How to solder properly

[phoenix77]

No problem, TED rob

 

[Spyderz20x6]

I've always found it hard to tin the diode pins...
It is hard to tin them when you need to get the diode hot enough...

Any tips?

 

[phoenix77]

I use that flat heat sink. It's so flat it doesn't get in the way! rob I just looked at mine & it says RADIO SHACK on it

 

[pseudolobster]

Personally I recommend not using rosin core solder... I use silver solder and some flux paste.. I dip the components in the flux then go to town with the solder..

I find this works a lot better, the flux paste I got works a lot better than the flux in flux-core solder.. It does a much better job of soldering to dirty or oxidized wires, doesn't leave as much flux mess all over the place, doesn't corrode your bit because the flux doesn't really come in contact with the iron.. Just a preference thing I guess, but I found it made things a lot easier.

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Personally I recommend not using rosin core solder... I use silver solder and some flux paste.. I dip the components in the flux then go to town with the solder..

I find this works a lot better, the flux paste I got works a lot better than the flux in flux-core solder.. It does a much better job of soldering to dirty or oxidized wires, doesn't leave as much flux mess all over the place, doesn't corrode your bit because the flux doesn't really come in contact with the iron.. Just a preference thing I guess, but I found it made things a lot easier.

I have found silver solder to be very tough to solder with... It cools down very fast, and does not readily melt...

 

[Spyderz20x6]

I use that flat heat sink. It's so flat it doesn't get in the way! rob  I just looked at mine & it says RADIO SHACK on it

Hmm...
I'll check it out...

 

[phoenix77]

Hey LOBSTER, have you ever tried solder paste ? It's a paste of solder mixed with the solder just dip in the parts, apply a bit of heat & you've got a good secure solder joint rob

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Hey LOBSTER, have you ever tried solder paste ? It's a paste of solder mixed with the solder just dip in the parts, apply a bit of heat & you've got a good secure solder joint   rob

What if you apply your soldering iron to it?

 

[pseudolobster]

Hey LOBSTER, have you ever tried solder paste ? It's a paste of solder mixed with the solder just dip in the parts, apply a bit of heat & you've got a good secure solder joint   rob

No actually, I've never played around with solder paste... I thought it was mostly for use in reflow ovens etc... I hadn't thought of using it with an iron. I'm not really sure how well that'd work either...

 

[Benm]

I've always found it hard to tin the diode pins...
It is hard to tin them when you need to get the diode hot enough...

Any tips?

Thats odd - most laser diodes have gold plated pins, about the easiest material to solder there is.

If it is a diode extracted from some drive chances are there is lead free solder on the pins... best thing to do is to tin them using a liberal amount of leadbased solder and tap that off the iron before proceeding with the actual soldering.

As far as solder paste goes: that stuff is for heating a whole board in an oven, soldering all connections in one go. It will likely make a good joined using a not too hot iron as well, but you might as well use normal solder wire as you need to tin the iron tip anyways.

 

[john_lawson]

what the flux are you guys saying

 

[phoenix77]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ; That's a good one John rob

 

[Kris.J]

[quote author=phoenix77 link=1228338567/20#28 date=1228606926]At some electrical supply stores, you can find a very flat, fine-tipped, spring loaded heat sink that you can clip on the diode pins to deflect heat away from the diode till you get good enough not to need one. They're also made of Aluminum so that solder won't stick to them

Please clarify this....I'm quite interested in this but am a little confused at what you said...... sorry for my misunderstanding.  

Ted
[/quote]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103242

 

[kk111mk]

niceeeee

 

[Illuminum3415]

SMT still blows my mind, I've been spoiled soldering thru-hole components [one cuz they are easy to handle two Perf boards are cheap ;D]

When you buy an iron get one that has the temperature capability to melt your solder or vice versa...trust me, its a PITA to solder using a 100W iron and plumbers solder [not to mention its an acid core]

Pencil tips are the best for small scale components, but that doesn't mean you can do everything with it. Chisel tips work well for anything thats bigger than a DIP-8 or an SOT-23-6 or other applications that would involve heating a big area up at once.

Ones I would use for prototyping
60%-tin/40%-lead Rosin Core Solder, Diameter: 0.032"
62%-tin/ 36%-lead/ 2%-silver Solder, Diameter 0.015", Diameter: 0.022"

I usually use 60%-tin/40%-lead Rosin Core Solder, Diameter 0.62" for everything else

 

[LaserLFC]

thanks