How to Solder

Soldering how to guide focuses on soldering for beginners and how to solder different components using different methods. This information care for the experienced as much as newbies. At first soldering can seem discouraging, when you give it a try, you will find it easy and simple in most applications. Like everything else, a good soldering technique takes practice! Some results of bad soldering technique are dry joints and damage to components especially sensitive electronic components.

Proper Soldering How to Guide

When workings on any electronic project or you are working on any equipment, you will need soldering. Electronic soldering connects electrical wiring and electronic components to strip or printed circuit boards (PCBs). Good soldering practice is essential to successful completion of your tasks because improper soldering will lead to frustrating experience of failed projects, troubleshooting and inability to quickly identify problem areas.

You will need to choose the following equipment and materials carefully:

1. Soldering iron
2. Solder
3. Soldering iron stand
4. Solder sucker
5. Soldering braid
6. Nose mask
7. Safety goggle

Soldering iron comes in variety of shapes and sizes. They are using ac electricity, battery or gas and the most common type being those powered by ac mains, battery-powered soldering iron is more portable. Electronic components are susceptible to high temperature therefore it is advisable to use soldering iron with a small to medium size solder tips. Consider also that your soldering iron is of sufficient power and it’s able to supply sufficient heat to easily melt the solder.

When working on PCB, use low-wattage soldering iron (25 W to 40 W)

Solder Selection

• Use solder of suitable tin-lead ratio or percentage because it matters for stress free good workmanship.
• The greater the tin concentration the greater the solder’s tensile and shear strengths.
• 63/37 which is translated as 63% Tin by 37% Lead by weight is used principally in electrical electronic works, it’s a eutectic alloy which has the lowest melting point (183⁰C or 361⁰F)
  • The best solder is lead free. The particular type I used for my projects is supplied on a reel and has a 0.7mm (1.32”) diameter, and it’s made up of 95.5% tin, 3.8% silver, and 0.7% silver.

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