How to properly handle a soldering iron

How to hold a soldering iron correctly

page » How to learn to solder with a hand soldering iron + step-by-step instructions

Teaching is the mother of creation! And even if the creation is considered to be just ordinary work with an electric soldering iron, such work cannot be done efficiently without studying. Everyone, including girls, should be able to hold a soldering iron and solder with tin.

Therefore, let's consider a simple and at the same time complex technical point - how to learn how to solder with a soldering iron and apply science if necessary. And the need for soldering with tin can be very different, be it household irons, radio sockets, electric kettles, etc.

finally, electronic boards.

What kind of soldering should you use with a hand soldering iron?

The need to disassemble electronic devices for repair purposes is quite common. Meanwhile, any electronics, as a rule, contains a printed circuit board, where electronic components are connected into a circuit by soldering.

Soldering with an electric soldering iron is an action aimed at creating a strong connection of electronic parts by melting solder and then applying the melt at the point where the parts meet.

The technology of soldering using a hand-held electric soldering iron is widely used for repairing electronics. Therefore, it is advisable to be able to use this technology

Solder is an alloy of soft metals that, when heated to a certain temperature (

250ºC for POS60 solder) acquire a semi-liquid state. When the heating stops, the solder at the point of application cools, thereby creating a strong electrical connection. The peculiarity of such soldering is that the soldered assembly is also easy to unsolder using the same tool - an electric soldering iron.

What tools and accessories are used when soldering?

The basis for soldering work is a relatively small number of tools and components:

1. Electric (or other) soldering iron.
2. Soldering iron stand.
3. Solder.
4. Flux (the simplest and most popular is rosin).

This is what a simplified version of the hardware and accessories for manual soldering looks like. However, with increasing skills of an electrician and increasing needs for soldering work, it is possible to expand the range when additionally required:

1. Soldering Station.
2. Device "Third hand".
3. Set of solder, fluxes, soldering pastes.

What kind of electric soldering iron is it?

Hand tool - soldering iron, powered from a standard AC outlet (220V). There is a direct power tool and power supply via adapter. There are manual soldering irons for different power (10 - 100 W). However, for most soldering cases, a 25-40 W device is usually sufficient.

Hand-held soldering tool designs come in a variety of shapes and configurations. There are tools complemented by different tip shapes and auxiliary accessories

The main tool of the soldering process is available in different versions. For example, a simple one with a handle or in the form of a pistol. The design of most soldering irons supports the interchangeability of soldering tips. Thanks to the mutual replacement of tips, different soldering methods are implemented.

Working with a hand soldering iron requires caution and compliance with operating rules, since a high heating temperature of 450-500ºC and a high supply voltage of 220 V are used.

What is the best stand for an electric soldering iron?

This accessory is optional, but recommended in any case. In principle, soldering can be carried out without a soldering iron stand, but this option is accompanied by a lot of inconvenience. Moreover, it is not recommended for novice electrical installers to work without a stand.

A stand for parking a soldering tool is an accessory that provides not only ease of use and soldering, but also safety for the electrician

Convenient work with a stand is seen not only in parking the soldering iron during work. Usually the stand is equipped with trays for solder and flux, which also adds to the comfort during soldering. Therefore, if you intend to do soldering work, you should acquire not only a soldering iron, but also a convenient, practical stand.

What solders and fluxes are used?

There are many varieties of solder in relation to soldering conditions. This soldering accessory comes with:

• lead alloy,
• lead-free alloy,
• with the addition of flux,
• without adding flux.

Traditionally, solder is produced in wire form with a diameter of 0.8-15 mm, as well as rods. The wire version is considered the most common.

For soldering electronics, lead-free solder is most often used with or without the addition of rosin. The lead-free type of solder is based on an alloy of tin and copper. Lead solder (60% tin, 40% lead) is also used (much less frequently), but this option is considered harmful to health and is not recommended for use.

When using lead solder for soldering with a soldering iron, it is necessary to provide more active ventilation. After completing soldering work, be sure to wash your hands with laundry soap.

Integral accessories for soldering using a hand soldering iron are soldering rosin and wire solder. There are also solder pastes and rod-shaped solders.

Working with solder is accompanied by different types of flux. Among the options used, there is a soldering option where acid acts as a flux (soldering steel, stainless steel). In this case, a separate “acid” soldering iron core is recommended, since the acid quickly “eats” the non-ferrous metal. “Acid” core can be found in specialized stores.

What is the technique for cleaning the core tip?

Soldering requires periodic cleaning of the soldering iron core tip. In practice, a standard damp sponge is often used, thanks to which the tip of the soldering iron core can be kept clean and optimal for work. The sponge also quite effectively removes oxidation that inevitably forms.

The presence of an oxidation film on the tip of the soldering iron core covers the working layer of solder. A black film is formed, blocking active adhesion of solder and uniform distribution over the tip.

Using a regular damp sponge seems to be effective, but this method shortens the life of the tip due to the expansion and contraction of the copper. In addition, a wet sponge temporarily reduces the temperature of the tip. Therefore, the best alternative for cleaning seems to be the use of a brass “sponge”.

A convenient means for cleaning the soldering iron tip from oxides and residues of molten solder is a brass mesh. A better alternative to the traditional wet sponge

An accessory such as a brass “sponge” is a fine metal mesh made of brass, similar to that used for washing dishes. The only difference is that the washing mesh is made of steel or stainless steel.

Source: https://vi-pole.ru/kak-pravilno-derzhat-pajalnik.html

How to solder correctly with a soldering iron and what you need for work

For professionals, the title of the article may cause a condescending smile. It would seem, what’s so complicated here? I cleaned the contacts, scooped up some solder with the nose of the soldering iron, and applied it to the connection point. For an experienced radio amateur, this process really does not cause problems . But if everyone (including professionals) knows how to solder correctly with a soldering iron, where do unsoldered boards, short circuits between adjacent contacts, and parts that fail due to overheating come from?

Our material will tell novice craftsmen how to learn to solder using traditional and non-standard methods, and for those who consider themselves professionals, it will help improve their skills.

What is soldering

Without referring to Wikipedia, we will explain in our own words. Soldering is the joining of metal contacts using a conductive melt, followed by its solidification . In this case, unlike welding, none of the parts being connected should melt during the process. Of course, after the conductive melt (solder) has solidified, reliable electrical conductivity of the connection must be ensured . Contact resistance cannot affect the characteristics of the electrical circuit.

General rules for working with a soldering iron (we will consider all these points in detail in the review)

• The connection point must be mechanically cleaned of dirt, protective coating and oxides (if the dimensions and design of the parts and conductors allow). What you can focus on: some metals, in principle, cannot be cleaned of the oxide film, at least in air. Only under a continuous layer of special fluxes (we are talking about aluminum and alloys based on it) . The fact is that the “winged metal” oxidizes instantly.
• To degrease the connection point, special cleaners are used: fluxes. They should not have a destructive effect on the metal you are working with. Even if the joint seems perfectly clean, soldering without flux is almost impossible. When the heated soldering iron tip touches, thermal oxidation occurs. Important: metals used in electrical engineering (aluminum, copper, silver, gold) in their pure form have good adhesion. Standard solders seem to stick to the surface, securely fixing after hardening. The layer of oxide film not only prevents “sticking”, it is also a dielectric. And fluxes, when heated, activate their cleaning properties, and not only remove invisible contaminants, but also prevent oxidation. Special fluxes have been developed for various materials. Even acids are used.
• The shape and dimensions of the working tip of the soldering iron tip must correspond to the contacts and soldering conditions. The material does not matter: it can be copper, ceramics, or hard alloys, silver-plated.
• Choice of power - the range of 25–60 W is suitable for soldering printed circuit boards. Too high a temperature can not only overheat the soldering area, some radio components fail when exposed to heat. The other side of the coin: low temperature will be removed from the soldering area by massive contacts or a thick heat-conducting conductor . You will have to keep the tip in the working area for a long time - hence the overheating of the parts again. For example, when the question arises of how to solder a capacitor, it is important to know exactly the degree . The golden rule of soldering: high temperature and short-term heating . This skill comes only with experience.
• Solder selection. From the point of view of adhesion, all types work well. That is, selecting contacts for a specific metal is not task No. 1 . But the melting point should be treated carefully. On the one hand, low-melting compounds make it possible to minimize the thermal effect on parts . On the other hand, this creates two additional problems: Firstly, low-melting solder also “unsolders off” just as quickly . If the temperature conditions of the contact connection are not very favorable, there is a possibility of loss of contact during operation. Secondly, you will definitely encounter the fact that the solder is already in a liquid state, and the contacts have not yet warmed up for normal adhesion . As a result, the soldering point again overheats.

Let us repeat, these are only theoretical principles, from which it is not yet clear how to solder with a soldering iron. You will see detailed instructions below.

Selecting a soldering iron

If you are not involved in radio work professionally (most likely this is the case, otherwise you would not have studied this material), you have in your arsenal an ordinary soldering iron in one copy. We are not talking about a soldering station at all, since it is quite expensive (albeit a very convenient kit). But for a novice master this is overkill.

Let's return to soldering irons. The classic is a nichrome heater and a copper tip . In fact, this is the best combination, but for manual control . No temperature control, smooth slow heating. At the same time, the copper tip holds the temperature perfectly, and often compensates for the heat dissipation at the soldering site . Another advantage is that the soft material allows you to mold any tip configuration. You can literally rivet and cut out a tip for a specific type of soldering.

The only drawback is that copper burns out quickly, and this type of tip is actually a consumable item. It constantly has to be sharpened with a file.

Tip: Be sure to use a hammer before shaping the tip with a file. Once the copper rod is sealed, it will last longer . A little lost time is more than compensated for by ease of use.

The illustration shows the classic “screwdriver” shape. A universal tip for most amateur jobs.

If your “heating device” is equipped with a temperature controller, you must take into account the inertness of copper. It dials the set number slowly and also slowly cools down.

The ceramic tip with silver plating is a modern accessory. If the question is how to work with SMD format parts, or how to desolder a chip from a double-sided board, this is your option . However, they are not so convenient for soldering powerful heat-intensive wires and contacts.

Such a soldering iron heats up instantly, and you can precisely control the degrees on it (if there is a regulator).

The heating method can be any. The same ceramic heater as the sting, or nichrome . Induction heaters are also used on copper soldering irons, but these are rather exotic.

How to desolder a microcircuit with a soldering iron

By picking up the microcircuit with a screwdriver and applying slight pressure on it, while simultaneously warming up the legs of the microcircuit located on one side with a soldering iron, you can gradually desolder it. How to do this is shown in more detail in the video at the bottom of the article (watch starting at 15 minutes 15 seconds).

How to solder or desolder a microcircuit without a soldering iron

You already understand that successful soldering requires heating the part to the melting temperature of the solder. It can be melted using a heat gun or soldering hair dryer. This is an analogue of a construction hair dryer, only it is compact and often equipped with special molded nozzles.

With its help, the working area is heated, while the solder melts not at a certain point, but over a relatively large area. This is an effective method, especially if it is necessary to desolder the microcircuit (all legs heat up at the same time) . But with this method there is a risk of damaging the part itself from overheating.

If you remove the faulty element, no problem.

In general, a soldering gun should only be used in cases where the traditional soldering method is not possible. For example, when mounting SMD parts (who doesn’t know, they don’t have legs) on a radiator plate.

Flux selection

We will talk about soldering copper parts. There are special acid compositions for iron and aluminum; this is a topic for a separate material.

In fact, it's everyone's personal preference. You just need to try different formulations and determine the best one for yourself. Some people like soldering fat (consistency like grease), some like liquid flux . We will talk about traditional rosin.

More precisely, how to solder correctly with it.

This flux is based on pine resins and has excellent cleaning properties. It provides mechanical and chemical cleaning, in addition, it protects the surface well from oxidation when heated . There is only one drawback: in its pure form, rosin is solid. This means that it cannot be applied to the parts to be joined in advance . However, the technology is there:

• Having touched the rosin with the tip of the soldering iron, we collect solder on it;
• we immerse the legs of the part or the wire in the flux using a soldering iron (it melts), while the surface is covered with a thin layer of solder;
• similarly apply solder to the soldering area;
• connect the tinned part (wire) to the soldering point;
• touch the flux with a soldering iron, then pick up solder, dip it in rosin again;
• Immediately transfer the tip to the soldering zone.

Parts have been soldered this way for many decades. With a certain skill, there are no restrictions on the choice of materials for joining . This technique is ideal for training . If you master it, the other methods will seem even easier.

Tip: To clean solder surfaces that have a layer of oxide on them, regular pharmacy aspirin is suitable. It contains acetyl salicylic acid. It must be ground into powder and applied to the contacts.

Soldering with liquid or paste fluxes

The advantage of such compounds is that they can be pre-applied to the connection point. That is, the flux begins to work even before heating. When touched with a soldering iron, the second stage of the reaction occurs, and the liquid flux serves as a lubricant for the spreading of solder.

Another plus is that a paste or liquid cleaner increases the contact patch. The main problem with soldering non-flat objects is that the heat transfer area from the soldering iron is minimal . If the point of contact is moistened with flux, the temperature is transmitted more efficiently.

The only drawback: there is no mechanical impact on the surface.

Information: some old-school professionals dissolve pine rosin with alcohol or a more liquid flux, and an effective composition is obtained with virtually no drawbacks.

What kind of solder to solder

These alloys are made from tin, lead, copper, nickel, or silver. Tin-lead solder (PLS) is used to work with circuit boards and household wiring. Despite the great variety, they can be divided into two types:

• soft (melting point up to 300°C);
• solid (melting point over 300°C).

Any form of release: lump, wire, powder, paste. A universal option is wire up to 2 mm in diameter. It is convenient to put it on the soldering iron tip or insert it directly into the soldering zone.

An interesting offer from manufacturers is solder paste or powder. This is a finely dispersed solder to which liquid flux is added for viscosity . The result is a consistent composition with high adhesion, which can be used for soldering without preliminary fluxing . We simply apply the paste to the contacts and heat it up.

You can work without a traditional soldering iron, using a soldering iron. Thanks to the fine grinding, the solder melts quickly and instantly spreads over the work area (with the help of flux).

This is a good option for a beginner master. The work is simple, but you won’t be able to learn how to solder efficiently in difficult conditions: when you don’t have good flux and solder at hand.

How to solder with copper

Copper, nickel or silver are used as the base for specialized solders that are not used in consumer electronics. Copper solders have a melting point of 800–900°C, so it is impossible to work with them in relatively delicate printed circuit boards . With their help, contact pads are soldered in electrical engineering; the main application is the assembly of copper pipes . The composition is produced in the form of wire.

Bottom line

Despite the abundance of theoretical advice, only practice will help you learn how to solder correctly. Take a faulty circuit board from any electronics, remove and solder the components several times. The same applies to wire splicing . A couple of meters of used wiring is enough to get practical experience. Then start the real work.

Source: https://mirvera.ru/kak-pravilno-payat-payalnikom-i-chto-nuzhno-dlya-raboty

How to tin a soldering iron correctly? — Metals, equipment, instructions

It is impossible to do without a soldering iron in the household. It is necessary when repairing household appliances, and when repairing radio equipment, and in many other cases, a soldering iron comes to the rescue of any home craftsman. Before use, the soldering iron should be prepared (tinned) in a special way to ensure high-quality and durable soldering.

Sharpening the soldering iron tip

Before you start soldering, you should prepare a new soldering iron for work, or rather, sharpen the tip to a certain shape and cover it with a thin layer of solder on top. It is necessary to sharpen the tip with a file at an angle of 30-40 degrees, so that the result is a wedge.

The sharp edge of the tip should be blunted so that as a result we have a flat edge approximately one millimeter wide; new soldering irons already have a sharpened tip with a wedge, but it is covered with a layer of patina - greenish oxide of oxygen and copper. It is necessary to remove this oxide with fine-grained sandpaper or a metal file.

In addition to the wedge-shaped “classic” shape, you can give the tip another shape, everything here will depend on what you will be soldering. For soldering small parts, for example, you can make its shape like an elongated cone with an edge width of 2-3 millimeters. Or make a cut in the edge so that you can solder SMD resistors with one touch.

Immediately after the tip has been sharpened, it is necessary to install it in the soldering iron itself and tin it. If this is not done, the copper surface of the tip will oxidize in air and you will have to sharpen it again!

How to tin a soldering iron tip?

Then we need to tin the soldering iron tip, that is, cover it with a thin layer of solder. To do this, turn on an electric soldering iron and wait until the rod warms up to a certain temperature. When the tip warms up, it will become noticeable by its reddish tint; the copper will become orange-reddish in color. Do not delay warming up, otherwise the tip will burn. As soon as the sting acquires a slightly reddish tint, it is leaned against resin or lump rosin.

There will be a lot of smoke emitted. Cover the entire sting with melted rosin. Next, a small piece of solder is melted, achieving uniform coverage of the tip with solder. You can rub the tip on a wooden board, this will help the solder spread over the surface of the copper tip.

The copper tip should be covered with an even layer of solder. If there are uncovered areas on the surface with solder, it would be better to repeat the process. This is how the soldering iron is prepared for use. The process must be repeated as necessary, but it is not at all necessary to do it often.

We tried everything in sufficient detail, so you should succeed.

A soldering iron, like any other tool, needs care. The tip of the soldering iron burns out from time to time, and irregularities and potholes appear on it. Burnout is eliminated by sharpening the tip and tinning it. It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that the rod becomes covered with scale during prolonged use, which prevents the tip from heating up quickly.  

Why does the soldering iron tip burn out ? The point is that copper, when heated, partially dissolves in the solder, and the edge of the tip itself is subjected to, albeit a small, but still mechanical effect.

It should also be noted that when the soldering iron is not used, the tip becomes very hot and this contributes to the oxidation of copper. Therefore, it is recommended that when idle, either turn off the soldering iron or reduce the temperature of the tip.

An ordinary electric soldering iron does not have temperature control, so it is better to turn it off when not in use.

Scale is removed as follows . Use pliers to remove the copper rod from the soldering iron. Scale is removed from the rod using fine-grained sandpaper.

You can coat the rod with a small layer of graphite by rubbing it on the lead of an ordinary pencil. This will prevent rapid scale formation in the future.

Lightly tap the heating element of the soldering iron to remove the scale from the heating element where the copper rod was installed. The copper rod is installed in its original place.

You should check the insulation condition of your electric soldering iron from time to time. To do this, measure the resistance between the soldering iron tip and the power plug. On the ohmmeter it is necessary to set the megaohm measurement limit (1-10 MΩ).

It should be remembered that you should not touch the metal screws of the multimeter with your hands when measuring the resistance. Otherwise, the device will show the total resistance of the measured circuit and your body. The device should show an infinitely large resistance.

This will be evidence of good insulation between the electrical network and the soldering iron tip.

Tinning

Tinning is the process of covering the solder surface with a thin layer of solder - it can be either an independent, final operation, or a preparatory and intermediate stage of soldering. When this is the preparatory stage, in most cases, successful tinning of the part means that the most labor-intensive part of the soldering work (connection with the solder metal) has been completed; soldering the tinning parts to each other, as a rule, is not particularly difficult.

Tinning the ends of electrical wires is one of the most common procedures. It is performed before soldering wires to the contacts, soldering them together, or to ensure better contact with the terminals when connecting with bolts.

It is convenient to make a ring from a stranded tinned wire, which provides ease of attachment to the terminal, as well as excellent contact. Wires can be aluminum and copper, single-core and multi-core, varnished or not, new and clean or old acidified.

Depending on these features, their service varies.

If the conductor does not want to tint - due to the presence of varnish (enamel), then ordinary aspirin will help you. Knowing how to solder with a soldering iron using an aspirin tablet (acetylsalicylic acid) can be very useful in some cases. It is necessary to place it on a plate, press the conductor to it and heat it with a soldering iron for several seconds.

At the same time, the tablet begins to melt, and the resulting acid destroys the armor. The wire is then easy to tin.

If there is no aspirin, then vinyl chloride insulation from electrical wires, which when heated releases substances that destroy the varnish coating, also helps to remove the varnish that interferes with tinning from the surface of the conductor. It is necessary to press the wires to a piece of insulation with a soldering iron and drag it several times between the soldering iron and the insulation. Then tin the wire in the usual manner.

When removing varnish with a knife and sandpaper, cuts and breaks of thin wire strands are common. When stripping by firing, the wire may lose strength and break easily. It should also be taken into account that melted aspirin and polyvinyl chloride release substances harmful to human health into the air.

Also, for wires coated with varnish (enamel), you can buy a special flux that removes the varnish.

New stranded copper wire is as easy to tin as solid wire. The only peculiarity is to rotate it in the direction in which the wires will twist and not unwind. Old wires may be coated with oxides that prevent tinning. The same aspirin tablet will help to cope with them.

You need to untwist the conductor, put it on aspirin and heat it with a soldering iron for several seconds, moving the conductor back and forth, and your tinning problem will disappear. To tinning an aluminum wire, you will need a special flux - for example, the one that is called “flux for soldering aluminum.”

This flux is universal and is also suitable for soldering metals with a chemically resistant oxide film - in particular stainless steel. When using it, you just need to remember to clean the connection of all flux residues afterward in order to avoid corrosion.

If excess surf has formed on them when tinning the wires, it can be removed by placing the wire vertically with the end down and pressing a heated soldering iron to its end. Excess solder will drain from the wire onto the soldering iron.

Tinning a large metal surface

It may be necessary to tinning the surface of the metal to protect it from corrosion or to subsequently solder another part to it. Even if a completely new sheet is tinned, which looks outwardly clean, there can always be foreign substances on its surface - various contaminants, preservative grease.

  How to measure correctly with a caliper?

If a sheet that is covered with rust is tinned, then it needs even more cleaning. Therefore, tinning always begins with a thorough cleaning of the surface. Rust is cleaned with a metal brush or emery cloth, oils and fats are removed with acetone, gasoline or another solvent.

Then, using a brush or other tool that matches the flux, flux is applied to the surface of the sheet (this may not be an ordinary paste-like flux, but, for example, a solution of zinc chloride or other active flux). A soldering iron with a relatively larger flat tip surface is heated to the temperature you need and solder is applied to the surface of the part.

It is desirable that the power of the soldering iron be approximately 100 W or higher. Then apply the soldering iron to the solder on the part with the largest plane and hold it in this position. The heating time of the part depends on its size, contact area and soldering iron power. The boiling of the flux, melting of the solder and its spreading over the surface indicate that the required temperature has been reached.

The solder is gradually distributed over the surface. The metal surface after tinning is cleaned of all flux residues with soapy water, gasoline, acetone, and alcohol (depending on the chemical composition of the flux).

If the solder does not spread over the metal surface, it may be due to poor cleaning before tinning the surface, poor heating of the metal (due to the fact that the soldering iron is not powerful enough, insufficient heating time for the metal, small contact area), or a dirty soldering iron tip. Another reason may be the wrong choice of solder or flux.

It can carry out tinning by applying solder from a soldering iron and distributing it over the surface with a “tip”, or by supplying solder directly to the pad itself - the solder melts when it touches the heated metal of the part.

Overlapping sheet metal soldering

In the process of repairing car bodies and all kinds of various tin works, the need arises for soldering sheet metal overlay. There are two ways to stack sheet parts on top of each other: by tinning them first, or by using soldering paste that contains flux and solder.

In the first case, overlapping areas of parts after mechanical cleaning and degreasing are pre-tinned. Then the parts of the connection are applied to each other with degreased surfaces, fixed with clamping devices and heated from different sides using a soldering iron to the melting temperature of the solder. Evidence of successful soldering is the flow of molten solder from the gap.

After preparing the parts in the second method, the contact area of ​​one of the parts is coated with a special solder paste. Then the parts are fixed in the desired position, tightened with clamps and, as in the very first case, the seam is heated on both sides with a soldering iron.

When purchasing solder paste, you need to pay attention to its purpose, since many solder pastes are intended for soldering electronics and do not contain active fluxes that allow steel to be soldered.

Source: https://spb-metalloobrabotka.com/kak-pravilno-ludit-payalnik/

How to prepare a soldering iron for use

Before you solder with a soldering iron, you need to get everything you need. The main tools and materials without which soldering is impossible include the soldering iron itself, solder and flux.

Soldering irons

You can learn how to use such a soldering iron from the descriptions of the technology of tin work, which is where they were used most often. Nowadays, electric soldering irons are usually used due to their availability and ease of use. But the first soldering irons were heated over an open flame.

The main parameter by which a soldering iron is selected is its power, which determines the amount of heat flow transferred to the parts being soldered. Devices with a power of up to 40 W are used for soldering electronic components. Thin-walled parts (with a wall thickness of up to 1 mm) require a power of 80-100 W.

For parts with a wall thickness of 2 mm or more, soldering irons with a power above 100 W will be needed. These are, in particular, electric hammer soldering irons that consume up to 250 W and higher. The most energy-intensive soldering irons include, for example, the Ersa Hammer 550 hammer soldering iron with a power of 550 W. It is capable of heating up to a temperature of 600°C and is designed for soldering particularly massive parts - radiators, machine parts. But it has an inadequate price.

In addition to the massiveness of the part, the required power of the soldering iron is also affected by the thermal conductivity of the metal being soldered. As it increases, the power of the device and its heating temperature must be increased.

When soldering parts made of copper with a soldering iron, it must be heated more than when soldering a part of the same mass, but made of steel.

By the way, when working with copper products, a situation may arise when, due to the high thermal conductivity of the metal, during soldering, desoldering of previously completed areas will occur.

Fluxes

Choosing the right flux for soldering means solving the main problem of soldering. It is the quality of the flux that primarily determines the solderability of a particular metal, the ease or difficulty of the soldering process itself, and the strength of the connection. The flux must correspond to the material of the products being soldered - in its ability to destroy its oxide film.

Effective fluxes for soldering steel are an aqueous solution of zinc chloride, soldering acids based on it, and LTI-120 flux. You can use other, stronger fluxes, of which there are plenty on the market.

The main difference between soldering stainless steels with a soldering iron and soldering carbon and low-alloy steels is the need to use more active fluxes, which are required to destroy the chemically resistant oxides with which stainless steels are coated. As for cast iron, it needs to be soldered with high-temperature soldering, and, therefore, an electric soldering iron is not suitable for this purpose.

For stainless steel, phosphoric acid is used. Specialized fluxes, such as F-38, also cope well with chemically resistant oxide films.

For galvanized iron, you can use a composition containing rosin, ethyl alcohol, zinc chloride and ammonium chloride (LK-2 flux).

Auxiliary materials and devices

The soldering iron stand is used to ensure that the heated soldering iron does not touch the table or other objects. If it does not come with a soldering iron, you can purchase it separately or make it yourself. The simplest stand can be made from a thin sheet of tin, cutting grooves in it for storing tools.

soldering iron with a damp viscose or foam sponge placed in the socket to prevent it from falling out than with a regular cloth. Brass shavings can also serve for the same purposes.

Excess solder can be removed from the surface of parts using a special suction or braid. The first one, in appearance and design, resembles a syringe equipped with a spring. Before use, it must be cocked by recessing the rod head. By bringing the nose to the molten solder, the spring is released by pressing the release button. As a result, excess solder is drawn into the removal head.

Desoldering braid is a braid of flux-fluxed thin copper wires. By placing its end on the solder and pressing it on top with a soldering iron, thanks to capillary forces you can collect all the excess solder in it like a blotter. The tip of the braid, saturated with solder, is simply cut off.

A very useful tool is called Hand Tool. When working with a soldering iron, sometimes there are catastrophically “not enough hands” - one is occupied with the soldering iron itself, the other with the solder, but you still need to hold the soldered parts in a certain position. The “third hand” is convenient because its clamps can be easily installed in any position relative to each other.

The parts being soldered are heated to high temperatures; touching them can cause you to get burned. Therefore, it is advisable to have various clamping devices that allow you to manipulate heated parts - pliers , tweezers , clamps .

Preparing the soldering iron for use

Before using a soldering iron, you need to prepare its tip. Preparation depends on its original form. If the tip is made of bare copper, the tip can be forged into a screwdriver shape, this will seal the copper and make it more resistant to wear.

You can simply sharpen it with sandpaper or a file, giving it the required shape - in the form of a sharp or truncated cone with different angles, a tetrahedral pyramid, an angular bevel on one side. Nickel metal coatings are used to protect copper from oxidation.

If the soldering iron has such a coating, then it cannot be forged or sharpened to avoid damaging the coating layer.

There is a standardized range of tip shapes, but you can, of course, use any shape suitable for the particular job.

When soldering massive parts, the contact area between the soldering iron and the part should be maximum to ensure better heat transfer. In this case, angular sharpening of a round rod (2 in the photo above) is considered the best. If you plan to solder small parts, then a sharp cone (4), knife or other shapes with small angles are suitable.

Instructions for working with a soldering iron that has an uncoated copper tip contain one mandatory requirement - tinning the “tip” of the new soldering iron in order to protect it from oxidation and wear. Moreover, this should be done during the first heating, without delay. Otherwise, the “tip” will be covered with a thin layer of scale, and the solder will not want to stick to it. This can be done in different ways.

Heat the soldering iron to operating temperature, touch the “tip” to the rosin, melt the solder on it and rub the solder on a piece of wood. Or wipe the heated tip with a rag moistened with a solution of zinc chloride, melt solder on it and rub it over the tip with a piece of ammonia or rock table salt.

The main thing is that as a result of these operations, the working part of the tip is completely covered with a thin layer of solder.

The need to tin the tip is caused by the fact that the flux gradually corrodes, and the solder dissolves the tip. Due to loss of shape, the tip has to be sharpened regularly, and the more active the flux, the more often, sometimes several times a day. For nickel-plated tips, nickel blocks access to copper, protecting it, but such tips require careful handling, they are afraid of overheating, and it is not a fact that the manufacturer has made a sufficiently high-quality coating, for which they require an overpayment.

Preparing parts for soldering

First of all, this is cleaning the part from dirt and degreasing. There are no special subtleties here - you need to use solvents (gasoline, acetone or others) to clean the part from oils, fats, and dirt.

If there is rust, it must be removed by any suitable mechanical method - using an emery wheel, wire brush or sandpaper.

In the case of high-alloy and stainless steels, it is advisable to treat the edges being joined with an abrasive tool, since the oxide film of these metals is particularly strong.

Source: https://MyTooling.ru/instrumenty/kak-podgotovit-pajalnik-k-rabote

How to solder correctly with a soldering iron

Each of us at least once in our lives is faced with the need to solder radio components or various metal objects.

On our website we will tell you how to solder correctly with a soldering iron and reveal the secrets of choosing all the accessories to carry out the correct work.

Any beginner can learn to solder, it would be, as they say, a desire! Most radio amateurs who are faced with the need for soldering purchase special kits. In addition to tweezers, this soldering kit also includes an electric soldering iron, a jar of rosin and tin for soldering.

When choosing a soldering iron, we recommend that you pay attention to conventional tools with a power of about 40 watts. There is no need to purchase more powerful soldering irons for working at home. Once you learn how to solder parts correctly, 40 watts of power will be enough for you.

Assembling a power regulator for a regular soldering iron is not difficult. Such a regulator will make the equipment universal and convenient to use. A power regulator for a soldering iron or a do-it-yourself soldering station can be found in Radio magazines. And so, how to solder correctly with a soldering iron and what tools are needed for this.

Solder for soldering

To connect metal elements by soldering, you will need to use special solder, which is made from an alloy of tin and lead in various proportions. Currently, stores offer two types of solder, made in the form of wire or small tubes filled with flux.

It is recommended to give preference to solder wire, which is easy to work with. Solder is differentiated by hardness and melting point. For example, the most popular solder today is solder labeled POS-60. The abbreviation POS means tin-lead solder.

The first number of 60 indicates the percentage of tin in the alloy. Then this material contains 40 percent lead. The color of the solder depends on the lead content. The darker the solder, the more lead it contains. For household use, it is recommended to purchase POS-60 brand solder, which is characterized by increased strength and has a melting point of 190 °C.

Soldering fluxes

Flux is a special additional component that is designed to quickly dissolve and remove oxides from parts being soldered. The use of fluxes allows you to qualitatively protect metal elements from oxidation. The flux ensures high-quality wetting of the surfaces to be joined with liquid solder.

Fluxes not only allow you to clean the joint from oxides, but also remove carbon deposits from the working surface of the soldering iron tip. This dramatically improves the quality of the work performed.

Currently, rosin is the most widely used flux. This material is made from pine resin. In appearance, rosin resembles amber and has a transparent yellowish tint.

Preparing the soldering iron tip

Having purchased a new soldering kit, you need to prepare it for work. The soldering iron tip must be processed in a special way so that it receives the required shape. To do this, you will need to use pliers, with which we will give the tip the required dihedral angle shape. Having prepared the tip of the tip, you can plug the soldering iron into a power outlet. However, you cannot use it for work yet.

When turned on for the first time, the adhesive layer burns out, which was used to glue the mica on the heating element winding. In this case, an unpleasant odor and acrid smoke may appear, so it is better to first plug in the soldering iron in a well-ventilated area.

Soldering iron device in section

The heating element of the soldering iron is a nichrome wire wound on a metal tube. A special metal rod is inserted into the tube, which heats up under the influence of electricity.

The monochrome wire heats up under voltage and transfers its heat to the copper rod. To encode electricity, a special protective casing made of mica is used, which allows you to reliably isolate electricity and prevent electric shock.

Soldering iron stand

In most cases, soldering irons are offered to customers without stands. Then how to use this item as a stand is difficult. Therefore, you will have to either purchase additionally or make it yourself. You can make your own stand from a metal can lid and a small wooden block.

You can put the remaining flux and solder in the tin can itself. Using a marker, mark the future stand on the lid of the can. The lid must be cut with special metal scissors. Be careful as the edges of the metal lid may be quite sharp.

After the cover is cut, it must be processed with a file and nailed to a wooden block using two small nails. After the soldering iron warms up the first time it is turned on for 30 minutes, it is necessary to ventilate the room. The device is now completely ready for use.

Tip processing and soldering iron maintenance

After turning it on for the first time, the soldering iron tip may turn dark blue. It is necessary to process the tip with a file, which removes scale. After processing with a file, we dip the tip in rosin and thereby secure the work done.

The tip should be covered with solder on both sides and acquire a characteristic white color. This color of the end of the soldering iron will remain throughout its entire service life. It should be remembered that the key to performing high-quality soldering is proper maintenance of the equipment itself.

The solder should be evenly distributed in a thin layer over the surface of the tip. At this point, work on preparing the soldering iron for use is completely completed. In the following articles we will tell you how to work with a soldering iron correctly.

Useful advice on how to solder correctly

Often during soldering, a break in the electrical wire with the electric heating element of the soldering iron occurs.
They pulled the electrical wire carelessly and pulled it out of the soldering iron handle. To prevent this from happening, you need to make a small loop of wire and tape it to the handle of the soldering iron with electrical tape.

How to solder with a soldering iron video

article: How to desolder a microcircuit with a spotlight

← Repair of transformer of Chinese origin

Source: https://www.radiochipi.ru/kak-pravilno-paiat/

How to solder with a soldering iron: types of devices, preparation for work, tips for soldering iron and steel

When installing electrical circuits and connecting metal parts to each other, a reliable and proven method is used - soldering. A soldering iron is used to solder metal parts. Inexperienced and novice installers need to know how to solder with a soldering iron and what they need to have for the job.

Designs and varieties

The soldering process involves filling the space between the conductors with molten material, predominantly tin-lead solders. The melting point of solders should be lower than the heated area of ​​the tip. The soldering iron should be selected depending on the type and type of work required to be performed. Soldering irons are electric and heated by open flame.

Designs and types of soldering irons:

• With a nichrome heater made of wire wound on the surface of an insulator, into which a tip is inserted. Such tools heat up slowly and have a short service life.
• With a ceramic heater, to the terminals of which electric current is supplied. Such soldering irons are characterized by accelerated heating and increased service life.
• Impulse tools have instant heating. They are turned on by pressing and holding a button. In just 2-3 seconds, the tip warms up to the required temperature for working with solder. The soldering iron is shaped like a pistol with a tip.
• Gas soldering irons can be used autonomously, this is their main advantage. The working part of the tip is directed directly to the burner flame, through which heating occurs.

To perform certain types of soldering work, electric soldering irons are selected based on power. To solder semiconductor elements in a circuit, a power of 15 W to 25−40 W is sufficient, depending on the size of the heated surface of the radio-electronic component.

Certain types of soldering irons have special purposes. Soldering irons with a power of 40 W and above are well suited for tinning wires. For joining large metal areas, tools with power of 65 W, 80 W, 100 W, 150 W, 200 W, 300 W and 500 W are used.

Electric soldering irons are available with different supply voltages:

• industrial - 380 V;
• household - 220 V, 36 V, 24 V, 12 V, 6 V;
• special - 42 V and 110 V, used in railway transport.

Preparing the tool for work

To know how to use a soldering iron correctly, you need to master the skills of preparing the tool for soldering. The first thing that needs to be done after turning on the electric soldering iron is to tin the working section of the tip, which is a cylindrical rod made of a copper alloy. As a rule, the tip is located inside the heater and is fixed using a special screw or other fastening methods, depending on the design features of the soldering iron.

Sting processing

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the quality of the working part of the tip. The end of the tip that is usually used for soldering must be prepared for use. The shape may take the form of a spatula or a sharpened needle, depending on the type of work planned.

To prepare the working surface of the tip, you need to perform the following steps:

• Using a hammer, beat the tip and give it the shape of a spatula (screwdriver). You can use angular sharpening, which is best used for soldering more massive elements. By increasing the working surface, heat is transferred better.
• For soldering small elements (semiconductor radio components, thin installation wires), it is recommended to sharpen the edge in the shape of a sharp cone. This way, parts that are afraid of overheating are exposed to less thermal influences. This will protect them from failure and allow the tool to work longer.
• The cone-shaped sharpening point can be used on more powerful soldering irons to work with large conductors.

To prepare the working part of the tip, use a hammer, file or needle file, sandpaper, solder and flux. After processing the element with a hammer, it must be given the desired shape using a file or needle file, and then sanded with sandpaper.

Tinning methods

The next important point is the tinning of the end of the tip, which prevents it from rapid wear and corrosion. For tinning, you can use fluxes or pine rosin. It is necessary to prevent the soldering iron from overheating, as this makes tinning difficult. When you turn on the soldering iron for the first time, smoke may appear, which is usually caused by the substances used in the manufacture of the tool.

For further operation of the device, it is important to know what is needed for soldering with a soldering iron. First of all, it is necessary to tinning. This is done in two ways.

According to the first method, for tinning you need:

• heat the tip to the optimal temperature;
• immerse its end in rosin;
• rub the solder with the tip of the tip until a shine appears.

The second method involves the following steps:

• You need to moisten a rag with a solution of zinc chloride and wipe the tip with it.
• After this, you need to evenly rub the molten solder over the surface of the tip using a piece of table salt.

For tinning, you can also use various fluxes and soldering fats (soldering lard). To solder wires with a soldering iron, you need to prepare the tool itself, solder fluxes or rosin, auxiliary devices (soldering iron stand, pliers, wire cutters, tweezers, sponge for cleaning the tip).

Technological recommendations

It is necessary to follow the soldering technique with a soldering iron. Before soldering the wires, they must first be stripped of insulation. After this, the cleaned surface is inspected. Depending on the brand of wire, there may also be varnish on it. If the insulation was removed from the wires long before soldering, oxide may form. There are two ways to remove oxidized films and varnish:

• Mechanical, using fine-grained sandpaper. This method is applicable for single-core wires of large diameter. It is not recommended to strip stranded, thin wires in this way, as they can be torn.
• The chemical method is used for thin stranded wires, but is more harmful for the installer, since toxic solvents enter the lungs when inhaled with air. The varnish coating can be removed without prior stripping using acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). A wire is laid on the tablet and thoroughly heated with a soldering iron. Temperature and acid remove the varnish from the surface of the wire.

When working with enameled wires, you can use a special flux that destroys the coating and creates a film that protects against contact with air. This flux is called active. After completing soldering work, it must be removed using a damp rag or sponge.

If you need to solder a wire to a metal pad (for example, grounding), it must first be tinned. The surface to which it will be soldered must be cleaned until shiny and degreased. Following this, flux is applied and pieces of solder are laid. The place is thoroughly warmed up, after which a wire is applied to it.

In order to properly solder the wire to the desired location, it is necessary to follow the soldering technology. For this, POS-60 solder is used in combination with rosin or special fluxes, as they give it fluidity and ductility during soldering, and also protect the surface from interaction with oxygen.

You need to solder the wires with a well-heated soldering iron so that its temperature is sufficient to melt the solder. The stripped wire is lowered into rosin melted with a soldering iron. Having previously collected solder, you need to pass the tip along the bare wire several times, after which the already tinned conductor can be soldered in the required place. For ease of operation, you can use a “third hand” device. It is used to fix the conductor to which the wire will be soldered.

Soldering galvanized iron

When galvanized carbon steel products are manufactured, they are often coated with zinc using a hot-dip method. To obtain a shiny steel surface, lead, tin and aluminum are added to the bath in an amount of 1%. Steel sheets are also coated with zinc using the galvanic method.

Galvanized iron is difficult to solder, so it is necessary to have special active fluxes , consisting of concentrated hydrochloric acid and a solution of zinc ammonium chloride, as well as fluxes based on zinc chloride and ammonium with the addition of tin chloride. Tin-lead solders in combination with fluxes have good fluidity and provide high-strength connections.

First, flux is applied to the surface to be soldered, after which the exposure is observed. This is necessary for the reaction to take place. For soldering, you must have a large soldering iron with a high operating temperature. Before soldering the conductors, you must first rub the surface of the connection, and after soldering, you must remove any remaining flux.

How to solder stainless steel

Soldering stainless steel is a labor-intensive process. It is produced at temperatures from 500 to 700 degrees Celsius using solder (tinol). Solder for stainless steel is selected based on soldering conditions and steel composition.

The alloy contains no more than 25% chromium and 25% nickel; such compositions produce very strong connections. Borax is used as a flux, which is applied to the surface in the form of a paste or powder.

After the borax melts, the metal heats up and turns bright red, then solder is injected into these joints.

After soldering is completed, the remaining flux is removed using water or sand blasting. The use of nitric and hydrochloric acid is extremely undesirable, since a reaction between the solder and the metal may occur, leading to the destruction of the latter.

Homemade hammer soldering iron

At home, you can make a powerful soldering iron for soldering massive metal elements. This soldering iron has a high heat capacity, which provides sufficient temperature to perform the necessary work.

You need to rivet a massive copper bar or thick rod to make the sting. It will need to be turned with a file to get distinct edges and edges. The angle should be between 30 and 45 degrees. As a holder, you can use a steel rod or plate that will be attached to the soldering tip. You can also make a handle and attach it to the soldering iron.

Source: https://chebo.biz/stroyka-i-remont/kak-pravilno-payat-payalnikom-vidy-neobhodimye-materialy.html

How to use a soldering iron: learning to solder correctly

To get started, you need to decide what kind of soldering iron you have. The most common are rod and pulse soldering irons (guns), so this article will focus more on them.

What is the difference between a rod soldering iron and a pulse soldering iron: principle of operation

A stick soldering iron is so called because it looks like a rod or writing pen. It is held in the same way as a handle, but not at the base of the rod, by the handle. Most often the handle is wooden, plastic or rubber. Soldering irons with ceramic handles are less common.

Under no circumstances should you hold on to metal parts, as they will heat up during operation. Many people make the mistake of grabbing the soldering iron near the tip (the working part at the end of the rod). It ends with burns. Therefore, such a mistake is not made a second time, although there have been cases.

A soldering iron gun is easier to deal with. It must be held by the pistol grip.

These two soldering irons differ in the type of heating. The rod heats up all the time after being plugged into the outlet. And the pulse gun heats up only when the trigger is pulled. Most models of pulsed soldering irons have a light bulb under the tip that illuminates the details of the circuits.

We prepare everything you need

It all starts with preparing the workplace and tools. Remove everything unnecessary from the table and turn on the light. You will need: a soldering iron, solder (tin or lead), flux (rosin), tweezers or pliers and a sponge.

Tin and its alloys are considered low-melting solder, and lead is considered refractory. Although it all depends on the alloy. If you bought a soldering iron with a power of 5 to 40 W, use low-melting solder.

Solder is needed to connect circuit elements together. But you need to not just drip it onto the soldering area, but make sure that the solder gets into the gaps between the contacts. This results in higher conductivity and strength.

Rosin is needed to prevent the oxidation of metals by isolating them from oxygen. Beginners, by the way, can use solder with the addition of rosin.

Turn on the soldering iron and wait a couple of minutes until the tip warms up. Then apply some solder and flux to it. Moisten the sponge with water and wipe the sting. This cleans the soldering iron of old, oxidized solder.

During soldering, you will have to repeat this procedure periodically. Just don’t keep the wet sponge on the tip for too long - the soldering iron will cool down and you’ll have to start over.

How to solder correctly

Now that everything is ready, you can get started. It will be better if you practice on something first before you start soldering what you want.

Beginners are advised to start with this exercise:

Take a piece of wire and divide it into 12 identical pieces. Then we solder the ends together to form a cube. The pieces of wire should be bare (you can take an already bare wire or simply remove the insulation). You can only take them with pliers or tweezers.

This will help you get into the habit of never handling parts with your bare hands and keeping them stationary until the contact has cooled.

Once your cube is ready, take it in your palm and squeeze it. Not a single contact should come apart. If it still comes apart, repeat the exercise again.

Once you get the hang of connecting the elements, you can try tinning. To do this, take a piece of PCB and try to draw tracks on it. It is not necessary to somehow process the textolite before doing this. Without processing it’s even better - it will teach you to control the process.

Modern boards are very small, so tinning must be done under a microscope. Otherwise, you will simply go off the edges of the path. After a couple of attempts at tinning, regular soldering will seem like kindergarten to you.

You also need to practice a little with insulated wires. For example, you decide to repair your headphones. Multi-core wires are used there. Each vein is separately insulated, not counting the general insulation. And in order for there to be at least some contact, the insulation must be removed.

Doing this manually is time-consuming and inconvenient, but you can use a soldering iron. Take some solder and then apply it to the end of the wire. The insulation should burn off. Do this so that the ends are not too long. In this case, the solder must completely envelop them so that contact is everywhere.

Try to apply solder carefully so as not to touch other elements of the circuit. Especially if you are soldering something on a printed circuit board. Ideally, there should be a minimum amount of solder and rosin. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: “perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when nothing can be taken away.”

Precautionary measures

This is the most important part to start with. Some points were indeed mentioned throughout the article - they will be described in more detail here. Plus other rules.

• Hold the soldering iron strictly by the handle.
• Handle parts exclusively with pliers or tweezers. This way you will save not only yourself, but also the parts, because there may be skin discharge (oil or sweat) or static electricity on your fingers.
• Do not look at the board at a right angle. This is not only a matter of vision, but also of solder and flux vapors. The fumes rise, and if you inhale them, you can develop respiratory illness. You can buy or make a homemade hood - just take a 12-volt computer cooler and a power source.
• Ventilate the room in which you solder. Vapors can stick to furniture or clothing. Therefore, it is better not to solder in the bedroom, nursery or kitchen. If there is no space in your apartment, find a corner by the window.

These were a few basic rules that must always be followed.

Conclusion

The knowledge you gained in this article is enough to learn how to solder. This is enough for minor household repairs. Then you can learn on your own through trial and error.

Source: https://instrumentiks.ru/sovety/kak-polzovatsya-payalnikom