally and then the cold tacked joint.

I have been using this technique ever since I learned it 20 years ago.  It works well and I like not having to solder a porqupine.  You can access the joint from any angle you want and you don't have to work thru the "forest of leads"

Anyone else doing this?

 

[Armaegis]

It depends on how many components I'm putting on and how picky I feel about bent leads. If it's only a few components then I like to make it as clean as possible. However, most of the time I'm stuffing a bunch of components in all at once, so I put in a handful that are all the same height without bending the leads, use a small piece of paper or cardboard and flip the whole thing over, then solder the leads from there. Usually the weight of the board on the table is enough to hold everything in place.

Sometimes if I'm using helper hands, I'll actually use mini spring hair clips to hold that piece of cardboard on. This only works for small boards though. For bigger boards I resort to tacking or more often gently bending leads outwards. Actually, I just don't bend them all the way in the first place, rather I let the springiness of the leads hold the component in place. It's a bit trickier to get the angles just right, but I find it much faster and the lead angles aren't as severe.

 

[Grainger49]

Mike,

Let me get this straight, you solder with the leads straight up, on the underside of the board then solder on the top of the board where there are no traces or pads?

I am a bit confused, probably because I'm in your age bracket and things are fuzzy.

 

[Mike B]

No problem, it was late and now I see I didn't word it that well.

You prep (right angle bend) the leads as usual.  Then put the part in the board.  Then you hold the part against the board with a finger and tack one lead on the lead side.

This holds the part in place (cause the leads are not splayed) and then you solder the untacked lead normally and then the cold tacked one.

 

[Grainger49]

Mike,

Got you now.  I understand.  I hate unsoldering a lead that is bent 90 degrees from straight through.