ok so i know im probably doing something wrong but i have spent the better part of two evenings trying to get clean solder joints on a 30x30 AIO board and i am losing my mind. the pads are tiny and my iron keeps pulling the solder off instead of leaving a nice joint. using a ts100 at around 330c with 63/37 rosin core. flux pen on the pads before i go in.

motor wires especially are a nightmare, the pads are so close together i keep bridging them or getting cold joints. i tinned the wires, i tinned the pads, i wait a second, i go in and somehow it just doesnt flow cleanly. been soldering for a couple years on bigger stuff like 4in1 boards and 30x30 stacks with proper separate escs and never had this much trouble. is it just a skill issue or are these tiny AIOs actually harder to work with and im not crazy

youre not crazy, small AIO boards are genuinely annoying. few things that might help ? try bumping your temp up a bit, 330 might not be quite hot enough to get in and out fast on those dense pads. i run 360-370 on my ts100 for that stuff, hotter iron means less dwell time means less chance of lifting a pad. also what tip are you using? a fine conical tip is actually worse for this than a small chisel or bevel, you want a bit more surface area to transfer heat quickly. and if youre still getting cold joints after all that, your solder might just be old or crap, some of the cheap stuff oxidizes and flows terribly.

i literally just destroyed a 45 dollar aio board last week doing exactly this. pulled a pad clean off trying to reheat a motor wire joint. switched to using a silicone wire with the insulation stripped back really short and pre-tinned heavily before touching the board and its been a little better. also seen people use kapton tape to mask off adjacent pads while they work on one at a time which sounds tedious but might save boards. honestly sometimes i think the price difference between an aio and a proper stack isnt worth the headache of the soldering alone