Hi all,
I am looking for some advice please.
I am on the market for a soldering station/hot air gun to solder SMD components onto my boards.
What features are necessary/important for soldering and reworking small components?
Any particularly good brands/models?
I am looking for a tool which could last me a long time and allow to progressively do more precise work.
Price is a factor but, since it is a tool, functionality and performance are more important.
Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance
Riccardo
I'll just come out and say it. Buy a Weller WTCPN from Ebay, or wherever you can find one. The last thing you need is variable temperature control. The old Weller series use magnetic temperature control, and the temperature is set by the tip you choose. They are available in 600, 700, and 800 degree Fahrenheit, in all tip widths and sizes.
In my half century of soldering, I have NEVER needed a different soldering unit, unless I needed to resort to a blow-torch for massive high current connectors. I use nothing but 700 degree tips, for both leaded and lead free solders.
I have Weller WTCP tips that are over 30 years old, and still work perfectly. I do NOT scrub or file my tips. A quick wipe of the hot tip with a wet sponge is enough. When you shut down the iron, heavily coat the tip with fresh solder, and let it freeze.
Never, ever, use your tip to do nasty things like melt insulation or cut binding cord for wire bundles. If you violate this rule, then isolate that tip and dedicate it for such use in the future. A particular soldering tip is dedicated ONLY to the solder that it was originally tinned with. Switching between leaded and lead-free solder is not allowed. You will experience HUGE aggravation if you do this.
The job of the soldering iron is to dump as much heat as possible, as fast as possible, into the solder join. Using a low temperature iron only makes you wait, while the copper delaminates from the board, the solder and component leads oxidize, and you become frustrated. The point is to match the tip, the job, and the solder to get in and out as quickly as possible.
So. You've got a Weller. The solder is the next, and MOST CRITICAL component. I swear by Ersin Multicore, 63/37. It's getting very hard to find, but some of the multicore (multicore referring to the number of "strands" of flux within the wire), is available from other manufacturers.
The 63/37 refers to the ratio of the metals within the solder itself. 63/37 is a eutectic (lowest melting point) alloy of lead and tin, and I realize that it may be difficult to find due to its lead content.
I'll leave it to you to determine whether or not the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) regulations that apply to leaded solder like 63/37 mean anything.
With these quidelines, I regularly solder anything from 2 pound copper battery terminals (with a blowtorch), to 0402 surface mount components (with the Weller and a 700 degree fine tip and .010 inch diameter 63/37 solder) under a binocular microscope.
Some of these are drag connections, where the solder itself bridges a gap. Lead free solder is too brittle, and indium based solder has poor environmental resistance. It's all in the engineering and application.