Soldering Iron


 
R

Ramiro

New member
What type of soldering iron is everyone using to solder the components for the thermocoupler?

Thanks,
Ramiro
 
I'm using this one and typically set it at about 310-320C

The SMD resistors and caps are pretty easy to solder as long as you can hold them in place. The TC amp was a little trickier, ensuring all 8 legs are lined up and not creating any solder bridges. A good tip/trick I found for this is to use solder braid to tin the pads on the pcb.
 
I use one of these AOYUE 936 except I've swapped the point tip for a 1.8mm (I think) flat one. I usually do 350C just because it is what I do my through-hole at.

For building in bulk I use the toaster oven with solder paste. Take it up to 140C, turn it off for a minute or two until the temp holds, then turn it up until it reflows fully which is about 200-210C.
 
Another vote for AEIOU & sometimes Y, err Aoyue. They're cheap & they work. I have 2, needed the hot-air rework to fix a PCB error so I bought one for the office (don't look at a bottom view on a datasheet & draw a top-view footprint, DOH).
 
Bryan Mayland said:
I use one of these AOYUE 936 except I've swapped the point tip for a 1.8mm (I think) flat one. I usually do 350C just because it is what I do my through-hole at.

For building in bulk I use the toaster oven with solder paste. Take it up to 140C, turn it off for a minute or two until the temp holds, then turn it up until it reflows fully which is about 200-210C.
Click to expand...

C'mon, how are you NOT controlling this with a HeaterMeter and SSR? ;)
 
I've done a handful of tc amps with just a regular old 40W Radio Shack soldering iron with the standard tip. So while any of the above soldering stations are ideal to work with you can get the job done with regular "run of the mill" soldering tools.....
 
I use an old $10 Radio Shack 15/30 watt stick iron for circuit board work; keeping it set to the 15 watt setting. The key is to keep the tip clean by wiping it on an old wet sponge after every few solder joints. Even the expensive soldering irons are useless when they are dirty. Cleaning the tip ensures that the heat transfers quickly to the solder and item. Also, I prefer to use a small diameter solder; .040. The thin solder allows me to control the flow more accurately. I have used soldering stations professionally, but I prefer the portability of the stick iron. I have it and all of my soldering supplies in an old tackle box that I can put away or take with me to a friends house to fix something.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Now I'm ready to tackle the soldering the Thermocoupler components.
 
Ralph is right. Just got a different version of this but it worked great. Great when doing the SMD parts. Much easier than trying to use a magnifying glass with these small parts. Won't live without one of these on my bench again.
 
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