Populating The Printed Circuit Board - Zeppelin Design Labs MACCHIATO Assembly Manual

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POPULATING THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD

Your work space should be well-lit, well-ventilated, and disposable; that is, don't work on the nice dining
room table! Work on a utility surface that you can burn, drill and scratch. A piece of ¼" tempered
masonite, or a chunk of MDF, makes an excellent surface if you don't have a utility work bench.
CAUTION: Solder fumes are not healthy for you. The fumes consist of vaporized flux, which can
irritate your nose, lungs, and even your skin. You MUST work in a space where the air drifts away from
you as you work, so fumes do not rise straight into your face.
CAUTION: Solder residue usually contains lead, which is poisonous if you ingest it. Do not breathe
the fumes, do not eat the supplies, wash your hands after you handle solder, and sweep and wipe up
your work space after EVERY USE.
Your Macchiato Mini-Synth is built entirely onto one printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB even includes
a built-in capacitive touch keyboard! All of the components will be installed on the "component side"
of the board, which is the side that has the part labels on it. The other side of the board is called
the "solder side," which, as the name implies, is the side on which the legs of the components are
soldered. Proper technique for installing and soldering components to a circuit board is demonstrated
through several great resources on Instructables and Youtube under the search "PCB soldering tutorial."
The general procedure consists of the following:
1. Install the part on the "component side" of the board, by threading the wire leads through
the appropriate holes in the board. For your convenience, the board has silk screen outlines
indicating where the components should be placed, along with text indicating the part number
and the component value.
2. Hold the component in place with your finger and turn the board over.
3. Gently bend the leads out at about 45 degrees to keep the component from falling out of its
holes.
4. Install all of one type of component, bending each of the leads as they are installed.
5. Flip the board over solder-side-up, and solder all of the components in one pass.
6. Clip the leads off with small diagonal cutters, right at the solder joint.
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