Soldering - how to solder

Tip/walkthrough

By CaptainTuna @ Sun, 2008-07-06 14:55

This walkthrough explains the basics of soldering, really important thing to learn if we want our robots to be tough!

Description:

here's the best one i've found so far,it really helps a lot.

http://www.curiousinventor.com/guides/How_To_Solder

By fritsl @ Sun, 2008-07-13 07:11

I may have to go through this walkthrough :)

Some say my soldering is really bad on my videos.. However - I just wanted to say that the original responses to this video and walk through where not very relevant or helpful to anyone, and so they have been deleted. Feel free to comment if you have something relevant to comment with.

Happy soldering :) - And thanks for posting, Captain!

By Ed @ Sun, 2008-07-13 20:09

Surface mount

SparkFun Electronics has a good tutorial about soldering surface mount devices here. If you are new to soldering it's really useful to see how using solder wick can help you.

By CaptainTuna @ Fri, 2008-07-25 16:33

the article doesn't talk

the article doesn't talk much about the sponge used for cleaning. You have to keep it wet right?

By Scheda @ Fri, 2008-07-25 16:58

When you're using it, yeah,

When you're using it, yeah, otherwise you'll end up burning it and possibly setting it on fire.

By dude01 @ Tue, 2008-08-05 18:36

????

Wesley

where and what is the best soldering gun for a begginer

By CaptainTuna @ Wed, 2008-08-06 11:42

i don't know how it works

i don't know how it works for you but, with my 30 watt soldering iron i can't achieve what the guy in the video does, the only one i manage to get the solder molten is by putting it directly on the tip. Maybe i should change voltage?

By hootyhoo @ Wed, 2008-09-03 18:07

I had the same problem when

I had the same problem when I was first starting out. Then someone finally told me the key to heating things up when soldering: Put a thin coat of solder on the tip of your iron every time you solder something. When you get done with that joint wipe it off on the sponge. Then repeat every time you go to solder a joint. That little bit of solder on the tip acts like the thermal grease between the heatsink and cpu on your computer.

By CaptainTuna @ Mon, 2008-09-15 12:45

thank you for the tip.

thank you for the tip. Actually my previous post is quite old, since that post i've improved a lot and actually managed to solder joints properly :)

Although most of the times i don't use that method, but i apply a heat bridge directly between soldering iron and parts to solder, but that's the same thing, nothing different. Only one thing: why do you have to wipe it off every time you get a joint done?

By hootyhoo @ Mon, 2008-09-15 21:08

Over time residue will build

Over time residue will build up on the tip and can cause a decrease in performance. Also if you use too much solder on a joint you can end up with a blob of melted solder on the tip which can dangerous (read hot dripping lead on pants). It's just good practice when using this method to clean the tip off before you put the iron back in the holder.

By CaptainTuna @ Tue, 2008-09-16 05:51

yeah i just meant cleaning

yeah i just meant cleaning it between joints

By BaseOverApex @ Tue, 2008-09-16 19:18

PANTS?

Who solders in their pants?

By Ant @ Mon, 2008-09-15 21:49

Also you would have burnt

Also you would have burnt all the flux out of the solder on your tip by the time you have done one joint. But if your quick, there is really no need to wipe between joints.

By hootyhoo @ Tue, 2008-09-16 18:44

I said between each joint

I said between each joint because a beginner will typically set up and solder one joint then get the next one ready instead of setting up a series of joints and soldering them all in one go. Just clean it before you put it back on the stand and prime it when you take it off to use again.

By Mr Clean @ Sun, 2008-10-19 18:38

Great tutorial! Thanks for

Great tutorial! Thanks for posting it!

By LOLGeek @ Wed, 2009-01-07 08:01

Very helpful

This will really help me out alot.

By jklug80 @ Wed, 2009-03-04 15:44

Sorry to bump an old thread

Sorry to bump an old thread to the top, but check out this post. This is a good example on why something that looks as easily as soldering shouldnt be taken so lightly.

I have a cold heat soldering iron. I broke two tips in 5 minutes ($10 USD each). The iron wasnt getting hot enough to melt the solder. I changed the batteries and it worked like a charm.

If your soldering iron isn't melting the solder, change batteries (if it runs on batteries). If it is a plug in, let it heat up longer. Never leave the soldering iron on a part for more than a second or two. If you overheat the sensor, LED, DIP, etc it WILL damage it. It then will eat up a lot of time when your circuit doesn't work and you have to troubleshoot and desolder the part. Always take your time! Thanks Calc for a life lesson that will save me a lot of time!