choice of soldering iron tips for smd

[CharlotteSwiss]

I'm not very good with smd ...
I thought we needed a tip no larger than the pitch; but maybe you could use the 1.6 chisel .. using only the corner; I have to experiment
 

[tooki]

I'm not very good with smd ...
I thought we needed a tip no larger than the pitch; but maybe you could use the 1.6 chisel .. using only the corner; I have to experiment
 

With THT that was the general rule. With SMD, not so much. As long as you're not touching adjacent pads, it's OK to use a tip wider than the pad. (And honestly, it's often easier to just use hot air with them.) And use flux. It's much more important for SMD, IMHO.

Don't be afraid of SMD, it's not as hard as it seems! I suggest getting some practice boards to learn with. If you need something to practice on, I might be able to send you something from work, we have tons of (unpopulated) scrap boards and practice components.

Edit: I'll add that IMHO, for small SMD stuff, the quality of your tweezers becomes really important! With a tiny chip component, I'd rather use an oversize tip and good tweezers than the optimal tip and crappy tweezers! 

[CharlotteSwiss]

for that I said that you need a fairly small tip, however with the 0.8 I have I should be fine ..
I have already done various tests with smd 0603 (my father retrieves faulty boards), soldering is not difficult (use of the flux though).
Tweezers I have one of those sets taken on Amazon of different sizes / shapes, they are also ESD (they are not the best on the market, but...)
 

[tautech]

for that I said that you need a fairly small tip, however with the 0.8 I have I should be fine ..
I have already done various tests with smd 0603 (my father retrieves faulty boards), soldering is not difficult (use of the flux though).
Tweezers I have one of those sets taken on Amazon of different sizes / shapes, they are also ESD (they are not the best on the market, but...)
 

Like others have said don't go too small tip for SMD. Using the corner of the tip works just fine however the PCB layout component density does determine how big tip you can use.
As today most commercial PCB designs give zero forethought to rework as the PCB's are reflow soldered so there will be times some components must be removed to allow access to the component you need to work on. 

When PCB designers have to do rework on their own designs they might learn not to make high density designs that are close to impossible to work on ! 

That's why I got a rework station with hot air.........

[CharlotteSwiss]

That's why I got a rework station with hot air.........

I also have the hot air station; but to solder smd, you need to use solder paste
 

[tautech]

That's why I got a rework station with hot air.........

I also have the hot air station; but to solder smd, you need to use solder paste
 

Well break down SMD work to new or rework and for rework especially hot air is real handy for device removal but sure if you haven't got fresh paste and/or lots of flux you're better off soldering with an iron.

[perieanuo]

hi,
I vote for LF16.
I used too small tips when I was young and stupid, realised some bigger ones are better. small ones are really specific, maybe for 0402 or so.
I worked from metcal downside and I had 4 years prototyping and pcb 'remastering' dutis at job, I really like soldering, for me is the coolest thing in electronics beside making work some pcb
anyway, that's my preference, yours may be different
bon courage for soldering smd's!!

[CharlotteSwiss]

Well break down SMD work to new or rework and for rework especially hot air is real handy for device removal but sure if you haven't got fresh paste and/or lots of flux you're better off soldering with an iron.

oh yes, I got the hot air station to unsolder (and reflow too)
 

[CharlotteSwiss]

hi,
I vote for LF16.
I used too small tips when I was young and stupid, realised some bigger ones are better. small ones are really specific, maybe for 0402 or so.
I worked from metcal downside and I had 4 years prototyping and pcb 'remastering' dutis at job, I really like soldering, for me is the coolest thing in electronics beside making work some pcb
anyway, that's my preference, yours may be different
bon courage for soldering smd's!!

for smd 0603 I have already successfully used tip 08; I also tried the 1.6, ok you can (but maybe it heats too much surface)
The small tip, as I said, I would take for 0402.
I ventured into smd soldering, no limits in my head...
 

[CharlotteSwiss]

I took the tip Ersa 102WDLF23, ok original Ersa; but shouldn't it be concave underneath?
I don't know if you can see it from the photo, but in practice the tip is flat ..
it's normal? 
if anyone has a 102 wd tip ersa could check?



 

[tooki]

 

Heat the tip and wipe it off. It’s tinned...

[thinkfat]

That's why I got a rework station with hot air.........

I also have the hot air station; but to solder smd, you need to use solder paste
 

Actually, no. Paste, if not applied with a proper stencil, can prove an interesting challenge. It can be much, much easier to just tin the pads with an iron and ample flux, then place the component onto the pads (in a bed of flux) and then heat it with hot air until it reflows. If you want to solder e.g. QFN parts, but also for simple things like resistors, that can be the method of choice. If you apply paste e.g. with a syringe, it will always be too much.

[CharlotteSwiss]

That's why I got a rework station with hot air.........

I also have the hot air station; but to solder smd, you need to use solder paste
 

Actually, no. Paste, if not applied with a proper stencil, can prove an interesting challenge. It can be much, much easier to just tin the pads with an iron and ample flux, then place the component onto the pads (in a bed of flux) and then heat it with hot air until it reflows. If you want to solder e.g. QFN parts, but also for simple things like resistors, that can be the method of choice. If you apply paste e.g. with a syringe, it will always be too much.

thanks thinkfat, yes I have already experimented this technique, I also reported it in a previous message; can be a solution, although I'd rather use drag and drop... 

[CharlotteSwiss]

Heat the tip and wipe it off. It’s tinned...

 
poor me, so could this be normal cuz it's new? So by heating and cleaning the tip, will the concave part be highlighted?
Monday or Tuesday when it will be operational, I try
thank you tooki 

[nigelwright7557]

I do quite a lot of smd IC soldering.
I use quite a large tip.
I put plenty of solder on the tip and drag it along the pins.
I usually drag each side twice to be sure all pins are soldered.
Once soldered I remove all solder from iron.
I then move iron from pin to away from pin to remove any shorts.
Any stubborn shorts can be removed using copper braid then re-soldered.
Done hundreds this way.

[CharlotteSwiss]

I did some tests with the concave tip, if there is good flux, by dragging the pins are soldered well; to remove the bridges I did some tests with both the tip and the 1mm braid
it could be better, but even worse 

[wizard69]

First off you can weld with a soldering iron, just touch a grounded tip to a live high power line.

As for tips I have to agree with others this is a personal thing.   What is best for you will come with practice and frankly no one tip fits every need.    Personally I use a chisel tip for a lot of soldering and the sad reality is I got good with such a tip as that is often all I had.   If making a choice to outfit a soldering station at least one tip/iron would be a chisel tip of some sort.   The second would be a somewhat stubby or blunt pencil point ( a pencil point that isn't extremely long and thin).   The third would be something optimized for drag soldering if I got use to it.   Someplace in there would be an iron/tip optimized to put out more heat.

The thing here is that even SMD's come in a variety of packages, and some times they require more soldering capability than the traditional equipment used on fine pin SMD's.   These could be heavy pins or tabs that don't respond well to low wattage irons.   That doesn't even include the other SMD mounted stuff, such as board interconnects, wiring headers and so forth that require a bit more heat than an SMD logic chip.   This is where Soldering Irons are a lot like DMM's, it is very easy to need more than one for a variety of soldering jobs.

This probably sounds like I'm having fun spending your money, and you would be right - it is fun.   However I believe everything I've posted is accurate.    The big point is personal preference gained from lots of experience.  The second point is that it is highly unlikely that you will get by with just one iron.    I can assure you that using the wrong iron/tip is something we have all done to finish off a project.    However it is less than ideal and sometimes just doesn't work.   I'd start off with a smallish chisel tip though.


Dave

The most common mistake made when selecting a tip, especially so for SMD, is making the assumption the tip must be small. This may help when soldering very small components, for example 0402 devices but the smaller the tip, the more difficulty you’ll have when attempting to drag solder IC leads. For that task, my go tip is a basic 2-3 mm chisel to hold the solder.

attention Watts, I have clearly divided the choice of the tip into two types of soldering: drag soldering (tip about 2 mm) and soldering of the single smd pin (0603 or 0402); the small tip I would use only that solder small two pin smd
thanks 

[wizard69]

hi,
I vote for LF16.
I used too small tips when I was young and stupid, realised some bigger ones are better. small ones are really specific, maybe for 0402 or so.
I worked from metcal downside and I had 4 years prototyping and pcb 'remastering' dutis at job, I really like soldering, for me is the coolest thing in electronics beside making work some pcb
anyway, that's my preference, yours may be different
bon courage for soldering smd's!!

for smd 0603 I have already successfully used tip 08; I also tried the 1.6, ok you can (but maybe it heats too much surface)
The small tip, as I said, I would take for 0402.
I ventured into smd soldering, no limits in my head...
 

Tips could easily be a long and interesting discussion.   One thing to realize is that short stubby tips transfer heat much better than the long needle type tips.   Part of the trick in soldering is getting that heat to the pins and traces quickly, especially when drag soldering.   The solder reservoirs on SMT tips helps some here too as the molten metal increases the area for heat transfer.    This is why trying to use the needle like pencil point chips is so frustrating on multi lead SMD, there is little heat transfer area, hi resistance to thermal flow, and no place for a respectable amount of solder to hang around. 

Now all of that doesn't mean you will not need a needle like pencil point iron from time to time.   Some times you have only one lead to work on and very little room to maneuver.

[Psi]

I have a thermaltronics tmt-9000s with 25 different tips (special deal at the time) and my favorite tip out of all of them is this one below.  It's a 4.5mm knife tip.

So good at so many things.
You have a point at the end for doing small SMT down to like 0604, maybe smaller
You have a large side area for doing big stuff and tinning wires and spanning between TH pads for desoldering.
It's huge so has a lot of thermal mass. Trying to solder SMT stuff with a super tiny tip can be annoying due to almost no thermal mass.  It's a common mistake to think you need a tiny tip to solder SMT stuff

I think I have like 20 tip packets that have never been opened because I vary rarely need anything other than that knife tip.

[CharlotteSwiss]

First off you can weld with a soldering iron, just touch a grounded tip to a live high power line.

As for tips I have to agree with others this is a personal thing.   What is best for you will come with practice and frankly no one tip fits every need.    Personally I use a chisel tip for a lot of soldering and the sad reality is I got good with such a tip as that is often all I had.   If making a choice to outfit a soldering station at least one tip/iron would be a chisel tip of some sort.   The second would be a somewhat stubby or blunt pencil point ( a pencil point that isn't extremely long and thin).   The third would be something optimized for drag soldering if I got use to it.   Someplace in there would be an iron/tip optimized to put out more heat.

The thing here is that even SMD's come in a variety of packages, and some times they require more soldering capability than the traditional equipment used on fine pin SMD's.   These could be heavy pins or tabs that don't respond well to low wattage irons.   That doesn't even include the other SMD mounted stuff, such as board interconnects, wiring headers and so forth that require a bit more heat than an SMD logic chip.   This is where Soldering Irons are a lot like DMM's, it is very easy to need more than one for a variety of soldering jobs.

This probably sounds like I'm having fun spending your money, and you would be right - it is fun.   However I believe everything I've posted is accurate.    The big point is personal preference gained from lots of experience.  The second point is that it is highly unlikely that you will get by with just one iron.    I can assure you that using the wrong iron/tip is something we have all done to finish off a project.    However it is less than ideal and sometimes just doesn't work.   I'd start off with a smallish chisel tip though.


Dave

thanks dave for the exhaustive answer: actually I already had some tips, I just took other tips including the one for dragging.
I now have 3 chisel tips (1.6 - 3.2 and 5)
A 0.5 pencil tip
An angled 0.8
One to drag
I can have fun now, the one I use less is the 5mm one, but on the other hand I use it my father, but he is more of an electrician 

[CharlotteSwiss]

Tips could easily be a long and interesting discussion.   One thing to realize is that short stubby tips transfer heat much better than the long needle type tips.   Part of the trick in soldering is getting that heat to the pins and traces quickly, especially when drag soldering.   The solder reservoirs on SMT tips helps some here too as the molten metal increases the area for heat transfer.    This is why trying to use the needle like pencil point chips is so frustrating on multi lead SMD, there is little heat transfer area, hi resistance to thermal flow, and no place for a respectable amount of solder to hang around. 

Now all of that doesn't mean you will not need a needle like pencil point iron from time to time.   Some times you have only one lead to work on and very little room to maneuver.

in fact the pencil tip has little surface to transmit heat: but if it is tinned it improves the passage of heat 

[CharlotteSwiss]

I have a thermaltronics tmt-9000s with 25 different tips (special deal at the time) and my favorite tip out of all of them is this one below.  It's a 4.5mm knife tip.

So good at so many things.
You have a point at the end for doing small SMT down to like 0604, maybe smaller
You have a large side area for doing big stuff and tinning wires and spanning between TH pads for desoldering.
It's huge so has a lot of thermal mass. Trying to solder SMT stuff with a super tiny tip can be annoying due to almost no thermal mass.  It's a common mistake to think you need a tiny tip to solder SMT stuff

I think I have like 20 tip packets that have never been opened because I vary rarely need anything other than that knife tip.

it seems to me an interesting reasoning; I don't have knife tip, but in fact it could be good for many things 

[james_s]

since when has soldering been refered to as "weld"

it's a question of the translator 

Not in English. Welding and soldering are different things.

Well I don't think it really matters in this case, we know what is being talked about by the context, I can give a pass to people who are not native English speakers, the language has enough quirks that even native speakers stumble at times.

Anyway tips, I typically use the same ~3mm chisel tip that I use for almost everything. Occasionally I'll switch to a smaller one if I'm working in tight quarters but usually I'm too lazy/don't feel like risking dropping the hot tip and melting the floor/desk/my crotch so I just make due with whatever is already in the iron.

[SilverSolder]

[...]
The conical ones I don't get at all. I never found them useful for anything. They just don't hold the solder at all and I can't really control the solder flow using them.

You use them to heat the target, which you then melt the solder directly on to.  (For example, header pins sticking up through a PCB: heat the pin+pad from the back with the cone, and apply solder to the front, melting it down into the hole and getting the correct fillet on both sides).

A small cone tip is also good for soldering SMD components e.g. 0603, 0402 etc., where you only want a minimal amount of solder involved.  The small cone is perfect for heating pin+pad simultaneously in a small spot.

I have a cone on one of the stations permanently.

[CharlotteSwiss]

I did not understand the procedure of these two examples of soldering: but by cone tip we mean the tip with the concave part?