Plato soldering tips - have you used them?

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Apparently there is a firm called Plato that makes soldering tips for a number of soldering irons, inc. Pace, Hakko and Ersa. Because I have all 3, I thought it might be a good idea to get stuff from these Plato people, if their tips are any good.
What's your experience - how does Plato stuff compare to the manufacturers' own tips?

[saturation]

I've never used them but I hear they are very good, and could be the source for the other makers.

http://www.platoproducts.com/product-info.php?pId=132&cId=20

The only thing is the cost difference is fairly small to none, $1 or 2, at most, per tip compared to buying the real deal.  Also, with certain promotions, say from Hakko, the real Hakko tips can be cheaper.

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Interesting... I wonder how they stay in business if the price difference is so small?
Perhaps if they compete well on Weller tip prices, they would sell a lot, as Pace, Ersa and Hakko have more or less reasonably-priced tips as it is. I checked their Ersa stuff and didn't find much.

[saturation]

A common issue is one vendor stocks are available while the other isn't;  other times when companies buy in bulk and write a PO they'll just get what they can get from the same vendor, and if he's out of stock with Hakko but OK with Plato, then Plato it is; when you look at cost of shipping it pays to buy big from one person to offset shipping costs.  However for us home labs or similar,  we don't buy as much.  For Hakko, tips for the 936 or FX 888 are widely available from so many people. 

http://www.techni-toolcatalog.com/lg_display.cfm/page/27/catalog/130

http://www.techni-toolcatalog.com/lg_display.cfm/catalog/130/page/4/highlight/hakko%20888

This is at least for Hakko.  For Weller, Pace etc., you have to check it and see what the story is.   Plato may also stock what other vendors stop making [such as older model Weller].

Interesting... I wonder how they stay in business if the price difference is so small?
Perhaps if they compete well on Weller tip prices, they would sell a lot, as Pace, Ersa and Hakko have more or less reasonably-priced tips as it is. I checked their Ersa stuff and didn't find much.

[ivan747]

What's your experience - how does Plato stuff compare to the manufacturers' own tips?

Well, they do a very good solder wick, under the Techspray name. If they offer tips types the original manufacturers don't they are a very good deal.

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Yes, Techspray wick is good. As for the tips, they don't seem to go beyond what the manufacturer offers, so they compete presumably on price/longevity combo. But because, as saturation remarked, the price difference isn't substantial, their tips would have to be of superior quality to the manufacturer's own.
I am trying to get some Pace tips from them to compare, as they don't do tips for my Ersa.

[ciccio]

When I was a young engineer (in the 1980s) the Company I worked for was buying from Plato all the tips for our Weller ad Philips irons. The rep told me that Plato had the patent for iron coating the tips, and they were the original manufacturer of the tips sold with many name-brand tools.
I don't know if this is true (he was a sales rep, so not at all trustful), but I must admit the the tips were indistinguishable from the original, both for performance and longevity. I remember they were not cheap.

Another Company, OK international (OKi), the manufacturer of Metcal and Oki soldering station, sells spare tips for a lot of soldering and desoldering irons, including Weller and Pace.
A limited selection is available on their Italian site:
http://webstore.okinternational.it/shop/articoli.aspx?idArt=601
Note that prices are for 10 pieces, bot excluding (the one in bold) and including VAT (iva inc.)
They sent me a catalog with tips for other brands, but I can't find it now.
I was unable to find the corresponding page on their international site, but I think it is there...
I did not test them, but I'll do asap.

After saving the post, I found their international webstore:
http://www.okinternational.com/store
I see that spare bits are not available in all coutries..

[lpc32]

Any more opinions on Plato versus original Hakko tips? Quite disappointing that Mouser and the likes don't carry Hakko tips.

[rdl]

Mouser is not a Hakko dealer. Mouser is not really an equipment supplier, they sell components and supplies. Stocking Plato means they can have tips available for many brands of soldering tools and only have to deal with one supplier.

I've been using Plato tips with my Hakko equipment for years. They are very good quality and I've had no problems. It wouldn't surprise me to find that Plato actually made the Hakko branded tips.

[lpc32]

Got a fake Hakko at first, but it didn't work well. Thought I'd better try an original to have a good reference point.

I like getting everything from the same seller whenever possible. Mouser and others do keep various tips, solder, flux, etc., even if it's not their core business, so it's a bit unfortunate.

[nanofrog]

I've found them to be equal to the manufacturer's tips overall. Generally speaking not better, but there are exceptions IME with Weller's Bosnian made tips (QC has been all over the place for me, while Plato/Techspray has been consistent).

As per them being the actual OEM for tips sold by soldering iron manufacturers, I'd take that with an entire container of salt (or flat out call BS). The reason, is their equivalents to Weller's LT series have all been made in Costa Rica, while Weller's come from multiple countries (Bosnia, Japan, and recently, Germany on my LT series).

If you do try them, go for the LF (lead free) versions wherever you can, as they've thicker plating and will last longer.

FWIW, they make great filler items (i.e. qualify for free shipping for a hobbyist; or finish off a budget at end of year in a business or gov't agency).

[yami759]

(Practically a copy/paste from my reply from https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/fake-hakko-solder-tips/ , sorry  )

Recently I picked up the FX-888D and purchased this Plato tip for it (even more expensive than an actual Hakko!). It is one of those solder-well SMD tips Dave showed off in his soldering tutorial. This kind of tip is not offered in the T18 line of tips (they have one similar with a flat face, without a well - I believe the well is a trademark or something of that sort, and they cannot manufacture them), so i was forced to go 3rd party. In Dave's video, the tip he shows off actually seems different from the other Hakkos, indicating it is also 3rd party. I haven't used this tip very much in particular yet, but so far I have no problem with it, and might even pick up a larger vesion of it (the one I ordered is a lot smaller diameter than I had thought). If anything, the tolerance difference with the tips fitting on the iron is ever, ever so slightly more wiggle-ish. Only noticeable if you are actually trying to notice it, as it is hardly anything at all, and is not a problem at all.

[nanofrog]

(Practically a copy/paste from my reply from https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/fake-hakko-solder-tips/ , sorry  )

Recently I picked up the FX-888D and purchased this Plato tip for it (even more expensive than an actual Hakko!). It is one of those solder-well SMD tips Dave showed off in his soldering tutorial. This kind of tip is not offered in the T18 line of tips (they have one similar with a flat face, without a well - I believe the well is a trademark or something of that sort, and they cannot manufacture them), so i was forced to go 3rd party. In Dave's video, the tip he shows off actually seems different from the other Hakkos, indicating it is also 3rd party. I haven't used this tip very much in particular yet, but so far I have no problem with it, and might even pick up a larger vesion of it (the one I ordered is a lot smaller diameter than I had thought). If anything, the tolerance difference with the tips fitting on the iron is ever, ever so slightly more wiggle-ish. Only noticeable if you are actually trying to notice it, as it is hardly anything at all, and is not a problem at all.

They seem to have gotten more difficult to find lately in the US at least, but Hakko's part numbers would be:

• 900M-T-2CM (couldn't find anyone still selling this one)
• 900M-T-3CM

At least the Plato will work if actual Hakko end up impossible to source.

[gmit77]

They seem to have gotten more difficult to find lately in the US at least, but Hakko's part numbers would be:

• 900M-T-2CM (couldn't find anyone still selling this one)
• 900M-T-3CM

At least the Plato will work if actual Hakko end up impossible to source.
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900M-T-2CM price, due to its small size, is super high. I'm investigating and let you know.

[nanofrog]

They seem to have gotten more difficult to find lately in the US at least, but Hakko's part numbers would be:

• 900M-T-2CM (couldn't find anyone still selling this one)
• 900M-T-3CM

At least the Plato will work if actual Hakko end up impossible to source.

900M-T-2CM price, due to its small size, is super high. I'm investigating and let you know.

Thanks. 

Nice to see you're carrying them (very handy profile IME). 

[lpc32]

If anything, the tolerance difference with the tips fitting on the iron is ever, ever so slightly more wiggle-ish.

Doesn't sound good for heat transfer.