Best Soldering Practices for Drivers

[smana]

hello,

Driver sellers and designers encourage using the least amount of heat as necessary, to solder leads to their drivers. Some even say 1 second is all that we should use when touching the soldering iron tip to the pad on the driver.

So, here are some givens:
1) pre-tinning the leads
2) using the least amount of time (about 1 second?)
3) low temp solder
4) lowest effective temp setting on the soldering iron
5) clean solder points and good flux.


1) Should we pre-tin the pads on the drivers too?
2) Should we try to lay a damp cloth or other heat sink on the driver to keep it cool, just beyond the pads (when soldering)?
3) What about heat-less solder? These silver compounds (no heating required) are like silver epoxy but with an emphasis on electrical conductivity.
4) Should an extra amount/lump of solder be applied to the lead before attempting to solder it to the driver pad?
5) Any other ideas on keeping heat down on driver components while soldering?

 

[Shmackitup]

You should definitely pre-tin the wires and 1 second is about all it should take per connection. Heating it too long could cause nearby SMD components to come loose, pull up traces/pads or even melt the PCB. No need to pre-tin the pads if you're using the through-holes as intended as that will just cause problems getting the wires installed. I only use 63/37 rosin core solder from Kester. I don't like that earthy crunchy lead-free BS. I've been soldering professionally for a good portion of my life and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. Always clean and tin your tip every time you pickup your soldering iron, always! Heat the wire and don't try to paint on the solder. The rosin(flux) will do the work for you.

 

[smana]

ok, thank you. So the soldering gun tip should be on top of, or touching, the tinned lead, not the pad. This way the tinned lead heats up the pad, not the soldering gun tip.

I currently use Kester "44" resin core solder: Sn63, 44 Resin for all of my projects.

 

[Shmackitup]

ok, thank you. So the soldering gun tip should be on top of, or touching, the tinned lead, not the pad. This way the tinned lead heats up the pad, not the soldering gun tip.

I currently use Kester "44" resin core solder: Sn63, 44 Resin for all of my projects.

The tip can touch the wire and pad but you want to apply the solder to the material and not the tip itself. The flux will allow the solder to flow into the metal. A soldering "gun" is not typically for small electronics.

 

[smana]

yes, a gun has a blunt tip, and a bit bulky for fine work. I have a small soldering iron but with a flat tip - I may sharpen it to a point or get a sharp point.