A cool guide to soldering
A cool guide to soldering
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Step 2 has never been very clear to me and this diagram doesn't seem to explain it either.
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Do you touch the tip of the solder to the iron, the pin, or the pad?
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Do you push the tip of the solder down into the pad, draw it up along the pin, or pull it away as it melts?
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Why does the solder sometimes flow onto the iron instead of staying on the pad?
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touch the tip of the solder where the iron meets the pad or the pin
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try to get as much contact with both the pad as the pin as you can
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the pad could be dirty or not hot enough. Especially when the pad is connected to a ground or power plane layer in the PCB it may take longer than expected to reach a sufficient temperature. Usually adding some flux helps remove any dirt.
Thank you kind internet stranger!
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- Do you push the tip of the solder down into the pad, draw it up along the pin, or pull it away as it melts?
According to what I remembered, you don't move the solder at step 2, but when you are almost finished (step 3-4), you should pull it up along the pin.
Both, which is why conical tips suck. They make poor contact with the pin and pad. With a chisel tip you make good contact with the pin and pad
You add some solder to the tip, then drag it across the pin and pad. Solder flows towards heat and if the joint is properly heated the solder should flow beautifully.
Sometimes the pad isn't heated (probably because the conical tip isn't heating it) and doesn't want to stick to the pad. It can also be due to oxidation on the joint surface. Add some flux to the surface and try again, allowing the iron to melt and activate the flux.
1 if all parts are hot, it shouldn't matter. As soon as you touch anything with the solder, it should distribute evenly around the pad and component.
2 you just feed it into the joint
- If you are not quick enough, the flux in the solder evaporates and it becomes sticky. At this point, clean it and start fresh. Other possibility is that you didn't heat part and component enough for the solder to flow
Additionally:
- What do I do if solder doesn't stick to contact points?
- What to do if there are plastic parts in contact with pad, like a button, or there's wire insulation that starts to melt before the solder does?
- How do I clean the tip if I accidentally poked it into plastic?
- How do I detach a part that has bent pins inside the solder layer?
- What does flux do, exactly?
- What's the difference between liquid flux and flux-core solder?
- How do I prevent oxidation from occurring on copper wires?
- How hot does the iron needs to be?
- Do I need a heat gun?
- How do I hold the wire, iron, solder and the board if I only have two hands?
How do I hold the wire, iron, solder and the board if I only have two hands?
This! I found a nice set of "helping hands" and they're.. really helpful!
Which brand are you using? I've tried a couple generic sets, but they were so light that I could topple them over by just blowing really hard.
KOTTO brand with magnetic base. The arms and base are very sturdy.
It does indeed look pretty sturdy and ergonomic. Thanks! I'll definitely order one when I'll be able to receive shippings again.
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