Guide to choosing a soldering iron
When we use a soldering iron to solder electronic components, do we feel inadequate because of the unsatisfactory function or design of the soldering iron? When listening to the experiences taught by various great gods, have you ever blindly worshiped "A certain light 936"? Today I will take you through how to choose a soldering iron.
(1) Selection of soldering iron types
1. Internal heating soldering iron. Internally heated soldering irons have a simple structure, high thermal efficiency, are lightweight and flexible, and are the first choice. It consists of a connecting rod, a handle, a spring clip, a soldering iron core, and a soldering iron tip (also called a copper tip). The soldering iron core is installed inside the soldering iron head. The soldering iron core is made of nickel-chromium resistance wire wound on a porcelain tube. Generally, the resistance of a 20W soldering iron is about 2.4kΩ, and that of a 35W soldering iron is about 1.4kΩ.
2. External heating soldering iron. This kind of electric soldering iron has complex manufacturing process, low efficiency and high price. It is generally composed of a soldering iron head, a soldering iron core, a shell, a handle, a plug and other parts. The soldering iron tip is installed in the soldering iron core and is made of copper alloy material with copper as the base with good thermal conductivity.
The length of the soldering iron tip can be adjusted (the shorter the soldering iron tip, the higher the temperature of the soldering iron tip). Commonly used in practice are chisel, pointed cone, round surface, round, pointed cone and semi-circular groove shapes to adapt to the needs of different welding surfaces.
3. Constant temperature soldering iron. A magnet-type temperature controller is installed in the soldering iron head to control the power-on time, which is a constant temperature electric soldering iron. When welding components whose temperature should not be too high and whose welding time should not be too long, a constant-temperature soldering iron should be used, but it is expensive. Although the automatic constant temperature electric soldering iron has many parts, is difficult to maintain, and is expensive, it can ensure the quality of solder joints, especially when doing circuit experiments and repairing a large number of printed boards, it works very well. The electric soldering iron used on the production line adopts the method of automatic voltage regulation and constant temperature, and the cost may be lower. In some areas, the mains power is unstable, and the soldering iron often burns without being dipped in tin, or the temperature is not enough to prevent soldering. In order to ensure the quality of soldering, the only option is to use an automatic constant temperature series soldering iron, or configure a voltage regulating system. If the temperature is just too high, a series of step-down resistors will do.
4. Soldering iron. The desoldering iron is a desoldering tool that integrates a piston type desoldering device and an electric soldering iron. It is easy to use, flexible, and has a wide range of applications. The disadvantage is that you can only desolder one solder joint at a time.
5. Gas soldering iron. It is a soldering iron that uses liquefied gas, methane and other flammable gases to burn and heat the soldering iron tip. You can choose to use it in situations where power supply is inconvenient or AC power cannot be supplied. Due to the risk of explosion, this article does not discuss the purchase of this type of soldering iron.
