Solder help

[Jack Napier]

The connection from my warp board to the battery connecter has been severed. Are there any precautions for me to keep in mind when I'm soldering onto the board?

[sniper1rfa]

the general rule for soldering to curcuit boards is that after 5 seconds, pull the iron off the board. spend more time (like 8-10 seconds) and you run a risk of burning some traces off.

[F4i_guy]

You should NEVER apply the solder gun directly onto the circuit board itself. Instead apply it to the wire. Just make sure you clean the old solder off before you start.

[Talon2000]

I also tend to use a butane soldering iron, just to keep things electrically neutral. No real need to go that far.

If you have an adjustable soldering iron, try to get the temp as low as you can and still be able to melt the solder, and yes keep the time on the solder joint as minimum as possible to keep from frying components.

Only other thing I can think of is to make sure you've disconnected the battery.

It's also best to heat wire being soldered rather than the solder itself. Once the wire or pad is hot enough the solder will wick. Use the thinnest gage solder you can find, and a little goes a long ways.

Talon

[Jack Napier]

Okay I think I failed. It works now at least. I have my warp set to intellifeed. When the battery is in a certain position, the warp will contantly spin. If I fiddle with the battery and clamp it will stop. Could someone enlighten me? Thanks for all the soldering help.

[sniper1rfa]

you have a crummy connection somewhere, so its constantly turning on and off. the warp spins a little when it turns on, so it causing it to spin constantly.

[Jack Napier]

Yes, that could be the problem. Only thing that makes me think its not is that it doesn't do this in sense mode. Problem with sense mode is it doesn't sense to well. Intellifeed is my only option. Should I clean out the old solder on the board and resolder anyway?

[Nobody077]

Hay Jack what part of So.Cal are you in? If you live near by Montclair, you can bring that thing to me and I will fix the soldering and give you a few soldering tips. I will even show you my Soldering certificate(I work as a soldering tech). But if you cant bring it by the first pointer is use a good soldering iron(not one of those gun type) a iron in the 30-40w range(650-700deg) should be fine, second use a small chisel type tip, 3rd use a flux core solder(not acid core). You will want to tin the wire first(heat the bare wire and apply solder to wire just enough to coat wire), then place the wire on the circiut board pad and heat both pad and wire at same time, then count to 2-3 and lightly touch the solder to the wire/pad, the solder should melt/flow onto the "joint" , now remove heat. A good solder joint should take betwen 3-5 seconds, and look shiny when done, if the joint is gray/dull looking it is no good, you need to apply flux and reheat just till the solder re-melts. Hope this helps
PS-- Sorry its so darn long:D

[Jack Napier]

Hello Nobody,

Its cool of you to offer your solder skills.I live in Bakersfield. I might be able to drop by Monclair when I'm in LA. I don't know when I'm going to LA. When I do, i'll let you know.

[Nobody077]

No Problem let me know, Later Steve(nobody077)

[xen_100]

Originally posted by F4i_guy
You should NEVER apply the solder gun directly onto the circuit board itself. Instead apply it to the wire. Just make sure you clean the old solder off before you start.

that is absolutely wrong. you want your soldering iron to always be at the apex of where the board and the pin/wire/post you are solding it to is. if not you WILL end up with some cold solder joints that will fail over time.

the other consideration for that methode is if you JUST heat the wire. The wire has to conduct all the heat down to the solder joint and you will start to seperate the metals in the solder, which will result in a grainy joint. You will also cause wicking, where the solder starts to go up under the insulation of the wire. that can cause a broken wire where you can even see it.

to answer your question. the 5 seconds rule is a good rule of thumb. but if you are soldering a trace that has a large ground plane attached to it, many times 5 seconds is not enough to heat it. What you want to do is make sure that you dont use more heat than you need. Dont use a 100 watt iron, it will heat the joint so fast you wont be able to see when the joint is JUST hot enough to solder. you want to apply enough heat to solder, but no more. you can see that by when the solder starts to melt. get a good joint then remove the heat.

AND remember......flux is your friend!!! ;)

hey nobody, what level are your certified in? I had to be level 3 when I was in areospace.

[Nobody077]

I am also level 3, both through hole and surface mount, also certified for hot-air surface mount re-work. The machine I do the boards for is sold mainly to military and airlines, so level 3 is a must.