I soldered 0201 LEDs.

[craigolio1]

That’s it. I’m super excited. I didn’t think I would be able to do it. They are so small!

 Craig.

[MK]

Aren't you going to take a photo of it on top of a quarter?  I thought that was a TRW tradition. 

[peteski]

Photo or it didn't happen!  Or better yet, a video of you soldering. 

Seriously though - congratulations!  I haven't tried soldering the 0201s yet.

[wvgca]

how about this photo .. smd leds with a resistor attached ,, ??

[peteski]

Meh. It is nice to have a resistor there, but that is a PLCC2 LED (a giant LED compared with a 0201 LED).   
That resistor itself is likely larger than the 0201 LED.  Probably a 0603 size resistor.

[wvgca]

the resistor is probably a 402, and yes, the LED is bigger than a 201, but still an smd led ...
still a feat of soldering for me, the wire is standard wire wrap solid wire .. at least there's a photo!
these were ditch lights on a HO diesel ...that's a finger off to the left

[peteski]

the resistor is probably a 402, and yes, the LED is bigger than a 201, but still an smd led ...
still a feat of soldering for me, the wire is standard wire wrap solid wire .. at least there's a photo!
these were ditch lights on a HO diesel ...that's a finger off to the left

Congratulations wvgca.  We all have different levels of abilities, and as you said - you have a photo to prove you did it. 

[John]

Nice job .. I stopped soldering things this small ..

[Maletrain]

For those of us considering soldering 0201s, but not having worked up the courage to do it, do you have any tips, tricks, or other advice to pass down to us struggling newbies?

[wvgca]

For those of us considering soldering 0201s, but not having worked up the courage to do it, do you have any tips, tricks, or other advice to pass down to us struggling newbies?

two suggestions that i can think of 1] hold leds with double sided tape or similar 2] use a fine fine tip on your soldering iron, lol

[craigolio1]

My camera in my phone stopped working so no pics. But hopefully soon.

I used a soldering station that has a lighted magnifier, with a third hand under it. Third hand holding an Ngineering soldering aid. #38 magnet wire.

I try to post pics soon.

Craig.

[peteski]

two suggestions that i can think of 1] hold leds with double sided tape or similar 2] use a fine fine tip on your soldering iron, lol

Good suggestions.  You also have to be very fast, not to damage the LED, and because double side tape adhesive does not work well when heated.  Pre-tin the ends of the wire to make it easier to solder.

[craigolio1]

Ok here goes.

Just for the record I had bad luck with both tape and my fine tip. For the tape, the tip has to be so close to the surface that the glue turns to liquid and or a hole is melted through the tape. Plus there is no way hold the wire close to the LED without using my hand which is too shaky. I use a Weller Portasol butane powered iron which is as hot as the sun and not the right iron for this but I love it and have been doing quite well with it. I turn it’s horribly inaccurate temperature control to half for this work.

I use the Ngineering LED soldering aid and a small chisel tip on my iron. My fine tip has kind of a bulb shape at the tip and the solder gathers behind it so I have to touch the side of the iron to the led in-order to get it to wick in. Peteski made a good point in that the iron is hot so you have to be fast. I put a bubble of solder on the end so the iron itself doesn’t touch the LED. Just the bubble of solder. Other ways would work fine. This way works for me.

First I load the LED into the alligator clip.




Then I apply a little flux paste to the pad with a toothpick. Next I hold the #38 wire (pre-tinned and trimmed) on the pad with my wrist resting on the table so it’s steady. The third hand is holding the soldering aid about 2” off the table.
I put a bubble of solder on the end of my iron and solder the wire to the pad very quickly.



Next I load the LED into the fixture from the other direction.




Then I load the other wire in as well, first the white clip to get the wire in right beside the other, then the bare metal clip to align it with the pad. I use a knife tip to align it.  Add a dab of flux and solder.



And then test. It’s not super bright in this pic as you are looking at the back of the LED.



I’ve only done three, but it cost me five.  I lost two. One shot out of the soldering aid and went to another dimension. And the other wasn’t in the aid securely enough and got sucked out into the blob and became one with the iron. Its been my experience soldering a lot of 0402, that I lose about a quarter of them. So I figure with 0201 I should plan to lose half of the LEDs to mishaps. So with 3/5 success I’m doing OK!

The obligatory dime shot with the comparison to a massive 0402 LED.



It takes me about 20 minutes to solder one.

Hopefully this helps someone get into this or inspires someone to teach me a better way!

 Craig.

[CNR5529]

Well done sir!

[C855B]

Great work, Craig! Incredible pictures, awesome documentation of the process. I shall get an order off to Ngineering.com for their LED helper tool (and other supplies) forthwith!

Many thanks. I clicked on the up-arrow about a dozen times, but, alas, it only registered the first one.