I finally had some time to do first, test soldering of uHub boards that came from JLCPCB for the second time, this time in 0.8mm thickness.
I was a bit nervous as I haven’t done SMD soldering in a longer while, this was my first time using a stencil and a new tiny usb-pd hot plate, so that placing components will be the only time consuming part of the entire process. And oh wow it was, including figuring out the orientation of that SOT666 anti-ESD component which had a tiny “.F” marking when I had my microscope and light set really properly.
I was a bit nervous again when it came to installing that first board, as I realized it’s thinner than the dummy board provided by ClockworkPi. Fortunately the slots have some margin thanks to spring connectors and - the board works! At first attempt!
This is a testament to how good your design is, @Vitaly . Kudos.
Also tip: folks, if you don’t have the experience or equipment for small component SMD soldering, don’t learn on this board. Buy it directly from Vitaly. It will also be cheaper as you won’t have to order five boards and multiples of each component!
Two thinga remain, getting that internal connector parts and printing the cover bracket.
