EEVblog #180 - Soldering Tutorial Part 1 - Tools

[Bored@Work]

Yep the old multicore 'Steradent' tubes were great but sadly no longer availing AFAIK. But a diy version is just as good One enhancement is to pass the solder through a narrow bore tube first, supposed to help prevent snagging.

Sparkfun has tubes  http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9162
Ebay has http://cgi.ebay.com/12-Lot-Solder-60-40-Rosin-Core-Electronics-Tube-/300569950191 (12 tubes in a single lot).

But these tubes with no-name solder are four or five times more expensive than spools with no-name solder.

[pmrlondon]

Sparkfun has tubes  http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9162
Ebay has http://cgi.ebay.com/12-Lot-Solder-60-40-Rosin-Core-Electronics-Tube-/300569950191 (12 tubes in a single lot).

But these tubes with no-name solder are four or five times more expensive than spools with no-name solder.

They are about the same as the Antex/Iroda/Maplin ones. The Multicore ones were quite a bit thicker.

[Trigger]

I've been using some small solder that I acquired 26 years ago.  It flows fine.  I've used about 1/2 pound of the 1 pound roll.  Good quality solder and flux make this not a problem.

This is true flux will cause the oxide and other crap to pool on the surface. However this is part of the problem as the small pitch (and lack of leads in some cases)  of smd devices can cause solder bridges due to this oxidation residue not allowing it to wick correctly.It's not a major problem but one that can catch out the novice and can be very difficult to correct if it gets under the device. If you have a large stock of old solder then by all means use it, but if you are buying new, don't bulk buy if you are a low volume user, unless you have a good reason.

It still sits on the shelf with the spools, and who knows how long it's been sitting there.  There are some flux types that are more effected by age than others, but if you're using additional liquid or paste flux anyway, and you should be with SMD, it's a moot point.

[ABCD]

What size chisel tip was Dave using in this episode?  I was researching the FX-888 and accessories and wow, there are many tip types available.

[EEVblog]

i get the impression that Dave feels that being limited to only trough hole components
is not going to be an option for much longer even for hobbyists.

It's not. There is just so much cool stuff available in SMD only.
And SMD is easy, no harder than through hole really.

Dave.

[copiertalk]

.5 mm solder? would smaller be better as I am doing more and more smd work. I would like smaller but I am not sure what to look for. Any tips on this? mouser is my prefered vendor.

I would rather not have flux in my solder. I have found my own that I like for each application that I work on. I kinda would prefer if the solder did not come with the manufacturers flux involved.

is the chipquik stuff worth it?

[dopplershift]

Has anyone be able to find a supplier (in Australia?) for the hollow-point tip that Dave recommends for SMT work? I've tried searching for hollow-tips, well-tips, wicking-tips, hoof-tips etc...

[vk6zgo]

Many moons ago, I did a High Reliability Hand Soldering course run by Telecom Australia.
It was a great course,the two blokes that ran it travelled all over Australia with a couple of big road cases of Royel & Pace rework stations,so you learnt on properly maintained equipment.

Three things in particular were stressed:-

(1) Cleanliness--you had to make sure the joint was clean,plus clean any contamination from the solder before use using solvent on
a Kimwipes or similar,sheet.

(2) Cut the solder before each joint,exposing fresh flux .

(3) Use Liquid resin flux where appropriate

The desoldering tools came with multiple tips,& we were taught to select the correct tip to fit the lead size,reduce the temp to a little below normal soldering temp,place the tip over the lead,so the lead end went into the tip hole.
As soon as the solder began to melt,wiggle the tool to break the mechanical connection,& only then,operate the vacuum pump.

I liked the Royel  stuff better than PACE,but it was more expensive,& now has gone out of business.

VK6ZGO

[Freighternut]

Okay, I'm confused!

I am half way through a 2.5 kg roll of 0.87 mm 60/40 solder that I brought about 30 years ago.

This still solders very well but as Dave and others pointed out is way too big for smaller pad sizes and SMD. On smaller pads I end up with
an ugly blob as it is so difficult to control the amount of solder being applied with the large wire size.

I started hunting for some smaller wire, around 0.5 mm and soon became over whelmed with the choices available. My current
thinkling is towards Multicore 0.51 mm 63/37 CRYSTAL 400 1% 0.020DIA/25SWG from Digikey, see link below.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=82-116-ND

I have a couple of questions re this choice:

1. I assume, because I can find any information on it that the 1% relates to the proportion of flux to solder. Is 1% adequate?

2. The flux in this product is the NO-CLEAN type. This sounds good, but should I look for the more traditional RA or RMA fluxes?

I would very like to hear what others are using in these smaller and more modern types of solder wire.

Many thanks, Roger...
 

[vk6zgo]

Have a look online for your nearest Jaycar store,(there are quite a few in NZ)& buy some 60/40 or 63/37 over the counter.
The smallest they have is 0.75 mm,but it is small enough for most work.
While you are there,pick up a Jaycar catalogue.
Buying stuff of the internet for a quite small saving is not worth the hassle--over the counter gives you instant gratification,instead of waiting for days or weeks.
If you find another local supplier,the same applies to them.

VK6ZGO

[Freighternut]

Thanks, VK6ZGO,

Yes, I have had a look at my local Jaycar. They only carry a fraction of the Jaycar range and only have 1 mm 60/40 in stock. They would need to order it in for me.

I buy quite a lot from Digikey, mostly stuff that is hard to find here in small town NZ. I have had great success with ordering from Digikey, if you spend over NZ$150 freight is free to NZ.

73's ZL1VCC

[vk6zgo]

Thanks, VK6ZGO,


I buy quite a lot from Digikey, mostly stuff that is hard to find here in small town NZ. I have had great success with ordering from Digikey, if you spend over NZ$150 freight is free to NZ.

73's ZL1VCC

That's "more fool" Jaycar!
In their catalogue they crow about how many stores they have.
I'm sorry to hear that they have gone the Tandy route,not stocking some components in NZ.
Jaycar's mail order business is fairly good (in OZ,at least) so that's another option,or RS Components.

The Digikey solder sounds like the real deal,though,so if you get a good price,it's probably the way to go!


73, VK6ZGO
(It's fun mystifying the non-hams with our "secret handshake". )

PS:- That's weird,the "quote" dropped your first few sentences.

[pb]

What size chisel tip was Dave using in this episode?  I was researching the FX-888 and accessories and wow, there are many tip types available.

I didn't see an answer to this... I'm curious too.

Is there a rule of thumb for tip size?

[IanB]

I didn't see an answer to this... I'm curious too.

Is there a rule of thumb for tip size?

The general answer about tip size is "big enough to supply sufficient heat to the work, but not so big that it can't be positioned accurately".

I have a Hakko FX-888 that comes with a small chisel tip as standard, but even that small tip is big enough to make effective joints with quite large wires.

If you have not seen them already, Hakko have some very nice videos showing how to use various tip shapes:

http://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/

[pmrlondon]

I am now the owner of a temperature controlled soldering station - I've been given a "buy yourself something" thank you from work and thought that one of those was a good idea - especially as this one is currently a third off normal price.

It's a Maplin A55KJ - made in China like just about everything else these days, of course, and the instructions show a few definitely clumsy translations.

The replacement iron is not listed on the web yet but is on Maplin's store stock system, showing as a "not yet" item.

The iron comes fitted with a conical tip. A replacement tip pack is available containing a small chisel-like tip and two conicals, one of which is finer. I bought the tip pack straight away and fitted the chisel-like (called a general) tip straight away.

I haven't yet made any joints with it - see my post elsewhere about removing enamel - but am sure it will prove itself a worthy addition to my kit. Even my partner can understand how the gas iron could be "too hot" for some work.

I have not yet decided exactly how to store this kit.. my rolling workshop has little room left in the top box, but I managed to get the iron and stand in there for now. The control unit has had to go in the bottom - with the extension lead. I might move the iron and stand to be with it at a later date.