Weller rework stations. WXR3 versus WR3

[FrankE]

I'm looking for an all-in-one rework stations.
Weller has already been decided for me. In the UK they have the best availability of tips and spares

I'm having trouble deciding between the WXR and the WR3 series eg the WXR3032 and the WR3000M
Decisions, decisions.
Do either come with tips?
Has anyone used both?
Any thoughts.

[rodpp]

I have the WR3000M, it comes with a basic set of tips and filters. But it's irrelevant when compared with the station price.

It works very well, but I have no parameters to compare. My other soldering station is a basic hakko 936 clone.

I never used the newer WXR3. According with its specs it has 600W (3x200W) and the WR3M 420W (200W soldering, 200W hot air and 120W desoldering).

It seems that the WR3M is compatible with a wider range of tools, and the WXR3 is only compatible with the new WX tools. I could not find a Weller document saying that, but the compatibility table of the WXR3 datasheet don't list the wide range of tools that the WR3M supports.



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[FrankE]

I have the WR3000M, it comes with a basic set of tips and filters. But it's irrelevant when compared with the station price.

It works very well, but I have no parameters to compare. My other soldering station is a basic hakko 936 clone.

I never used the newer WXR3. According with its specs it has 600W (3x200W) and the WR3M 420W (200W soldering, 200W hot air and 120W desoldering).

It seems that the WR3M is compatible with a wider range of tools, and the WXR3 is only compatible with the new WX tools. I could not find a Weller document saying that, but the compatibility table of the WXR3 datasheet don't list the wide range of tools that the WR3M supports.



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Yeah, the interoperability with the more ergonomic irons is my concern. I like the shorter WP irons. There's no putting it back if I find once I've used it that I don't get on with the form factor of the WX irons.
It would just be a bit of a nuisance to unpack a fancy rework station and then have to wait a few days until I can get tips in.

[donkey77]

Hi, I have the WXR3 station, the same as the one Toploser recently sold. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-(uk)-weller-wxr-3032-rework-station-3-channel/

I bought mine from him too. His pictures show you what is included.

As far as I could tell the only other differences other than those listed above is that the display on the WX models have a graphical display over the seven segment type on the older WR version.

I've found it a great system to use, having an old WD1 station I will probably get around to getting a higher power iron as well, currently using the old 80w one for heavier duty tasks. The motion sense in the iron on the WX tools is better than the micro switch in the stand of the older type IMO but if you already have a few compatible irons to use with the WR station it might make more sense to stay with that system. The tips are different between versions but both are quite cheap.
I also bought a set of tweezers which work well. Be warned though, the station (on both I guess, they look to be the same case) are quite deep so you need a deep bench or shelving to put it. It can also be hard to keep the cables/pipes tidy if leaving all the irons connected.

[blacksheeplogic]

It seems that the WR3M is compatible with a wider range of tools, and the WXR3 is only compatible with the new WX tools. I could not find a Weller document saying that, but the compatibility table of the WXR3 datasheet don't list the wide range of tools that the WR3M supports.

The WX line of hand pieces are not compatible with the older hand pieces (and vice-versa). The WX plug is larger and incompatible. The WX hand pieces are also chipped preventing interchanging the hand pieces (assuming you changed the connector). Versions of all of the WX hand pieces are available for the older stations.

[FrankE]

Hi, I have the WXR3 station, the same as the one Toploser recently sold. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-(uk)-weller-wxr-3032-rework-station-3-channel/

I bought mine from him too. His pictures show you what is included.

As far as I could tell the only other differences other than those listed above is that the display on the WX models have a graphical display over the seven segment type on the older WR version.

I've found it a great system to use, having an old WD1 station I will probably get around to getting a higher power iron as well, currently using the old 80w one for heavier duty tasks. The motion sense in the iron on the WX tools is better than the micro switch in the stand of the older type IMO but if you already have a few compatible irons to use with the WR station it might make more sense to stay with that system. The tips are different between versions but both are quite cheap.
I also bought a set of tweezers which work well. Be warned though, the station (on both I guess, they look to be the same case) are quite deep so you need a deep bench or shelving to put it. It can also be hard to keep the cables/pipes tidy if leaving all the irons connected.

Thanks. I typed out a lengthy response but it got lost (timeout or restart)
The stock 65W of the 3032 may be problematic for nonSMD.How is it say with regular pads for discrets ( non surfsce mount)? Battery solder tags?
Both are second hand so choosing a different ,odels means new or a potentially a long wait.

[donkey77]

To be fair I haven't yet had an issue with the 65w not having enough power. I haven't yet bought a bigger chisel tip than the standard one that comes with it, I think it's just a gut feeling that the standard one isn't man enough. A lot of the older PCB's I've had to repair (I'm not using this everyday by the way) are through hole and I have no problems. I haven't tried it yet but I guess soldering 4-6mm multi strand wire might be a push or require that extra few seconds to transfer heat. I'll have a go tomorrow and let you know.

[blacksheeplogic]

I haven't yet bought a bigger chisel tip than the standard one that comes with it, I think it's just a gut feeling that the standard one isn't man enough.

Larger tips are a worth while investment. The XNT-A tip which it comes with is not a durable tip esp at higher temps which you would have to operate it at for larger joints.

[FrankE]

It seems that the WR3M is compatible with a wider range of tools, and the WXR3 is only compatible with the new WX tools. I could not find a Weller document saying that, but the compatibility table of the WXR3 datasheet don't list the wide range of tools that the WR3M supports.

The WX line of hand pieces are not compatible with the older hand pieces (and vice-versa). The WX plug is larger and incompatible. The WX hand pieces are also chipped preventing interchanging the hand pieces (assuming you changed the connector). Versions of all of the WX hand pieces are available for the older stations.

Thanks.
I found an interoperability chart for stations and pencils somewhere but damned if I can find it again. Nothing similar on RS, E14.
There being all those different Weller ranges is a bit annoying. Single station for instance some good sets but with spring holder & sponge. Good pencil with not so good contoller or vice versa, X pencil doesn't fit Y station and so on.

[FrankE]

I never thought of just using bigger tips for the likes of battery solder tags. For all that I'd use it that would be a workable solution.
I've soldered battery tags with one of those awful 25W direct to mains uncontrolled irons, so 65 should be enough with the right tip.

[donkey77]

Thought i'd also mention, going back a bit up the thread, the WX65 iron is slightly shorter than the WP80.

[blacksheeplogic]

Thought i'd also mention, going back a bit up the thread, the WX65 iron is slightly shorter than the WP80.

The WX65/WP65 and WP80 are the same length. The WSP80 is about 1/2" longer. The WX65/WP65 is narrow compared to the WP80.

[FrankE]

Thanks all. I ordered the WRX3032.
I also bought a WSD81i Digital Soldering Station with WSP80 and WDH 10 dry clean stand.
Strewth, they are much slimmer than the old TCP irons. I really thought "oh dear they've packaged a 25W iron by mistake". Really nice grip to tip distance.

Next on the list stereoscope or PSU.

[nanofrog]

Thanks all. I ordered the WRX3032.
I also bought a WSD81i Digital Soldering Station with WSP80 and WDH 10 dry clean stand.
Strewth, they are much slimmer than the old TCP irons. I really thought "oh dear they've packaged a 25W iron by mistake". Really nice grip to tip distance.

Next on the list stereoscope or PSU.

FWIW I own a WMP iron (65W), which is the predecessor to the WP65 & WXP65 (never versions definitely have the edge on tip swaps & selection). And although they're meant for working with SMD & under a microscope, you can do more with it (i.e. tin 12AWG wire using a 4mm chisel). Just be careful not to take on too much, as I've run into situations it could handle, but only by exceeding safe soldering times.

So don't be surprised if you find yourself using the WSP80 more than the WXP65.  

[donkey77]

I'm sure you'll be very happy with the wxr but what was the reason for getting the wsd81 instead of a wxp80 iron and stand too use with your new wxr3 station?

[FrankE]

I'm sure you'll be very happy with the wxr but what was the reason for getting the wsd81 instead of a wxp80 iron and stand too use with your new wxr3 station?

Good question.
It doesn't make sense on the face of it, doesn't it?
The main reason for a separate single channel station is for transportability. I can pop the WSD in my backpack and take it to community tech/hack meetups, uni and (depending on the sort of people I'm contracted to work with) work.
I sometimes need to move the iron to the workpiece and it would be more of a faff shifting a 3 channel station.
It's the cheapest option for a good station, the tips are a bit cheaper and I can borrow/ swap tips with other community tech group users. I can get tips retail locally.
Talking of tip-swapping it cools quick enough when de-energised to not make tip swapping a pain. That's not to say it loses temperature quickly when soldering. It doesn't. I tested by removing heatsinks from a PTH board I trousered from a television set dumped in the street for waste collection. No temperature recovery problems at all. My background is telecommunications so if I do board level work I'm going to meet ground planes, big ground planes.

As to the choice of station ... I couldn't justify £500+ on a single channel WX station as a 'traveller'.
I got a good deal on the WSD81i station.

For on the lab bench I don't always need to fire up on all channels when it's a simple job such as swapping a battery pack.
There's also availability. If I need the send the WXR away to be repaired I don't want all my eggs in the same basket so with a separate soldering station I've still got something with which to do through hole work while it is being repaired.

I've spent weeks trying to justify buying one station let alone two.
The 3 channel decision was a no-brainer (I need hot air, I need desolder iron) but that didn't stop me labouring over the decision to invest in one for over a month. l'm a bit, err, 'prudent' to understate and hummed and hawed for weeks ("will this help me earn?", "do I really need it?", "does my usage justify the cost?")with decisions to invest in other equipment that gets daily or near-daily usage (Flukes, battery drill, new computer, flashlights, hand tools ....). I spent less on the WSD station and component costs than the cost of replacing the items I repaired with it on the first day of ownership, so it's kind of paid for.
It might take a matter of weeks for payback on the WXR but only because I need to get in practice again.

That's my decision process laid bare, I think (yeah it's probably irrational and replete with inconsistencies)
I wish I'd invested in my own station earlier.

[nanofrog]

... wxp80 iron to use with your new wxr3 station?

No such iron.  The WX series of irons jumps from the WXP65 for SMD precision work to the WXP120 for general purpose use.

Nor can you connect either the WSP80 or WP80 irons as the connectors are different between the WD and WX series (WX hand pieces are also chipped).

...I need hot air...

Is the hot air tool sufficient for what you typically work on though?

I ask, as it's only meant for small SMD's on boards that don't have a lot of layers (only 200W).

[donkey77]

@ Nanofrog http://uk.farnell.com/weller/t0052920899/soldering-iron-80w-24v/dp/2504787 Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to take the piss. 

[donkey77]

@FrankE

Ah, makes sense. I can see the logic in that. There is nothing wrong with my older WD1 and 80w iron ( although it needs a couple of new tips ) It's just my OCD and having the setup all the same that will probably lead to me getting a WXP80 or 120. Guess I'll still have the old setup for emergencies!

[nanofrog]

@ Nanofrog http://uk.farnell.com/weller/t0052920899/soldering-iron-80w-24v/dp/2504787 Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to take the piss. 

I searched prior to posting to see if it was a recent release. Nothing came up at all in the results; not on Weller's US site (proof) or even on Newark (Farnell's US site; even searching by the manufacturer or Farnell P/N's doesn't show anything).   

So don't be so quick to assume someone is taking the piss.     

[blacksheeplogic]

So don't be so quick to assume someone is taking the piss.     

There is a WXP80 iron shown in the catalog (I thought about it, but chose the WXP65 as I already have a couple of the older 80W irons). It resembles the WXP65 not the WSP80/WP80. It uses the Power Response tips which are more expensive than the WSP80/WP80 tips. Don't know much else about it other than that. The catalog I have does not have any Power Response tips listed for it. I have also not seen any Station + WXP80 or WXP80 + Stand packages from Weller.

Edit:
Just noticed the Farnell link, there it shows the WXP80 as using the older silver series heating element not power response but the catalog page lists it as using Power Response tips.

[nanofrog]

There is a WXP80 iron shown in the catalog (I thought about it, but chose the WXP65 as I already have a couple of the older 80W irons). It resembles the WXP65 not the WSP80/WP80. It uses the Power Response tips which are more expensive than the WSP80/WP80 tips. Don't know much else about it other than that. The catalog I have does not have any Power Response tips listed for it. I have also not seen any Station + WXP80 or WXP80 + Stand packages from Weller.

Given what's on the datasheet linked by donkey77 on Farnell's product page, I suspect it's a recent release (2x specifications as tbd, one of which is the P/N for the barrel/tip retainer). And for some reason, it seems they're currently withholding it from the North American market (using the EU/UK as a test market prior to full release?  ).

As per tip family, it just states LT, so tips are already widely available (still uses Silver Line heating tech). 

[FrankE]

Aye, it may very well be recent. I went through loads of literature in recent weeks and I thought the WX irons progressed 55, 65, 120.
I'm looking through the 'Weller Soldering Tips Brochure' on SOS just now and there's no mention of the 80. That's dated 2013.

I noticed there were a lot of seemingly out of date catalogues. When I was shopping around I had to scroll to the bottom of every pdf to check dates (if even stated) and which country the documents came from because the station sets vary from country to country.

[blacksheeplogic]

Aye, it may very well be recent. I went through loads of literature in recent weeks and I thought the WX irons progressed 55, 65, 120.
I'm looking through the 'Weller Soldering Tips Brochure' on SOS just now and there's no mention of the 80. That's dated 2013.

Quite possibly, the 7/2014 is the earliest I see it mentioned in. As I said, almost no information so I think nanofrog is probably correct that although it made it into the catalog I have, it was only actually released very recently to a limited market. I'm going to contact my supplier and see if this can be ordered and also confirm what tips it uses.

[donkey77]

This seems to be the latest datasheet, from Wellers/Apex's UK website - http://weller.de/en/Weller--Products--Product-details.html?article_id=D0092449001408612108A201#{"string":"","current_site":"weller","current_brand":"Weller"}

What's the difference between the Silver-line heating and the Power response heating in actual use?