Reflow with a proper PCB with solder resist.

Clive, I've wanted to make this since seeing your first example of multi colour changing LEDs on a black background in a vid from a long ago. I'd love to buy these as kits, or just PCB and a suggested parts list. Using them for myself and giving them as presents to choice relatives. While re-flowing surface mount resistors makes it a slim package for fitting into a frame, I wonder if offering holes for traditional resistors. Not 100% sure where they would go though. Maybe vertically next to each LED? I currently don't have options for re-flowing at home, hence pondering the other approach.

Put me down for a kit and I'll try the hot-air rework gun approach

Gordo

Nice effect Clive! After sticking the resistors to the board with solder paste, you could pre-heat the board on your hot-plate to 80-100 degrees and use a hot-air rework gun and flux syringe to reflow one resistor at a time Louis-style..

Gordo

I was just eying up some inexpensive picture frames at a store and thought of this project. I want to build one so much that I think I'm just going to shop a big ol piece of perf board and bang one out the long way.

Michael Thompson

Yup cataracts in both eyes, but in Canada the repair is free. You do have to be so blind that you are on the border line of not being allowed to drive though, then they book an appointment for you.

That looks like a similar system. I've asked if they do the smaller version.

Big Clive

I've tried PCBway in the past with good results. I'll probably move between suppliers to give them all a mention for fairness.

Big Clive

It would help accelerate selected pads.

Big Clive

I don't remember that bit on the live stream. What happened? I'm beginning to think that a through hole version is going to be a must. Maybe with eighth watt resistors to help things fit.

Big Clive

I would also purchase a thru-hole kit. My eyes ain't what they used to be, so SMD is hard for me. I also have no way to reflow. Thanks, Clive

Chuck Kirchner

Hello Clive, I don't need one of these populated boards for free, but I would love to have one! I certainly would pay for the components and the cost of mailing to Canada. A through hole resistor model would be great for guys like me who don't really do the surface mount thing, for various reasons. Hey also sorry my attempt at humor on your live feed last weekend didn't go over the way I hoped :(

I'd definitely buy a through hole kit.......well, until I can get to the optician to get new glasses. Through hole would be so much easier to work on at the minute. But would love to try the SMD version eventually. Also Clive - any chance you could a video of the board running through its cycle a few times? It would make a great screensaver!

John Carr

If you care to send one my way, I can test how well it solders with various methods. I have a reflow oven, hot air pencil, IR heater, and iron. Though, just by looking at it, I'm positive it'll be easy to solder for pretty much anybody.

Also, I believe your PCBs curved because you've only got copper on one side. You can leave a cross-thatched plane on the unused side to prevent that.

Clive, if you preheat the PCB to 40C or so, the solder paste will happily stick to it without the need to dilute it.

Still need the template sir. the template ensures good even doses of solder paste/flux mix. you really need it if you want nice clean placement. im sure jlbpcb does the templetes quite low cost

Look at this on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202986884425 looks like yours Clive but bigger

Now I may be wrong here but would a heat gun on low assist in the reflow to heat from above as well as below

I have one of their bigger frames. It's huge, but it made my life a lot easier when I was building large amounts of fairground lighting controllers.

Big Clive

Maybe the center of the hotplate is hotter than the edges. It might help to start with one end of the board over the center of the plate, then edge the board across as the solder flows.

I've got a bag of blinking LEDs on order. Just waiting for them to arrive.

Big Clive

Hey Clive, would be awesome to have kits available in your store! I am guilty of using these LEDs alot too as well as the candle flicker ones.

I've had very good results using a yehua heat gun, of course you need to be mindful of blowing components off their pads. I've thought about using a hot plate to bring up the temperature of the circuit board to below melting temperature, but enough to let the heat gun finish the job more rapidly than otherwise. I also greatly value having a stencil, although that brings its own kind of setup problems and mess. I used to use a dremel tool to route a recess in hardboard to drop the circuit board in so the stencil lays flat, but now i just make due with other circuit boards and tape to prop the stencil up.

Jeremy Impson

I've seen pcb footprints that allow either smd or th resistors.

Jeremy Impson

I recommend PCBWay - https://www.pcbway.com. And as we all know.....PCB stands for Prototype Clive Board.....doesn’t it? 😂

Gadgetman

If you want to send a test kit to someone who is awkward with the soldering iron, I'm your man :)

I have seen where people have taken their 3D printers and replaced the hot end with a cutting laser. What has this to do with your build? Using a cutting laser on a sheet of plastic to precisely cut out the SMD pads would let you smear out the flux paste and deposit it only on the pads (use a thick plastic sheet). The relow would probably be faster and more precise. I bet the board mfr has an option for getting a pre-cut sheet based upon the solder mask they used.

Mike Bird

I would use my heat gun set to low velocity while using that paste on a job like this. I have done so in the past, and it seems to work out reasonably well.

Rocco Rizzo

Visually very pleasing, I am not sure about the smd's though- I think I prefer the old fashioned through hole resistors. It would be good if you could make both circuits (smd and through the hole)available to download, on your website. I have already got a few hundred of these leds, I think they are wonderful in projects.

Mike Hughes

I've built an A4 sized one with random LED placement, inspired by an earlier video. It's a great project. The hotplate reflow "oven" is an easy way to make smd boards without the oven. I'm going to try that. Maybe add a few extra pads (with paste) around the board as "reflow indicators"?

Wim

What when you change them with blinking led’s you ever try this?

Really nice mood light to have. You could stand it close to a wall so it projects upwards.

I would love to build one of these awesome LED artwork 🖼 boards with my 11 year old son for his mom to put on her desk at work!!! That would be fun to help my kid build it up and let him do 90% of the building!!! I’m hoping that you choose me and my almost teenager to send one of these experimental PCBs to hand solder together for his mom!!! Looks Beautiful With The Drifting Colors In A Dot Matrix Pattern!!! Sweet Project!!! I really, really like the cool stuff you make/design/create on your channel & I wish I had someone like you to watch when I was young(I’ll be 40 on 5/30 So I’m Not That Old)!! So then I might have actually learned something about the soldering iron my grandpa 👴🏻 gave me and the soldering gun my dads friend gave me along with a broken Audio Amplifier with which I found the problem with my multimeter I got from my International Correspondence Schools (ICS) PC Repair “Certification” started in 1995 and eventually passed in 1999!! Only thing was I forgot to unplug the damn thing in my excitement at age 15 (1995) to replace the dry capacitor & burnt resistor, And I Was Blown Back In A Shower Of Sparks ⚡️ and was to scared to touch soldering again for nearly 6 years!! Up until I went to DEFCON in 2001 & 2002 where I was able to get hands on experience with competent people helping me get over my fear of electrocution and also strengthening my healthy respect ✊🏻 for Electricity ⚡️ with smart tips and tricks, such as “The One Hand 🖐🏻 Rule!” so your less likely to get zapped and I have played with electronics ever since DEFCON 8 & 9!!! Electronic Badges for DEFCON was my first time to play with crazy customizable electronic devices as your conference badge a few years had a microcontroller and was customizable, but my start was repairing C64’s, TRS-80’s, Apple][‘s replacing capacitors for the most part and I loved every moment of DEFCON!!! I’m sad to see that because of the CoronaVirus DEFCON has Retired Permanently!!! I will always be grateful to the awesome people who helped me get back into soldering and electronics at DEFCON 18 & 19 Years Ago!!!

Zane Revai

Blue and yellow would actually make white, approximately, much as the white LEDs which are blue with a yellow phosphor.

Jason Brinkerhoff

A version of that building frame is still sold on rapid. https://www.rapidonline.com/ideal-tek-pcsa-series-printed-circuit-board-holders-521108

This really reminds me of those light therapy devices (not the SAD lights) for ASD and ADHD. But buying them is overly expensive. I suppose your paying more for the medical/psychological research rather than the technology. A project like this would be great for my autistic brother. He loves electronics and gradual colourshift LED lights really calm him down.

Adam Wesley-August

Definitely interested in giving this project a shot. The solder paste diluted with flux and put through a syringe was a good idea for flowing those SMD resistors on. Great result in the end and the gradual color drift makes the appearance 10x better in my opinion. Impressed it only took 6 days to arrive.

AESFTW

That's good to know they're still available. It's the best assembly frame I've used. I've used PCB way in the past and they've been fine. The temperature was just a guess. I'll have to give it a go at lower temperatures.

Big Clive

Each one has its own very simple oscillator built in for timing, and the manufacturing tolerance is quite wide.

Big Clive

A through hole version would be very COOL for my lego i would build it as soon as it got here

God 420

I would be chuffed to bits to get one of the kits. I would even pay to get a kit with resistors and LED's everything else (cable and fame is easy enough to get locally.

Charles Bruckner

Hi Clive, Those assembly frames are still available but it took for ever to find a supplier. There is a Polish company called TME that has them listed but stock is low right now. Here is the link. https://www.tme.eu/en/details/bl142042/soldering-devices-others/isel/ Part no bl142043 is a larger version and the one I am using. Also, PCBWay will apply solder mask to both sides of a single sided pcb and provide several colors at the same prototyping price. I have used them and JLC and both have had very similar delivery times. I have no affiliation with any of these companies, just wanted to pass on the info. FYI, I have been using that same reflow plate at 210 degree C with good results. Have only had it for about 2 weeks and done 7 boards with no bad joints.

Joseph Rockhill

A through hole version would be very welcome, I'm still on the baby steps when it comes to soldering. Thank you for your kind consideration. 😆

Sorry second question. Why do they drift so much, so quickly.

Neil Tonks

Another great video sir. Could you make them available through your shop? It would cover your costs of having them made. Just the board would do, we can supply all our own components.

Neil Tonks