Tacking a part means fixing it in position with a little solder on one corner pin or one end, checking alignment, and only then soldering the remaining pins. It is the standard hand-soldering approach for fine-pitch ICs and chip parts. A tacked part can still be nudged by reheating that single joint, which is far easier than shifting a fully soldered one.
Heard on the job
Tack the corner pin of the QFP, check all four sides line up, then drag solder the rest.
Also heard as
- tack solder
- tack down
Related terms
Wick
Braided copper desoldering ribbon that soaks up molten solder, and the verb for using it.
Hot air
Hot-air rework station, or the technique of reflowing parts with a focused stream of heated air.
Rework
Removing and replacing parts or fixing joints on an assembled board to correct defects or make changes.