It's not heat, it's the amount of time the heat is applied that's the problem.
When I feel rusty, I do the wire soldering first and save the board soldering for when I feel on my game.
It's not heat, it's the amount of time the heat is applied that's the problem.
When I feel rusty, I do the wire soldering first and save the board soldering for when I feel on my game.
Like Bark was saying about the heat... getting a hotter iron CAN help as long as you use it properly.Originally Posted by Sevinzol
Components get TOO MUCH HEAT when you have a colder iron and you have to apply heat for a longer amount of time. This allows heat to distribute throughout whatever you're working on, especially if you're soldering onto a heat sink. Having a hotter iron lets you heat your joint quickly without heating your board too much.
It's counterintuitive at first but a hotter iron will potentially help you keep your components from getting too hot.
That's not to say you can't install a board with a cheap iron (I've done it) and you CAN use too much heat with a high quality iron. Anything is possible, I suppose.
ERUDITION
A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
Building while in a bad mood leads to the Dark Side right? Keep your chin up and good luck.
I love my Hakko iron. It's ESD-safe, with digital temp control, and does the job perfectly every time. I spent over a hundred on it, though, so that may not be the most accessible option.
I second what was said about practice. I was absolutely horrible at it when I started. It didn't take me long to get neat little bubbles of solder on those tiny pads. You'll get it if you're patient.
Miraluka and Bark are correct. The culprit here is not enough heat for too long a time. I'm guilty of ruining a few boards at my job for the same reason. The little solder trace lets go of the board. The right person can repair it as long as the board is still intact.
For a good iron that won't sink your budget, I recommend a Weller WES51. They're just over $100 on EBay. Temp control , easy to handle pencil type iron, and ESD safe. I've used mine for years with excellent results
I've been a bench tech for +20 years, having quality iron is only part of the story. Also having good soldering habits, knowing types of solder (solid core, rosin core, lead-free and etc...), a good tip cleaner and good lighting are key to soldering like a pro. Start with a good clean work surface. Then always tin your tips before and after usage. The after usage is important to prevent oxidation of your iron tips. The little tools (helping hands and hobby vise) that you see MadCow using in his videos are top notch. Rosin, as means of better heat transfer medium, can help but tends to get a little messy if you don't have the right agents to remove from soldered joints. One of the general rules I do my best at following is if your iron is on the surface to be heated for longer than 5 secs, your part is going to suffer some heat damage. One last word of advice, The old saying "the bigger the blob the better the job" is total 'bs'.
Lighting is very important. I totally agree. I've got a 60W LED bulb with reflector positioned ~12" above my soldering station. Direct light, no shadows. I also use the helping hands with attached magnifying lens, plus a high-magnification lens that I use for checking solder joints afterward. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if you've bridged a pad, especially if your eyes aren't the best, so that helps considerably.
As Darth says, tinning is key. If I notice my tip getting a little messy, I use the included brass wire cleaner to remove the mess, then immediately tin. It helps protect the tip, but it also helps transfer heat to the component. Correct temperature is also important; too low and it forces you to leave the iron on the component for too long.
As for solder, I use the 0.15" diameter silver-bearing solder from Radio Shack. It heats up faster, you can better control how much solder flows into the joint, etc, etc. Not to mention it's a good quality solder, in my opinion. I can't remember who told me to use that, but I'm sure it must have been a member here. Whomever you are, thank you for that.
There are a lot of soldering tutorial videos on YouTube, which is basically how I picked up my current methods. They seem to work well for me, and taught me some things I never considered. If you do go that route, be sure you cross-reference with a few sources, to make sure you're not being misinformed.
Side-Note: If you do bridge a pad, don't panic. I bridged two legs of the MCU on my PC 1.6, a few years ago, and considered it lost. A couple of months later, I decided to try clearing the bridge with a piece of copper wire. It worked, the board was brought back to life, and I was a happy guy. Desoldering braid should be in your kit, no matter what.
I just found a good iron on amazon for $30. its the Aoyue 469. it's got Variable Power and is a 60 Watt iron and ESD safe. I was using a cheap $5 iron and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong as none of my solders came out like the video's (or if the solder would even melt right). I got the 469 last week and it works great.
How is that Aoyue 469 working out for you? I'm looking for a new iron, and $90 for a Weller or Hakko is a little out of the budget right now.
I'm gonna say probably great.
ERUDITION
A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks