| Electronics > Beginners |
| Fire wire (i.e. wire on fire!) |
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| PerranOak:
Ah right, cheers. |
| Doctorandus_P:
There are also a lot of different plastics used for the insulation of wires. Some wire insulation has such a low melting point that they are simply not possible to solder decently. My suspicion is that the insulation already melts around 100Celcius or so. The best way of pre - tinning wires is with a solder pot. First strip the wire, and put a bit of flux on it. Then dip it in a solder pot with liquid solder. All that liquid solder has a very high heat capacity, which will even pre-tin the thickest wires fast and easy. |
| JS:
I use tweezer, the ones that close themselves, clip the tweezer on the wire (also for temperature sensitive components) and solder fast. The insulation might end up squeezed and retain that form (flatter where the tweezer was) but I like it much better than no insulation at all. The other option, not always possible, is to strip little wire, force the insulation back a bit more with some pliers, use the twezzer to retain that position and avoid over heating, solder, force the insulation back out. When the insulator is soft and melts easily this is the best way, but as I said, not always possible, depends a lot on the kind of wire used. JS |
| Zero999:
--- Quote from: Hero999 on August 22, 2017, 03:19:01 pm ---If the insulation is catching fire, then the soldering iron is too hot. You should invest in a temperature controlled iron. Silicone and PTFE insulation are strong enough to withstand the heat, but they're much more expensive than PVC. Whatever wire you use, tin it before you solder to the board, that way the insulation can be flush with the board, even if it receded during tinning. --- End quote --- Another point about using PFTE or silicone insulation: another thing to bear in mind is it won't stop solder wicking up the conductor, which will make it brittle. To minimise wicking, the joint should be completed as quickly as possible. Tin the wire conductor before soldering it. Check that the solder has not wicked up the conductor by sliding back the insulation. If it has, strip the insulation off a little more. Stripboard can be pre-tinned, before soldering the cable to it. Apply the solder, if it's covered the hole, remove it using a de-soldering pump or braid. |
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