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Hi, So as the title says, I’m a micro soldering hobbyist and I wanted to purchase some solder balls for chips such as the audio IC repairs etc. what size balls do they take? I ask this question generically for all the chips, I just selected iPhone 7, because this one to my knowledge has this as a common issue. If someone had some information on a generic size to purchase or what size is required for specific chips, that would be incredibly helpful for me and everyone else whose looking to get the correct materials for the jobs. eBay sell all different diameters, so I assume they all fluctuate in sizes for a reason. This or is it best to just buy solder paste and smear it onto a stencil for reballing? However, I could imagine balls to be best due to the fact they’re all evenly displaced… any information greatly appreciated. Thanks, Craig.
When it comes to reballing IC’s in iPhones/iPads or other smartphones, a solder paste and appropriate stencil is the best way forward. There are plenty of Youtube videos on how to reball IC’s using this technique. I do have an assortment of solder balls, ranging from 0.2mm up to 0.8mm that I use occasionally if only one ball is muffed up. IC’s have different pitches and sizes so you need to have a wide assortment. Those reballing large CPU’s, for example on gaming consoles, will prefer to use solder balls.
