New machines arrive at Castle

[brainanator]

Thanks Patrick :)

Thats totally freaking cool and a bit of a mind job also lol! Makes me proud to own a castle product even if it is rebadged by HPI. I wonder what big ass companies like Traxxas use to make all their brushless systems in bulk?

Im confused by the oven. Isn't the solder already placed by the stencil printer? Is it a special solder that stays in paste like form to install components and then once heated and melts and cools, it turns solid once? How can those delicate circuits survive in that high heat which im guess is like 300+ F?

[josh9mille]

Originally Posted by Freezebyte

Thats totally freaking cool and a bit of a mind job also lol! Makes me proud to own a castle product even if it is rebadged by HPI. I wonder what big ass companies like Traxxas use to make all their brushless systems in bulk?

Big companies like traxxas dont really make anything. Everything is farmed out to other production companies. Im betting that Traxxas doesnt even make thier own plastic parts.

Originally Posted by josh9mille

Big companies like traxxas dont really make anything. Everything is farmed out to other production companies. Im betting that Traxxas doesnt even make thier own plastic parts.

Yeah, they are kinda the Wal-mart of the RC community

[Pdelcast]

Originally Posted by Freezebyte

Im confused by the oven. Isn't the solder already placed by the stencil printer? Is it a special solder that stays in paste like form to install components and then once heated and melts and cools, it turns solid once? How can those delicate circuits survive in that high heat which im guess is like 300+ F?

That's exactly right -- the solder paste melts in the oven, and then becomes solid when it cools.

The electronics are designed to withstand the "reflow" temperature (which is the soldering temperature) for several seconds. The oven is designed so that it slowly raises the temp, spikes the temp up for a few seconds (long enough for the solder to melt) then cools the board slowly.

The solder paste is designed to be slightly sticky, to keep the parts in the right place on the circuit board. If it wasn't sticky, the parts would bounce all over the board when the placer was putting down parts.