Which soldering iron tip should I use? - Chiphacker

Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-01-07T00:20:42Z

This is a pretty open-ended question intentionally. :-)

All of the soldering I've done to this point has been with through-hole components. I hope to move up to some smaller surface-mount parts at some point in the future. I've got a Weller WES51 soldering station that came with a "screwdriver" tip (ETA, I think) that's starting to feel a bit like working with a sausage as my skills (incrementally) improve. There is a large number of ET series tips available. How do I choose the right tip for the components I'll be working with?

Answer by davr for Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-01-07T00:55:55Z

Get the biggest one that is comfortable to use for the parts you are soldering. Obviously for smaller SMD parts, you'll need a smaller tip, but smaller tips are also slower to transfer heat, making it harder to solder.

Answer by jluciani for Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-01-07T01:51:50Z

I like the 20mil tip with a 30deg bend. Great for SMD. I use wider parts of the tip for larger leads. The Metcal heats the tip mass very quickly.

If I am soldering a lot of connector pins I keep the 20+year old Weller on. Large chisel tip.

The part numbers for the tips and my tools are at http://tinyurl.com/5foeou

(* jcl *)

http://www.wiblocks.com

Answer by Adam Davis for Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-01-07T04:54:36Z

It depends on what you're soldering, and how skilled you are at soldering.

You can, in fact, solder a 0.4mm pitch TQFP with a tip that spans several pins, such as the ETA you mention, but it takes a lot more skill (and flux!).

If you're doing mostly through hole components, the ETA is perfectly fine.

I'm also doing SMT and very fine SMT work, so I also purchased the 0.030" and 0.015" conical tips. I use these under a microscope to do the 0.4mm (about 0.016") pitch TQFP chips.

It is worthwhile getting the biggest chisel tip you can, as well, for the occasional need to deal with soldered heatsinks, or parts soldered to ground planes or PCB heatsinks. These can pump all 40+ watts of your iron into the joint, allowing you to remove it without heating the component up too much.

Keep in mind that typical wet sponge tip cleaners can lower the tip's temperature significantly, especially with the small tips. I use a gold tip cleaner similar to this Hakko product, which doesn't soak as much heat from the iron on each wipe.

Answer by John Lopez for Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-07-04T04:28:44Z

I prefer a knife-style tip:

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103166463

These are designed for PLCCs but work really well for SOIC or TSSOP style components. What you do is to bead up a blob of solder, place the edge of the blade at the angle between the toe of the lead and the pad, then drag the iron down the row of pins. The reason for this technique is that it is faster and gives a better result than pin-at-a-time.

The solder follows the heat but leaves each lead with a perfect joint and heel fillet. One thing to note is that if you are really good, you can do a whole row of fine pitch pins with no bridging - the solder just walks off the end and onto the iron. Me, I'm not that good and always end up removing the solder bridge on the last two or three pins of fine-pitch SMT parts.

These tips also work well for discrete SMT components and even through hole leads. By rotating the blade, you can get contact with a larger surface of a through-hole lead for getting extra heat to ground or power pins. By rotating the other way, you can use the tip of the tip for SMT chip components.

I disagree with the advice to use the micro-conical tips. These have never done anything for me except F-up boards and joints. Either they don't melt the solder, or you turn the temperature up so high that you start burning away solder mask and start seeing the tip dissolve away in the solder.

Also, consider the boards you'll be working with. Things that work with a little two-layer board or one of those unpopulated, phony "practice" boards the soldering iron vendors give out fail miserably on 4+ layer, fully built, assemblies.

Answer by Jesse AC2DE for Which soldering iron tip should I use?

2010-07-20T17:18:37Z

For SMT work, I prefer solder/flux paste and a micro hot-air gun. (Looks like a desoldering iron in reverse.)

Crank the air temp to 900 degrees
(CAREFULLY) scrape the oxidized layer of tinning or copper from the PCB pads AND the component pads/leads (Works great with specially sharpened dental tools and a microscope)
Apply the solder paste to the pads
Place the SMT component on top
Solder two opposite pins to anchor the component
Slowly run the hot-air gun down the line of pins
Clean out any errant solder and all the flux

Presto! Beautiful SMT soldering. 2-pad components are even easier, as the hydrostatic forces and wicking action of melted solder will help to align the component if it is just a bit off. Beware, though, that it only works on 2-pad devices, and maybe 3-pad. It won't work on that 40-pin monster.