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Soldering fast... advice needed


Walker
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Happy New Year :)

I'm just getting towards the end of my first pedal build (a Klon clone), and I have 5 diodes left to solder in.

The instructions say to use a heat sink and work fast as "Any more thnk 3 or 4 seconds on the iron and they are toast".

What is the secret to soldering fast? Everything else I have soldered takes at least 5 or 6 seconds, sometimes more!

What temperature should I have my iron on for these components? (see photo)

All advice gratefully received!

Cheers

diode hell.jpg

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They aren't specifically sensitive if you are not soldering too close and I wouldn't think they needed more attention than normal, although if it takes 5-6 seconds to solder something I would say your iron is too cold, it should only ever take a second or two. So turn the iron up from what you have it on if it is temperature controlled.

Although the 4001s are pretty robust (the black ones, or 400x series anyway), the bottom ones, presumably 1n4148s can be a little delicate close to the body, so when you have soldered one side, let it cool a bit before doing the other side.

I can't say that I have ever lost a diode soldering it in though, and that includes surface mount. 

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8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

They aren't specifically sensitive if you are not soldering too close and I wouldn't think they needed more attention than normal, although if it takes 5-6 seconds to solder something I would say your iron is too cold, it should only ever take a second or two. So turn the iron up from what you have it on if it is temperature controlled.

Although the 4001s are pretty robust (the black ones, or 400x series anyway), the bottom ones, presumably 1n4148s can be a little delicate close to the body, so when you have soldered one side, let it cool a bit before doing the other side.

I can't say that I have ever lost a diode soldering it in though, and that includes surface mount. 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Oh, and hats off to you @Walker, what a great way to start the New Year !

Edited by ahpook
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Thank you, that's appreciated.

I have my iron @ 400 degrees at the moment, which I thought was too hot.

So just to confirm, what I do is put the tip of the iron against the leg of the component AND against the hole, give it a couple of seconds to warm up, and the feed in the solder where everything meets, pull away the solder, leaving the iron in contact for a bit to suck everything into the hole.

Is that wrong? Too long?

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yes, 400 is quite warm. what is the power of your iron? Maybe it isn't clean or too lightweight, but it would seem odd.

I don't do it like that, I would say a second to warm up, feed the solder in, but don't leave it in contact too much afterwards, it should stay hot enough. just be sure to not move it as it is cooling.

-

Either way, I would say, do it the way you are most comfortable with. It is unlikely you will damage them but if you do (and with the 1n4148s it is obvious, they would fall apart), they are about the cheapest components you care going to find, literally 1 or 2p.

Edited by Woodinblack
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Solved my problem!

I swapped the tip over for a shorter, fatter one, set the iron to 350 and it's lightning fast now 

I practised on a few scrap components and bit of board, I can get a good joint in a second or two now.

Thanks so much for the help, now I need to understand what all this stuff does!

I got an electronics book by a fella called Charles Platt and a kit of the required components for Christmas as it's something I have wanted to learn for years.

Thanks again and Happy New Year again!

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21 hours ago, pete.young said:

A croc clip makes a good temporary heat sink - just clip it to the leg.

Yep, this. Just remember that it will stay hot for a few seconds so don't try and unclip it straight after soldering your connection. It may sound totally obvious but I've forgotten at least a couple of times, much to my immediate distress!

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On 01/01/2019 at 15:45, Walker said:

Solved my problem!

I swapped the tip over for a shorter, fatter one, set the iron to 350 and it's lightning fast now 

I practised on a few scrap components and bit of board, I can get a good joint in a second or two now.

Thanks so much for the help, now I need to understand what all this stuff does!

I got an electronics book by a fella called Charles Platt and a kit of the required components for Christmas as it's something I have wanted to learn for years.

Thanks again and Happy New Year again!

Yes, this is the way to go - a tip with a higher thermal mass is really useful for tranferring the heat. You can also add a blob of solder to the tip to really help things along. Most important though is to use a good quality flux to clean the component legs and PCB tags and again this also helps transfer heat.

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One extra tip  ( sic ) is using a clean tip so wiping on the damp sponge before soldering is a good idea, but remember this kills the heat for a while so the tip needs to heat back up.

I have a soldering station, rather than just a gun on a cable, and have an adjustable temp, + LED temp readout, so can easily set temps, and can tell if it fluctuates when cleaning the tip on the damp sponge

 

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6 hours ago, fleabag said:

One extra tip  ( sic ) is using a clean tip so wiping on the damp sponge before soldering is a good idea, but remember this kills the heat for a while so the tip needs to heat back up.

I have a soldering station, rather than just a gun on a cable, and have an adjustable temp, + LED temp readout, so can easily set temps, and can tell if it fluctuates when cleaning the tip on the damp sponge

 

Yeah I got me a lovely Weller soldering station which is just the ticket. Heats up super quick and temp is easily adjusted.

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To make a solder joint without unnecessary delay, 'tin' the component lead beforehand with a thin layer of solder, and apply a small amount of solder to the iron tip and allow to heat before placing on the joint to be made, then allow any extra solder required to run around the joint. You are looking to establish a 'heat bridge' between the iron and the joint as early as possible.

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18 hours ago, JapanAxe said:

To make a solder joint without unnecessary delay, 'tin' the component lead beforehand with a thin layer of solder, and apply a small amount of solder to the iron tip and allow to heat before placing on the joint to be made, then allow any extra solder required to run around the joint. You are looking to establish a 'heat bridge' between the iron and the joint as early as possible.

^ THIS

Tinning components really helps the whole process - and not just the speed at which you can get the component attached.

I find it also really helps reduce both the total amount of solder you need, as well as trying to push frustrating blobs of solder into the right place with your tip.

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