As someone else said, Weller QC is all over the place...I've seen tip just disintegrate, and I got so sick and tired of it that I switched to Hakko.
That would be me.
From what I can tell, it seems to originate from shifting production to the cheapest locations possible (i.e. Mexico and Bosnia). German and US stuff still seems to be decent, based on what I've heard on recent production (seen other products from these locations, but no tips).
Unfortunately, the tips I need primarily come out of Bosnia, and the plating is inconsistent. Fortunately, the Japanese made tips seem to be fine (NT series), which is a good thing, given what they cost (~ as much as the tips used in an FX-951, but no heater or sensor).
Weller's had a decade or more to get their act together since they started slipping, and it's never happened...and that tells me that it will never happen. I haven't used them in 10 years because of it and maybe things have changed, but I continue to read about problems with their tips and other problems. Their performance is no better than Hakko at best, IMHO, so why even bother?
They may actually be starting to address this, but it will take time to tell.
There's a new front page on tips (
HERE). More detailed information in .pdf format linked on the page (
euro version contains TCO evaluation). If you notice, they mention engraving. Of all the tips I've purchased lately, I've exactly ONE that's engraved. It does appear to have better plating (nice bright chrome, not dull <like chromium III>, variable color <bluing before ever heated>, and appear thin as some others do). So I'm hopeful they're beginning to address this issue, but I've only a single sample of an engraved tip. Everything else is older stock, and no different than what I've been seeing.
But I also see it as a means to try and get buyers to skip over Plato or Chinese tips that are showing up, using the threat of warranty invalidation to scare users into skipping on 3rd party tips. Damaged irons due to 3rd party tips would be difficult to prove IMHO, but gives them an excuse to deny warranty claims for bad irons. *Could* see some merit on a tip that doesn't fit properly, but I've not seen any issues with Plato, or even the Chinese tips I've ordered to try out, so I see it as more of a means of trying to increase revenue through fear.
As per the testing (TCO evaluation), it seems to me they definitely "stacked the deck" in their favor, as they don't state what tips they're using (3rd party), or the exact SAC305 they tested with. This makes me wonder if they used Chinese clone tips, and the worst water soluble flux based SAC305 they could find (claim of 15k cycles/joints for 3rd party).
I'd go Hakko as the price/performance leader, and JBC as the outright performance leader. If I wanted the all in one solution with tremendous support, I'd go Pace, and if my business grows to the point that I'm doing a lot more rework and SMD components, I WILL go Pace.
I'd have to agree with the Hakko and JBC comment.
Never had access to a Pace station, so no idea as to how well they work, comfort level (not a fan of chunky irons), ...