You need a minimum of 361F for eutectic solder. Are the traces on your pcb tin plated?
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If in doubt, check the solder manufacturer's documentation for the ideal soldering temperature.
400C is a very high temperature (752F).
330C isn't much lower (626F). That is the highest recommended temperature for any type of solder (100% lead).
Tin/Lead in typical electronics formula (less than 70% lead) ranges from 170~240C (338~464F). Lead-Free solders use higher temps, but even then the highest melting temperature is about 240C.
It's no wonder you are burning traces. Even if you weren't, you probably are damaging whatever components you are soldering, unless it's just wire.
You may also be making other soldering mistakes. Google for some tutorials. You can practice on old electronics (the world is full of unwanted VCRs).
400C is a very high temperature (752F).
330C isn't much lower (626F). That is the highest recommended temperature for any type of solder (100% lead).
Tin/Lead in typical electronics formula (less than 70% lead) ranges from 170~240C (338~464F). Lead-Free solders use higher temps, but even then the highest melting temperature is about 240C.
It's no wonder you are burning traces. Even if you weren't, you probably are damaging whatever components you are soldering, unless it's just wire.
You may also be making other soldering mistakes. Google for some tutorials. You can practice on old electronics (the world is full of unwanted VCRs).
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From the Kester site:
Tip Temperatures: What is the recommended soldering iron tip temperature?
When hand soldering with a rosin flux such as the Kester #44 or the # 285 the recommended iron tip temperature is 750°F. If you are soldering with a low residue no-clean solder such as the #245 or #275 we recommend a tip temperature of 600-650°F.
So, 600F is around 315C. The melting temperature is good to know, but the tip, apparently, needs to be much hotter. 400C is not so crazy a temperature and I did not have the tip in contact for more than 1s at a time. 1990s German car radio. Temperature probably a bit high, but the traces are still coming up too easily in my opinion.
Tip Temperatures: What is the recommended soldering iron tip temperature?
When hand soldering with a rosin flux such as the Kester #44 or the # 285 the recommended iron tip temperature is 750°F. If you are soldering with a low residue no-clean solder such as the #245 or #275 we recommend a tip temperature of 600-650°F.
So, 600F is around 315C. The melting temperature is good to know, but the tip, apparently, needs to be much hotter. 400C is not so crazy a temperature and I did not have the tip in contact for more than 1s at a time. 1990s German car radio. Temperature probably a bit high, but the traces are still coming up too easily in my opinion.
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for 63/37 or 60/40 use 290degreesC (554F) or 300degrees C (572F)
For a high tin solder, or lead free solder, you may have to go 310degrees C (590F)
Note all of the above are below 600degreesF !!!!!!!!!
If you are soldering onto a ground plane, or onto a high mass brass, or copper, fitting you need to get the mass upto temperature and then quickly attach the component. Try 350degreesC (662F) for this preheating and then very quickly attach the component and get the temp down again before it gets damaged.
For a high tin solder, or lead free solder, you may have to go 310degrees C (590F)
Note all of the above are below 600degreesF !!!!!!!!!
If you are soldering onto a ground plane, or onto a high mass brass, or copper, fitting you need to get the mass upto temperature and then quickly attach the component. Try 350degreesC (662F) for this preheating and then very quickly attach the component and get the temp down again before it gets damaged.
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Actually, I turned my station back on and it went to 330C, so that is what I have been using. Board is on a Mercedes Benz Alpine radio from 1997. Still, traces came up very easily, like a cheap Chinese board. Perhaps their pcb work is as bad as their plastics and rubber? Do old German boards have a poor reputation? Looks like gold traces, some very very thin.
This is the reason I've never allowed soldering irons with adjustable temp to be used in any of the labs I've run. Invariably somebody will have trouble because they haven't cleaned things, so they wind the temp up and wonder why the circuit traces fall off.
We use exclusively Metcal 600 series tips, which are 350 degrees C, with SN62 solder, which includes 2% silver, and RMA flux.
Practically every soldering problem is down to grotty oxidised parts, not using flux (RMA) or using the wrong size or shape tip. Soldering isn't rocket science.
We use exclusively Metcal 600 series tips, which are 350 degrees C, with SN62 solder, which includes 2% silver, and RMA flux.
Practically every soldering problem is down to grotty oxidised parts, not using flux (RMA) or using the wrong size or shape tip. Soldering isn't rocket science.
My experience with EU CE stuff from that period was that the PCB's were usually phenolic single sided stuff where the traces would come loose if you looked at them cross-eyed. The "gold" may be bare copper. is there a solder mask? reference desingators screened on the board? The electronics were not the most sophisticated either. The stuff did get better but I'm not sure it was competition from Asia, the common market pressure or using asian sources for components. Newer stuff is much better.
Servicing the PCB's needed skill, a hotter iron and fast work. A cold iron took too long to heat the joint but a hot iron was risky. That's where a Metcal shines with the instant heat reserve.
Good luck with that radio. Keep in mind that car radios with the latest bluetooth etc. are cheaper than ever and work better. Unfortunately they tend to look like video games.
I could never get on with variable temp soldering irons. The two I bought didn't last very long.
I just bought a cheap Maplin 30 watt soldering iron with a set temp and that has been great. It doesn't burn off copper traces yet is hot enough for pot terminals and jack sockets. I am also finding the tips last a very long time if I keep the tip tinned.
I just bought a cheap Maplin 30 watt soldering iron with a set temp and that has been great. It doesn't burn off copper traces yet is hot enough for pot terminals and jack sockets. I am also finding the tips last a very long time if I keep the tip tinned.
Maybe if you combine the melting point of solders from the manufacturer's documentation with Andrew's recommended tip temperatures, you get:
melting point + 50C~60C (122F to 140F).
I just purchased a HAKKO 888D; you can password-protect the solder temperature; the feature is specifically designed for production/student lab uses. The older HAKKO's with analog temperature controls had a key you could use to the same effect.
A 30 watt iron is perfectly acceptable for tin/lead solders but I prefer a vari-temp iron for lead-free. With any electronics-use iron, proper tip maintenance is critical and cannot be overlooked.
For preheating large objects (copper bar, large cable lugs such as 4 AWG or larger, etc) I use a heat gun. Works very well, you can tin & solder welding cable with that method. Not for passive components which can be damaged from heat, but not all soldering jobs are components.
melting point + 50C~60C (122F to 140F).
I just purchased a HAKKO 888D; you can password-protect the solder temperature; the feature is specifically designed for production/student lab uses. The older HAKKO's with analog temperature controls had a key you could use to the same effect.
A 30 watt iron is perfectly acceptable for tin/lead solders but I prefer a vari-temp iron for lead-free. With any electronics-use iron, proper tip maintenance is critical and cannot be overlooked.
For preheating large objects (copper bar, large cable lugs such as 4 AWG or larger, etc) I use a heat gun. Works very well, you can tin & solder welding cable with that method. Not for passive components which can be damaged from heat, but not all soldering jobs are components.
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Don't forget, you need a much higher temperature above melting temperature of
the solder. For the 63/37 solder, 374 degree F melting point (Weller/Cooper Tools),
the proper wetting/bonding temp was greater than 615 degree F (Lockheed Martin).
Hope that help. Clean the joints with ISOPropanol, and use good new flux.
The stated shelf life of the rosin fluxes is two years.
Good luck,
the solder. For the 63/37 solder, 374 degree F melting point (Weller/Cooper Tools),
the proper wetting/bonding temp was greater than 615 degree F (Lockheed Martin).
Hope that help. Clean the joints with ISOPropanol, and use good new flux.
The stated shelf life of the rosin fluxes is two years.
Good luck,
I would not worry about flux shelf life unless you are assembling pacemakers or aircraft guidance systems. I have used 30 year old solder with great success. Rosin and activated rosin is pretty benign stuff and doesn't change much over time. If your incredibly patient it will turn into amber.
The classic recommendation was a hot iron and work fast. If the heater is well away from the tip you do have an issue with recovery after each joint. The goal is to heat the joint and expose the PCB to heat for as little time as possible. Metcal was very successful because the recovery is really quick with little overshoot so joints are predictable with less heat input. That performance is less important if your not making solder joints every 5-10 seconds.
Contaminated surfaces are a problem. In high quality manufacturing you don't want old parts. Usually at 2 years+ they are rejected. The surfaces oxidize and are harder to solder. This is very important for BGA's and similar "not for humans" types of connections. For DIY you can work through these limitations with a little effort.
Keep silicones away from PCB's since they are really hard to clean off. Hand cream can be a problem even. When PCB manufacturing was still a crude process we had to bake PCB's to get contaminants out of the holes or they would blow the solder from the holes in the process. I don't think anyone has mfr processes that crude anymore.
The classic recommendation was a hot iron and work fast. If the heater is well away from the tip you do have an issue with recovery after each joint. The goal is to heat the joint and expose the PCB to heat for as little time as possible. Metcal was very successful because the recovery is really quick with little overshoot so joints are predictable with less heat input. That performance is less important if your not making solder joints every 5-10 seconds.
Contaminated surfaces are a problem. In high quality manufacturing you don't want old parts. Usually at 2 years+ they are rejected. The surfaces oxidize and are harder to solder. This is very important for BGA's and similar "not for humans" types of connections. For DIY you can work through these limitations with a little effort.
Keep silicones away from PCB's since they are really hard to clean off. Hand cream can be a problem even. When PCB manufacturing was still a crude process we had to bake PCB's to get contaminants out of the holes or they would blow the solder from the holes in the process. I don't think anyone has mfr processes that crude anymore.
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