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Is this method of sodlering any good for lasers? (hook)






The hook is good if you never want your wires to come apart, it's a pain to desolder if you need to swap the driver out, so just keep that in mind :)
 
ARGLaser said:
The hook is good if you never want your wires to come apart, it's a pain to desolder if you need to swap the driver out, so just keep that in mind :)
Click to expand...

Thanks :) So I'm better off just twisting them around eachother?

Like so:
twist_wires_together.jpg
 
Yup, that's usually easier to undo, and it holds well enough for the application.
 
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Thanks :)

I've been practicing soldering wires together in class today, I think I'm getting pretty good at it

Even got myself a ground wrist strap
 
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When soldering small parts, I find that a clean tip is one of the most important things.
It will make life much easier. ;)
 
Once you have a bit more experience, you'll find yourself never bothering to twist wires together (Well, rarely) as it just becomes a pain to undo later. I usually just tin both the wires first, hold them side by side, and with a tiny bit of solder on the iron (Just to get the thermal transfer going) touching both wires at the same time, and the solder will flow between them if you hold them close enough. Then all you have to do is quickly touch the soldering iron to the wires and they'll come undone.

It's a good technique to learn, as you can't really wrap wires around something like diode pins.
 
I always just have them right next to each other, pretinned and solder them lined up in parallel.
You'll rip off the diode pins before you'll rip them apart...so the method is really kind of pointless.
 
Follow the advice given by Moh and Things above
In addition, get a set of "extra hands" to hold the wires next to each other, touching each other.
Then bring the iron, with the small drop of solder melted on it to the connection
If both things (wires or diode pins) are tinned, fluxed, and touching, the solder will flow together in a fraction of a second

That video has the iron on the wire much longer than needed if you do it this way instead

Peace,
dave
 
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And you're also trying to get enough heat into double the wire amount to tin it, meaning you need a higher power iron. I have a single 25W, non adjustable $12 soldering iron, and have been using them for the last 12 years, for everything from 12AWG wire to 44TQFP SMD packages. It's all in the technique ;)
 
Here's a reprint of a doc I used to give out to NooBs

Peace,
dave


This method is also used when making wire-to-wire solders with small wire
Soldering diode pins takes a fraction of a second
Pre-tin BOTH the pins and the wire or solder pads
Use a small bit of flux on BOTH the pins and the wires/pads BOTH for the pre-tin and the final solder joint
 I don't care if you use rosin core solder. USE THE FLUX!
Use a set of "extra hands" to align the pin with the wire/pad.
Make sure that they are side-by-side, touching, and secure
Get a small bit of solder on the tip of your soldering iron
"Touch" the melted solder on your iron to the pin to wire/pad joint
The solder will all flow together in a fraction of a second.
I recommend that you also use some shrink tubing to protect and reinforce the joint
You DO NOT "heat the joint" as with other solder jobs
You DO NOT place the solder source anywhere near the solder job
Only the melted solder on the tip of your iron should approach the pin to wire/pad joint
If you are new to soldering, I recommend that you get yourself an old PCB and some scrap wire (etc.). Practice the above procedure until you can get a good solder in a fraction of a second.
 
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I'm afraid, that by heating the wires to make the solder melt, the heatshrink on the wires will melt and shrink...
 
RedDart said:
I'm afraid, that by heating the wires to make the solder melt, the heatshrink on the wires will melt and shrink...
Click to expand...

You do NOT "heat the wires"

Run the heat shrink back a bit down the wire
Remember, if you do this correctly, the wires will really only heat right at the joint
When I say a fraction of a second, I mean a FRACTION of a second
You really only "touch" the melted solder to the joint
The iron doesn't even touch the joint

As I said above, practice until you can do it with just a touch
I'm 58 years old, and I can do it :can:
I support one hand with the other to keep it all from shaking so much, but I can do it

Peace,
dave
 
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For soldering tiny joints that are not under much mechanical stress, I just do what Things and Moh said.

RedDart said:
I'm afraid, that by heating the wires to make the solder melt, the heatshrink on the wires will melt and shrink...
Click to expand...

Nope. If you do it quick enough it wont be a problem.
 
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