Desolder/clean motor pads

Discussions and questions about the Crazyflie Nano Quadcopter
bweber
Beginner
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 12:41 am

Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by bweber »

OK, I suck at soldering and paying attention...
I somehow switched the M1 and M2 wires when I spun the board around.
I've removed the wires after a lot of patience but I can't seem to clean the holes to thread the correct wires through.
Does anyone have any pointers? I am crazy pumped to get this together and the fact I jacked the first step is driving me nuts!
Any experienced people with any good suggestions would be very welcome!!!
Thanks,
Bob
Oh, I attached an image in case that helps....
Attachments
qaudpads.jpg
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atomicdog
Expert
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:50 am
Location: San Diego

Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by atomicdog »

Using solder wick or a solder pump would be the best way.

Do you have solder flux or at least a flux core solder? It makes it a lot easier to solder.

If you don't have solder wick/pump then one way is to add solder to the hole and keep the iron on the pad to keep the solder melted and then push the wire through.

Another way (to actually clear out the hole) is to heat up the pad and use another spare wire as 'solder wick' and suck up the extra solder. Without adding flux to the wire it might not work too well though.
6-DOF CF | wireless xbox 360 controller
marcus
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Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by marcus »

Have a look at our old assembly video, it details how to first fill the holes with solder and then push the motor-wires through. This method isn't the easiest anymore and might be tricky with the new motor mounts. Make sure to first attach the motor mount to the wing and then solder. I use the same method to changing the motors if they break, just heat one one side and then pull out the wire and in with the new one.

It starts around ~1:30 : http://youtu.be/kS3qR1IjeGE?t=1m23s

Hope this helps!
bweber
Beginner
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 12:41 am

Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by bweber »

Thank you very much for the support!
I'll pick up a pump on the way home so I have it available.
I'll try heating the pad and pushing the wire through first.
Thank you both for the help!
Bob
jtang613
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Posts: 16
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 5:58 pm

Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by jtang613 »

I had a similar problem with one of the motor pads on mine. I used wick to clean as much as I could, then some 26 or 28 gauge wire to clean out the rest. I initially tried a pump, but found the holes to be too small and difficult to get a good enough seal with the pump. Be very careful if using wire to clean the holes - if you remove the heat too soon, you risk lifting the pad right off the board.

Mine is up and running now - though my flying skills are somewhat lacking :p
bweber
Beginner
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 12:41 am

Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by bweber »

Hi again!
I just wanted to say a big "Thanks!!" for all the input.
Once I got a little support from my daughter to push a wire through as I heated the pad from the other side it was a breeze!
Shortly after that and a couple lines of python, we were experimenting to find good hover values.
We are having a blast!
Thanks again!
Bob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvOwa0SpNC4
marcus
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Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by marcus »

Cool! Looks a bit like Crazyflie volleyball :D
Fucitol
Beginner
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Joined: Wed May 08, 2013 7:49 am

Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by Fucitol »

Is it possible to solder on some header pins for more easy soldering and less risk when replacing a motor? I have a lot of header pins laying around so I might opt for that. Haven't checked the documentation to find the spacing between the holes though.

Just received an email that my Crazyflie has been shipped, yay!
cracklecrackle
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Location: Germany
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Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by cracklecrackle »

I measured the space between the holes, it's about 1 mm.
Crazyflie Nano 10-DOF
tobias
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Re: Desolder/clean motor pads

Post by tobias »

Yes that is possible but the difficulty is the height it will take. You might have to make some lading gear then. The spacing of the holes is 1.27mm and the hole size is 0.6mm. It should be possible to use the supplied 2x5 1.27mm pitch pin header and cut it into pairs and use that.
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