So i made a scrap calculator in Excel. It compares fully populated board weights to items i might depopulate (heatsinks, xformers, IC's etc...), if it makes sense to. I recently added the gold tab flatback.
For example, in the case with this board- It weighs 27.3oz and has 5 gold tab flatbacks on it. I did the best i could and calculated how many of these chips weigh 1oz (based on ones i had already taken off and weighed. Not perfect, but you get the idea if the numbers are way different). If this board was graded Peripheral, it would be about $3.84. Without the flatbacks, its about $3.64. Though this particular one would likely be downgraded to Mid after removing the flatbacks so its about $0.51. The price of the chips that were removed add to about $1.61.
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IMG_1512.jpg [ 2.54 MiB | Viewed 4651 times ]
So:
Peripheral populated: $3.84
Peripheral Unpopulated $3.64
Removed Flatbacks: $1.61
Total: $5.25
Seems smarter to remove the flatbacks, in this case.
If downgraded after removal:
Mid: $0.51
Flatbacks: $1.61
Total: $2.12
Not worth it, in this case.
So i guess my question is, Do you normally remove these flatbacks if you find yourself find Yourself in a position where removing them does not downgrade the board? What about about SMD IC's? I've calculated similar situations with SMD IC's that are actually pretty common.