What are the parts of a soldering iron?
The typical structures of electric soldering irons used in electronic industry design mainly include soldering tips, heating wires, handles, terminals, power cords, power plugs, fastening screws, etc.
Electric soldering irons are divided into two types: external heating and internal heating.
An external heating electric soldering iron consists of a soldering iron tip, soldering iron core, housing, wooden handle, power lead, plug, and other parts. Due to the fact that the soldering iron tip is installed inside the soldering iron core, it is called an externally heated soldering iron. The soldering iron core is a key component of an electric soldering iron. It is composed of parallel winding of heating wires on a hollow ceramic tube, insulated with mica sheets in the middle, and connected to a 220V AC power supply through two wires. There are many specifications for external heating soldering irons, commonly used ones include 25W, 45W, 75W, 100W, etc. The higher the power, the higher the temperature of the soldering iron tip.
The internal heating electric soldering iron consists of a handle, connecting rod, spring clip, soldering iron core, and soldering iron tip. Due to the fact that the soldering iron core is installed inside the soldering iron tip, it heats up quickly and has a high heat utilization rate, hence it is called an internal heating soldering iron. The commonly used specifications for internal heating soldering irons are 20W and 50W. Due to its high thermal efficiency, a 20W internal heating soldering iron is equivalent to a 40W external heating soldering iron. The rear end of the internal heating electric soldering iron is hollow, used for fitting onto the connecting rod and fixed with a spring clip. When replacing the soldering iron tip, the spring clip must be removed first, and the front end of the soldering iron tip must be clamped with pliers and slowly pulled out. Remember not to apply too much force to avoid damaging the connecting rod.
Generally, electronic production uses an internal heating soldering iron with a power of around 35W. Of course, having a 50W external heating soldering iron can be a backup. Due to its high thermal efficiency, a 20W internal heating soldering iron is equivalent to a 40W external heating soldering iron. The common internal heating and lead-free long-life internal heating soldering irons in the market have powers of 20W, 25W, 35W, 50W, etc., among which 35W and 50W are the most commonly used.
