After my initial two attempts at soldering these boards I was confident I would end up with a higher yield rate >50%.
Apparently I was wrong.
After soldering 11 boards I ended up with 2.5/11 working ones which is a yield rate of ~22%.
The .5 had problems with the level shifter but is otherwise OK.
Lessons learned:
- soldering 0.4mm pitch WLCSP is hard
- proper stencil alignment and paste application is mandatory
- proper soldering equipment is a must (hot plate + hot air is too inconsistent)
- blaming the equipment for your mistakes is always possible
In short this means that these boards will not be available in my tindie store for a little while. I will have to fix the aperture for the stencil in some places and get a proper hot air oven (probably a modded toaster).
I am still happy the layout of the board was correct on the first try and, as usual, I learned a lot in the process of breaking things. I have also added a picture of my testing jig for your enjoyment.
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