Hello everyone,
It seems everyone has gone quiet on this front. I just wanted to let anyone interested know that I am indeed crazy enough to keep trying with this.
The UPS guy showed up today with a neat 7kg package (please don't ask how much this cost
![Cry :'(](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/cry.gif)
):
![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/387299/galden/IMG_2282.jpg)
![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/387299/galden/IMG_2284.jpg)
![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/387299/galden/IMG_2285.jpg)
Note the warning about 300C, this stuff decomposes into hydrofluoric acid so great caution is needed with the heating.
I am having a container fabricated as we speak out of ASTM302 stainless steel, and the ASTM440 6.35mm stainless steel ball bearings for the induction heater are on the way. Unfortunately I had to get it made at a metal shop, as I do not have a TIG welder nor the skills to TIG weld. And the price of a good TIG welder pales in comparison to the price of galden.
I went stainless because I don't want to have to deal with oxidation at all. It was a little more expensive, but I am considering this an investment in my own learning, and I hope in the open source community. I've gained a lot from open source, and if this turns out ok then I will document the project and make it available online as my way of giving back.
I also have some 3mil/3mil breakout boards coming with a 0.5mm pitch BGA on them (atmega48) for testing. But they were slowed up by Chinese new year, so I don't have them yet.
As a very strange sidenote, the inside of the package smells like mint (including the paper documentation). I have no idea why.
In the meantime, I've been brainstorming some ideas for computer vision software for machine-assisted placement of fine-pitch BGAs. But now that the galden has arrived, I'm planning on doing some characterisation experiments with it, particularly with respect to the evaporation rate. I can't guarantee I'll be able to do anything else as my real work is about to crank up, but if anyone has any good ideas for some tests please let me know. Keep in mind that I'm an EE, not a chemist
![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
My bank account hurts, but it's for science.
![Azn ^-^](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/azn.gif)