Soldering is the process of making an electrical or mechanical joint between 2 metal parts by the alloy reaction which occurs between the melted solder and the metal part to be soldered. A soldering iron is a tool used to heat the base material and the solder.
Soldering is the process of making an electrical or mechanical joint between 2 metal parts by the alloy reaction which occurs between the melted solder and the metal part to be soldered. A soldering iron is a tool used to heat the base material and the solder.
Soldering is the process of making an electrical or mechanical joint between 2 metal parts by the alloy reaction which occurs between the melted solder and the metal part to be soldered. A soldering iron is a tool used to heat the base material and the solder.
What is Soldering? Solder is an alloy of tin and lead. Soldering is the process of making an electrical or mechanical joint between 2 metal parts by the alloy reaction which occurs between the melted solder and the metal part without damaging the metal part to be soldered. 2 The Specific Steps of Soldering *Flux contains chloride. Rust forms on the joint if the flux is not completely removed by washing the soldered part in water. * 3 What Metals Can Be Soldered? Easy to solder Metals that can be soldered Hard to solder Tin Silver Copper Brass Zinc plate Nickel plate Iron Stainless Steel Metals that cannot be soldered Rusting metal, Aluminium, Chrome plated objects, Cast metal, Die cast parts 4 Soldering: 3 Steps 1. Cleaning 2. Heating 3. Soldering Heat the material that will be soldered to a higher temperature than the solders melting temperature. When the material is hotter than the melting point of solder, apply the solder. Remove the oxide film on the part to be soldered. Mechanical method Chemical method Polish the part to be soldered with a file or sand paper. Use flux. 5 The Basics Soldering isnt difficult. J ust choose the right tools that meet the task: Soldering iron Solder Flux 6 Soldering Irons For hobby use (with nichrome heater) For both hobby use and precision soldering (with ceramic heater) CXR-31 KS-30R For precision soldering (temperature controlled) RX-802AS A soldering iron is a tool used to heat the base material and the solder. There are a wide variety of soldering irons to choose from. It is important to choose an iron to match the soldering work youre going to do. 7 8 Types of Heater Nichrome heater Ceramic heater There are two types of heaters used in soldering irons. Nichrome Heater (20-300W) Nichrome wire A Nichrome heater consists of a wound nichrome wire which heats the tip from the outside. Theyre suitable for low cost manufacturing and hobby use. 9 Ceramic Heater (15-50W) A ceramic heater has excellent electric insulation because it consists of a tungsten heating element sealed in a ceramic clay. It also heats up much faster and has better heat recovery than the nichrome heater. Excellent heat recovery and fast heat-up make it suitable for soldering ICs or electronic components. Tungsten Ceramic clay 10 Temperature Controlled Soldering Irons 1 With this type of soldering iron it is possible to control the exact temperature of the tip during operation because the ceramic heater has a built-in sensor. Heat-up is extremely fast and heat recovery is excellent. Suitable for soldering PCBs or ICs. PX-238 11 Temperature Controlled Soldering Irons 2 Heater temperature is controlled with the highly sensitive sensor integrated into the soldering iron tip. This is a temperature controlled soldering station designed for lead-free soldering. RX-802AS 12 Tips Select the tip shape and size according to the part to be soldered.Tips are divided into two types: Copper tips and Long-life tips. 13 Copper Tips Copper tips must be filed-down as they become eroded by the solder. 14 Long-life Tips Plating the copper with iron slows erosion caused by the solder so that tip life is extended. 15 Maintenance To remove excessive amounts of oxides from the tip, use sandpaper (#600) after the tip has cooled down. After removing the oxides, coat the tip with solder. Remove oxides from the tip during work, with the ST-40 Tip Cleaner. After use, dont forget to coat the tip with solder before storing it away. This will protect the tip. Tips with a solder coating have a wider heat-transfer area which improves efficiency. 16 Traditional Solder (Lead-solder) Traditional solder is an alloy of tin and lead. It differs in viscosity and melting point, depending on the composition-ratio. Select the solder based on the work to be done. Tin (Sn) % Lead (Pb) % Melting Point Purpose Viscosity 63% 37% 183 Precision PCBs LOW 60% 40% 183 190 PCBs 17 50% 50% 183 215 Electric parts 45% 55% 183 227 Sheet Metal 40% 60% 183 238 Sheet Metal (welding) HIGH There are two types of solder wire; one has a flux core and the other does not. For sheet metal, solder wire that does not contain flux should be used. Flux specifically intended for sheet metal should be used separately. Solder for Special Use For some applications, a small amount of metal may be contained in addition to tin and lead.
For example: Solder which contains copper
When soldering thin copper wire, the tin contained in the solder can corrode the copper and cause the wire to break. The copper contained in this solder fuses with the thin copper wire which slows the erosion and improves the reliability. 18 Lead-free Solder Lead-free solder is simply solder, which does not contain lead (Pb). The RoHS directive is now enforced in the EU and other countries to protect the environment. It was designed to stop the use of lead in electronic goods because illegal dumping of household appliances was found to have caused contamination in the water supply due to the lead leaching and entering rivers and groundwater. 19 Flux When the metal surface to be soldered is contaminated or oxidized, wettability is poor making it difficult to achieve a reliable solder joint. Flux is used to remedy this problem. 20 There are 3 categories of flux. Residual material Flux category Activation level Moisture absorption Corrosion Cleaning Application Inorganic Strong Occurs High Required Sheet metal Organic Medium Less than inorganic Low Resin Weak Required depending on application PCB Flux Categories BS-3/4/5 BS-15 BS-850 21 The Effects of Flux 1.Flux removes grease, foreign particles and oxide film. Flux improves soldering by removing the oxide film that forms on solder and/or metal. 2.Flux prevents re-oxidation. When metal is heated and exposed to the air, oxidation occurs at an increased rate. Flux covers and protects the joint from the air which prevents oxidization. 3.Flux increases wettability. Flux lowers the surface tension of solder and increases wettability. Q: What is wettability? A: The degree to which solder will spread evenly across a surface. 22 Checking the Quality [Terminals] Good Poor (Insufficient solder) Poor (Excessive solder) 23 Checking the Quality [Leads] Poor (Insufficient solder) Good Poor (Excessive solder) 24 Checking the Quality [Discrete component chip contacts] Good Poor (Insufficient solder) Poor (Excessive solder) 25 Checking the Quality [Flat leads] Poor (Insufficient solder) Good Poor (Excessive solder) 26