Inspect the solder joint to make sure there is full coverage over the contact area and the lead. If it is a thru-hole lead, the hole should be filled and the solder joint forms a slight pyramid-like shape. If necessary, trim the lead with a shear lead cutter. Do not trim into the solder joint, which can damage the connection. If using rosin activated flux, aqueous flux, or if the aesthetics of the flux residue is a problem, clean the area with a flux remover.
How do I tell a good solder joint from a bad one? Some things to watch out for: If it is a thru-hole lead, the hole should be filled and the solder joint forms a slight pyramid-like shape.
The lead should not be loose or wiggle once it is soldered. If using lead-based solder, the solder joint should be shiny. Unfortunately, lead-free tends to have a duller finish, so shininess is not a good indicator in that case. How do I select the best soldering tip for my PCB repair job? Soldering tips come in all kinds of shapes to facilitate different PCB geometries: Pointed or conical — The end of the soldering tip comes to either a point or a round the flat area.
The size is specified by the diameter of the end, so it can range in size from 0. These tips are generally used when pin-point accuracy is needed, like with very fine leadless surface mount components.
They may be long for greater reach in dense board design, or have a shorter microtip to reduce the amount of tip metal that needs to be heated. This can improve heat recovery. The ends of the tips may also be bent to avoid interfering with other components or contact areas. Blade or knife — A blade tip is usually used for drag soldering when the solder is drawn across multiple contact pads. This is common when soldering surface mount technology SMT components.
The size is measured along the length of the blade and can be 6. Chisel or screwdriver — A chisel allows you to heat a larger contact area, so it is useful for thru-hole solder joints. Lengths may vary and can also be bent, like with a conical tip.
The size is mainly specified as the length of the flat area, but the depth or thickness of the tip may also vary. These can be so small that they almost look like a point, like under 1mm, and as wide as 5 or 6mm. Bevel — A beveled tip has a flat oval end set at an angle.
Picture a metal rod that is a cross section at an angle. A bevel can range from 1mm to 4mm, or even larger. Flow tips — A flow tip looks similar in design to a beveled tip, but instead of a flat area, it is a little indention or cup.
Associated products: Plato soldering tips Is it ok to set the heat at maximum temperature to speed up soldering? In soldering, like everything else, speed is king. Operators will turn up the soldering temperature to speed up heat throughput.
This allows them to go from one solder joint to the next faster. The catch — the higher the heat, the shorter the tip life. The extra heat can also unnecessarily stress components, increasing the chances of PCB failure later. Why is the solder dripping off the soldering tip?
How to clean a soldering iron? Con — It is abrasive, even though brass is softer than the iron on the end of the tip. It has more of a tendency to scratch the chrome plating, which keeps the solder from wetting up the tip. That could allow corrosion to creep in under the plating, reducing the lifespan of the tip. Cellulose Sponge Pro — It is an effective and fast way to clean a tip. They come with different holes or slits to make it even faster and easier, and to avoid flinging molten solder.
Con — Cools down the tip, so requires the tip to heat up again. It also can thermally shock the tip, especially if the sponge is overly saturated. This can shorten the tip life by creating micro-fractures in the iron plating. Make sure you are using a cellulose sponge that is intended for cleaning soldering tips. Cellulose is a natural material derived from wood pulp. It will not melt and damage the soldering tip as a synthetic sponge would.
The sponge should not be soaking wet, just lightly damp. Wring it out thoroughly after saturating with Deionized DI water. DI water is recommended to prevent mineral build-up on the soldering tip.
Once your soldering tip has been cleaned, remember to re-tin by melting on a small amount of solder on the end of the tip. This prevents the working end of the tip, which is iron, from corroding when exposed to air over a period of time.
It is a common practice to wipe down the soldering tip before putting it back into its holder. This exposes the raw iron on the working end of the tip, which will rust in the open air. Add any residual flux to the mix, and you have a prematurely pitted soldering tip. Before taking a break or stopping for the day, wipe off residual flux and solder, and re-tin by applying fresh solder to the end of the tip. What can I do to increase soldering tip life?
Although all tips will have their day in the trash bin, there are several steps an operator can take to increase tip life: Turn down the heat Properly clean the tip Tin the soldering tip Use special cleaning tools When leaving the solder station for anything over 5 minutes, turn it off. After all, the components have been replaced and excess solder removed… Clean the area thoroughly with a quality flux remover.
Angle the board to allow the cleaner and residues to run off. If needed, use a horsehair brush or lint-free wipe to gently scrub the PCB, and then follow with a rinse. Match the size of your wire solder to what you are soldering.
Match your soldering tip to what you are soldering. Select your solder and flux carefully. Keep your tip clean and tinned. Select a soldering temperature that is hot enough to efficiently melt the solder, but not too hot. Apply enough solder to cover the contact pad and surround the lead. Clean flux residues from the soldering area with a quality flux remover. Some people complain that the cleaning sponge is not very good and the stand is not very sturdy.
This means that it may take a long time to heat up, and it will have a hard time holding the temperature. The TS80P soldering iron is probably the best portable soldering iron for its price at the moment!
It is similar to the TS but with newer features and some improvements. Replacing the tips is even easier as it uses a 3. The TS80P is a temperature-controlled, cheap, lightweight, portable, and high-quality soldering iron. It also has some awesome smart features like the sleep and standby modes. The iron heats up really fast approximately 20 seconds and works incredibly well. So, if you have a small workbench or you need to do soldering on the field, this soldering iron is the best choice. Depending on where you get the soldering iron, it will not come with a power supply or a stand.
Nonetheless, we really recommend this soldering iron, and you can read our review of the TS80P portable soldering iron here. For more soldering accessories, take a look at the Top 10 Soldering Accessories and Tools. If you are on a lower budget and you are an absolute beginner, the Tabiger Soldering Iron Kit is a good choice as it comes with a lot of useful accessories. Hakko Soldering Iron Station - If you're not worried about how much you'll spend, and you want a great soldering iron for life that heats up incredibly fast, the Hakko soldering iron is the best choice.
At the moment, my favorite soldering iron from the list is definitely the TS80P soldering iron. Read our review to learn more about the TS80P soldering iron. Do you already have a soldering iron, or do you intend to buy one? Feel free to share your thoughts with us.
The registrations are open, so sign up now. Hi Jeremy! It seems a really good soldering station for professionals. A bit too expensive for hobbyists work.
Thank you so much for sharing. How do you feel about the H? This through-hole kit includes a microcontroller, a battery holder, and nine LEDs that you must solder to a circuit board. We also considered how comfortable each iron was to hold, including how thin and padded the handle was and whether the handle felt hot. We evaluated the sturdiness of all the stands, as well; we found that stands that were too light and prone to sliding around on the work surface felt less safe to use.
Finally, we looked for longer cords and useful accessories. Plus, the iron felt easy and comfortable for us to use, and its included station is sturdy, with a place for every accessory. A faster heat-up time means you get to start soldering faster, and it also means that the tip will return to its working temperature more quickly between each joint. Its lowest temperature was also average, though a lower temperature is necessary only for more delicate electronics.
Like all of the irons we tested except for the Vastar, the X-Tronic soldering iron came with only a single conical tip, but it was thin enough to work well with the Larson Scanner Kit. X-Tronic sells additional tips, and our pick is compatible with Aoyue and Hakko tips, too. The display made it especially easy for us to track whether the iron was hot enough for use and to tweak the temperature accordingly. Each instance was annoying but passed within a few seconds, and the X-Tronic recovered about as quickly as the other inexpensive models we tested.
If you want an iron that rebounds faster, consider paying more for the Hakko FXD. The X-Tronic Model XTS took a little over two minutes to set up, mostly due to the solder holder that attaches to the side of the station, which proved to be stubborn for us. The Hakko FXD heats up fast and quickly rebounds in temperature while soldering, allowing you to solder continuously without waiting for the iron to get hot again. It comes with a digital display plus a thin pen that is easy to hold and stays cool to the touch.
Its molded-metal-and-plastic soldering station and stand feel heavier and more durable than the other options we tested. We also like that the station and stand are separate so you can free up space in your immediate work area.
We also noticed that its tip returned to temperature slightly faster than that of the X-Tronic, so we had to wait less between soldering joints.
The iron we bought came with a small wedge-style tip, which worked okay for the Larson Scanner Kit. Hakko also sells many compatible and inexpensive tips for the FXD; we recommend picking up a thinner conical tip for even more precise control. As was the case with the Model XTS, it always stayed cool to the touch.
The station also gives you the option to set passwords if multiple people are using it. Setting up the FXD took 22 seconds, one of the fastest times among the stations we tested. It is the only station design we tested that separates the soldering iron stand from the station.
That allows you to keep just the stand in your immediate work area, freeing up more space for your project and supplies. Both the stand and station are heavy with grippy feet that hold them firmly in place, and they are made of molded plastic and metal with well-placed spots for a sponge and cleaning wire.
We also appreciated the fun blue and yellow color combination. If you decide to buy an FXD, be alert for counterfeits, which are rampant on sites like Amazon. Hakko publishes a page of retail stores and authorized partners that stock its products. It could be worth the effort of going to a store in person to make sure you get the real deal. But its handle got uncomfortably warm in our tests, and its included stand is unstable.
Even so, the Vastar offering is a decent option if you want everything you need aside from a sponge and a nicer stand in one set: It comes with five tips, a desoldering pump, a basic stand though we recommend replacing it with the Hakko FH stand if you plan to use it regularly—and at that point it would be cheaper to buy the X-Tronic Model XTS , tweezers, and solder. In our tests, the watt Vastar iron got hot enough in a reasonable amount of time for us to work on the Larson Scanner Kit, with a heat-up time of 1 minute 23 seconds and the highest maximum heat.
Like the other irons, the Vastar held its temperature for the most part—only once or twice did its temperature drop noticeably, requiring us to wait a few seconds for it to heat back up, just like with the X-Tronic model.
Although the iron itself is thin enough to hold comfortably, the base of its handle was one of the warmest we tested. I found myself scooting my hand farther up the iron, pausing my soldering concentration periodically to think about my hand placement. We recommend the Hakko FH The solder provided with the Vastar iron was so useful that we ended up using it throughout testing.
The included solder was thinner than the Alpha Fry solder, however, which made daintier work feel easier. You can buy similar replacement tubes at reasonable prices. If you have a soldering iron pencil and need a sturdy stand for it, get the Hakko FH soldering iron stand. This Plus, it has a small footprint and comes with both a sponge and tip cleaner.
It also sets up in seconds and looks the nicest of the stands we tested. But during our testing, we found that stands needed some heft to prevent them from sliding when we set down a hot soldering iron. The FH, in contrast, strikes the right balance of weight, design, and ease of use. It took more than four minutes to heat up in our tests, and it lacks a digital display.
0コメント