|
While it is important to use the right kind of soldering techniques and methods to increase the life of soldiering iron tips, proper maintenance and care of these tips also plays a major role in increasing the life of these tips. By keeping a close eye on your soldering iron tips and maintaining and cleaning it on a regular basis, you can ensure that your soldering tip lasts much longer. Again, doing so is also a great way to ensure all your soldering joints are free from impurities and contaminants at all times. Proper maintenance of your soldering iron tips provide various benefits including an increase in soldering production as well as a reduction in the chances of failure of the solder joints. You will find an iron-plated copper coating on top of almost every soldering tip. So, if you are looking for the best performance from these tips, the process involves tinning the tip and maintaining these optimum levels on the working end. The reason that you need to coat your solder tip with a layer of tin is that by doing so, you can protect your solder tip from oxidation. The loss of the protective solder layer is often the leading reason for the failure of most soldering tips. Tips with this problem are often referred to as de-tinned tips. The processing of tinning your soldering includes covering your soldering iron tip with a thin solder layer. Even when you get a new tip for soldering, it is imperative that you make sure to maintain a fine solder layer across the tip. Hot iron tips are really susceptible to oxidation and tinning your soldering iron tips is a great way to save your soldering iron tips from the same. Oxidation is a rather destructive force that can cause corrosions of your soldering iron tip which will then require frequent replacement. Tinning your soldering tip regularly ensures that there is a layer of tin between the iron and the air which contains oxygen that causes the process oxidation. Tip tinning makes the process of soldering a whole lot easier. With a tinned tip, you can be assured that the solder wire will indeed melt with ease flow over the sections being soldered with a lot of ease. In fact, the process of tinning is absolutely necessary even if your soldering iron is not in use. Make sure to apply a fine layer of tin to your solder tip before you put it away for storage. The ideal way to perform tinning on your soldering iron tip is to heat the tip to a temperature where the old solder begins to melt. Once the tip is at the appropriate temperature for your requirements, always make sure to wipe off old solder using brass wire cleaning pads or a sponge. Once this is done, apply solder to the entire tip giving it a shiny and smooth finish. However, make sure you do not overdo the cleaning prior to tinning or it can cause damage to the tip.
Related Articles -
Solder tip, soldering iron,
| 
