

Tin: What the world owes this dull grey metal - Nux
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25977432

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VLM
The thinkstock smd solder pix is doing it wrong. The board was obviously
solder paste assembled (look at the unused pads) and its had the flux cleaned
off yet there's a (probably photoshopped) swirl of flux smoke. I can do rework
with a hand iron but joe average probably needs to use hot air rework, so they
don't even have the correct kind of tool in the photo. Also the iron does not
appear to have ever been tinned or used before and possibly is not on and
possibly by complete lack of oxidation has never been powered up. If you try
to do rework by shoving the point into the component thats not going to work
very well.

Finally having fun trying to ID the soldering iron. Its not from the
Hakko/Aoyue family like I have at home. Wellers don't clamp like that either.
I googled around and its a brand new unused harbor freight model. Given how
much harder open loop temp control makes everything, I don't think it would be
my first choice for rework or assembly.

It is an interesting educational display of depth of field.

There is the meta issue that is semi-relevant that in some ways its harder to
do a bad job than a good job AND it'll jar anyone who knows what they're doing
away from your "message" so there is little point in halfway measures with
graphics arts. And no fair hiding behind "its just popular science filler so
who cares about techies" because its superbowl sunday, ONLY the techies are
going to be reading about tin today.

~~~
detritus
haha, only on HackerNews could a simple photoshopped stock image get so
completely destroyed by critical analysis.

One wee mote that appears to have slipped past your assault on
oversimplification... the article's on BBC news, so a small amend's required —
“in America, ONLY the techies are going to be reading about this today...” ;)

