Soldering Equipment – Irons, Tips and Solder

Soft soldering equipment

Soft soldering joins two conductors with a filler metal that melts well below the melting point of the parts: it is the process used in electronics, wiring and light metalwork. You need three things:

• a soldering iron: our SAMS electric irons range from 50 to 400 W, plus a 500 W ABL iron; the SAMS irons each have an angled copper tip, a 130 cm cable, an EU plug and a metal stand;
• replacement tips: copper, angled, from 50 to 400 W, each designed for the SAMS iron of the same power;
• solder wire: 1.5 mm tin-lead 50/50 wire with a rosin flux core, on 250 g reels, sold singly or in packs of up to 100.

What wattage of soldering iron?

The larger the part, the more heat it draws away, and the more powerful the iron must be to solder quickly and cleanly. As a guide: 50 to 80 W for electronics and fine wires, 100 W for general wiring, 200 to 500 W for heavy cables, large lugs and thick metal parts. If in doubt, go one size up: an underpowered iron has to stay on the work too long and leaves dull joints.

How to solder properly

• Clean the surfaces to be joined and remove any oxide.
• Heat both parts with the tip, then feed the solder onto the joint, not onto the tip: the flux core cleans the metal and the solder flows.
• Remove the solder, then the iron, and let the joint cool without moving it: a good joint is bright and smooth.

Our solder melts between 183 and 216 °C, and its data sheet recommends an iron temperature of 370 to 420 °C. Clean off flux residues after soldering.

Care and safety

Wipe the tip regularly on a damp cloth and keep it tinned; replace it once it no longer wets with solder. Always put the iron back on its stand. This solder contains lead: work in a ventilated room, wash your hands afterwards and do not eat while soldering. If you manufacture electronic equipment for sale, check the RoHS requirements, which generally call for lead-free solder.

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