Soldering Iron

[Primordial Ooze]

What wattage for my soldering iron do i need in order to create 2600 cartages. Also how do i apply the solder and does anyone have any soldering tips?

 

Thanks,

 

Open Source Pong

[Jess Ragan]

15W seems to work best for small electronics. You'll also need a very thin tip to work with the narrow connectors.

[+Stephen Moss]

Everytime you solder heat is taken from the tip to melt the solder and it takes time for this heat to be replaced both during and between soldering opperations and so the higher the wattage the faster the recovery time. I guess everyone has their preferences, I use as 50 watt iron.

As far as soldering goes I assume from your questions that you have little or no previous experiance so I would suggest you get some practice in first by say soldering a few IC sockets onto some veroboard/prototyping board. Generally make sure the tip of the soldering iron makes contact with both the leg of the component and the pad/track you are soldering it to so that you heat them both, wait a second or two and then feed in the solder from the opposite side of the soldering iron. Keep feeding the solder in until it has flowed evenly around the joint then remove the solder source folowed by the iron.

You might find that wetting the soldering iron (melting a little solder onto the tip, just enough for a thin coat, not blobs) will help the heat transfer and make the process a little easier.

[Zerosquare]

Everytime you solder heat is taken from the tip to melt the solder and it takes time for this heat to be replaced both during and between soldering opperations and so the higher the wattage the faster the recovery time. I guess everyone has their preferences, I use as 50 watt iron.

True, but I assume you're talking about an iron which has good, and selectable, temperature regulation.

 

A cheap and low-end 50W soldering iron is likely to have a big and very hot tip, which is not appropriate to work on small circuitry. 15 W is fine, but a bit underpowered for the bigger solder joints. Personally, I'd recommend 20~25 W.

 

EDIT : for soldering advice, try these links :

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderfaq.htm

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderpix.htm

Edited February 28, 2008 by Zerosquare

[gdement]

As long as you can work fast enough not to fry anything, then more heat is a good thing because it gets the job done quicker, and you don't spend as much time spreading heat into other connected components.

 

I'd use a 25W for lighter boards. I prefer chisel tips - they conduct heat better than the pointed tips do.

 

I use a simple 40W, but it gives me some trouble with small double-sided PCB's. If I get to a small isolated pad, then it takes very little time to fry it. With enough practice 40W would probably work okay though. I normally use it on heavier motherboards so it's a difficult adjustment to work so fast on lighter PCB's.

 

My iron is the 40W version of this:

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/se...amp;pa=224611PS

I find it quite good for something so inexpensive. The real value of it is that the tips are cheap (~$10 for 10), and are better quality than the tips I got when I tried irons from local retail stores. It's hard to find fault with tips that can be replaced for $1 each, and they actually last quite a while, and come pre-tinned.

 

You also need some rosin-core flux (not acid-core). It makes soldering a lot easier. For solder, get either 60/40 or 63/37 leaded solder. Don't buy lead-free, it takes much more heat to melt and makes good joints difficult (see the XBox 360). Narrower diameter solder is easier to work with.

[+Stephen Moss]

Everytime you solder heat is taken from the tip to melt the solder and it takes time for this heat to be replaced both during and between soldering opperations and so the higher the wattage the faster the recovery time. I guess everyone has their preferences, I use as 50 watt iron.

True, but I assume you're talking about an iron which has good, and selectable, temperature regulation.

It should apply equally to irons which allow you to set the temperature by means of an exteral control and those that do not, I use a Weller Iron where the temperature is regualted the magnastat tip, differernt Number tip = different temperature. I am not sure of what the temperature regualtion is like but it works for me.

Temperature controlled irons are probably better all round but espically for beginners if you can afford them, the one we give the students to use where I work are ZD 292C's like the one here which seem to work well.

A cheap and low-end 50W soldering iron is likely to have a big and very hot tip, which is not appropriate to work on small circuitry. 15 W is fine, but a bit underpowered for the bigger solder joints. Personally, I'd recommend 20~25 W.

If the manufacturer has done their homework correctly then the tip should be constructed in a way that the temperature is the correct one for soldering (about 330C for leaded and 360C for lead free) regardless of size and a few manufactures of cheaper irons do supply different sized tips although you may have to buy them direct from the manufacturer as those selling the irons do not allways stock the tips.

You also need some rosin-core flux (not acid-core). It makes soldering a lot easier. For solder, get either 60/40 or 63/37 leaded solder. Don't buy lead-free, it takes much more heat to melt and makes good joints difficult (see the XBox 360). Narrower diameter solder is easier to work with.

Whether you go for leaded or lead free solder use one with a high (preferable) or meduim activity flux, low activity fluxes do not flow well.

I suspect that the problem you are pointing to with the Xbox is due to the process or people being used, there is no problem with using lead free solder if your iron is at the correct temperature, I have been using it for over 10 years and apart from have to change from a number 7 to a number 8 tip for a higher temperature the only problem I have had it that it can eat through the tips faster than leaded solder.

[Trey]

http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/telescope/soldering.htm

[Zerosquare]

If the manufacturer has done their homework correctly then the tip should be constructed in a way that the temperature is the correct one for soldering (about 330C for leaded and 360C for lead free) regardless of size

Sure, but I doubt the cheaper irons do it properly (I'm not talking about well-known brands like Weller). As a gdement mentioned, it's easy to burn out pads or parts with some 40 W irons.

 

I have been using it for over 10 years

Ten years ?! I didn't know lead-free solder did exist back then ! What field are you working in ?

EDIT : did a bit of searching, it seems the topic has been studied since at least the early '90s. Makes me wonder about the "no sufficient experience" argument some people use...

Edited March 2, 2008 by Zerosquare

[+Stephen Moss]

Ten years ?! I didn't know lead-free solder did exist back then ! What field are you working in

EDIT : did a bit of searching, it seems the topic has been studied since at least the early '90s. Makes me wonder about the "no sufficient experience" argument some people use...

I am an electronics tech/service engineer. I switched to lead free solder as soon a I found out it was available as I was concerned about absorbing lead through the skin as my finger tips were grey with lead deposits after using leaded solder.

 

It has only been since the RoHS directive which restricts the useable amount of certain hazzardous substances like lead kicked and people have been forced (at least in manufacturing) to use lead free solder that the issue has really been picked up and a lot of people have become aware of it but as you searching has reveiled lead free solder has been around a lot longer than many people think.

I know a lot of people have trouble making the switch to lead free, virtually everyone where I work switched a few years after me and had problems and I know a couple who disliked it so much they stocked up on leaded solder so they won't have to switch but if they had done their homework and used solder with the same flux as the leaded they were using (as I did) and had their irons at the right temperature they would not have had a problem.