15
Lead free solder on microcontrollers
(lemm.ee)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
15 points (94.1% liked)
ErgoMechKeyboards
5686 readers
5 users here now
Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
No Spam
No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.
No Buy/Sell/Trade
This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.
Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
These are great questions!
I'm going to break down my response into two sections:
Don't breathe flux, if you can do your soldering outside. If you can't, put an extraction fan by your workstation, so the fumes don't get inhaled. If you want to be extra safe, wear a face mask, and gloves will soldering and working with the chemicals. When you're done working on the board wash your hands thoroughly
If you know the entire build process is lead-free, I don't see any issues of touching the board during daily use. If you're not sure if it's entirely lead-free, you can put a chloroformal coating on top of the board, usually used for waterproofing, but that'll prevent you from having direct contact with any of the heavy metals. You can use hot glue as well. Chloroformal codeine can be dissolved later if you need to redo a joint
Unless you're a large manufacturing laboratory, it kind of sucks to work with lead-free solder, you have to use higher heats, it requires more technical skill. Especially if you're new to soldering, I would recommend using leaded solder anyway. Just don't breathe it, don't touch your face, wash your hands after. The lower temperature will give you a higher chance of success.
In either circumstance, get a practice old circuit board, desolder and solder things until you're comfortable with your heat management. You want to use the least amount of heat will still getting the job done
Thank you very much for answering.
I believe the pcb is lead free as I got it from jlcpcb and they have it written in the package of each side that they’re lead free. The solder itself is also lead free from a reputable electronic store near where I live so I think it should be safe. I live in an apartment so it will be tricky to do it outside, I may try to solder it where my cooktop is as I can turn on the range hood to suck the bad air up.
Do I need to clean the flux that comes with the solder or it’s not that big of a deal? I’d expect that touching it when dry would be safe as well right?
The problem with flux is that it is corrosive. If you use just the flux in the solder it shouldn't be much of a deal, but if you use more flux I recommend washing it off.
I use 99.9% Isopropanol or an ultrasonic cleaner with water for this. If you use water do not use soap or anything else just water. Also make sure it is completely dry before connecting to power.
Oh. Thanks. I’ll use the flux in the solder only. I’m quite a noob at that so I just got the soldering iron and the solder. I will see about getting the alcohol and use a toothbrush to clean it off after.