Most of the hobbits and professional electronic have one question- what is the best heat for soldering iron temperature. There is no proper iron temperature for a solder.
It depends on the components and welds both. For example, if a soldering surface mount components a tiny tip and 600f should be sufficient to solder a joint thoroughly.
Infect that will not overheat at all. However, if you solder through the whole components, 700F is useful to push more heat into the wire and plated hole to quickly solder it.
To more elaborate on the matter, here are some essential things that describe ideal soldering temperature. So, let’s begin.
What is the best soldering temperature?
The method of soldering is to warm high the joints so it can melt join the wires before the IC or the electronic gears get overheated. The rule is you have to reach the soldering temp higher than the melting point of it. But what is the ideal temperature of soldering? So, here are the points to follow,
Set the time of a soldering tip temperature 100- 150 C or 212-312 F more than the melting point of the typical type of solders that you are working with. If you are using lead-free or leaded iron for the soldering with the same kind of wire, then the temp will be 188C to 330C. To be more specific, if your soldering iron is led, the temp will be lower. The more substantial the wire or components will be the more temp you will need to solder.
Soldering iron temperature
Soldering iron temperature is depending on many situations. We can’t say that this is the fixed temp for soldering because it depends on other factors. However, usually, 170C to 180C is considering the melting temp for soldering.
Leaded solders like 60/40 or 63/37 leaded solder melt in between 188 degrees Celsius or 370 degrees Fahrenheit. And the melting temperature of the lead-free solder is more than 5~20°C or 40~68°F.
Things that effect on soldering temperature
No matter what numbers we say in real life, we may disappoint with the result while working. It’s because no number stood still at one point as soldering iron temperature. The factors vary on soldering temp are-
1. Heat Mutilation
In order to heat the connection to melt the solder with solder tip, usually, the temperature could rise to high. And if it gets overheated for too long, the electronic components could be damaged.
2. Electrostatic discharge (ESD)
During solder, other things can damage the electric device components rather than heat. Like, Electrostatic discharge or ESD can ruin ICs of electronic gadgets. The solution of this thing is to use ESD wrist strap. This lightweight and simple device is easy to wear and take only few dollars to buy. Do not forget to buy one and wear it when you solder. Heat is not the only downside to damage any electronic components; there are other things also. Electrostatic discharge is one of the particular. To prevent it, you can use the ESD wrist strap. This is a cheap and efficient way to make static electricity flow away.
3. Appropriate solder tip size
Generally, beginners make a common mistake to choose a tiny soldering tip. And if you are using a small tip to soldering two wires, that will be difficult; even if in high temperature.
It takes a long time to transfer the heat from a small tip to a connection where you need to solder. The same things apply to solder small SMD components. The heat will shift too fast most of the time.
That is why you need to use the proper size of the soldering tip for every successful soldering, so your object remains functional during the work.
Temperature readout
Temperature readout is an excellent part to see the details of temperature or sett is in different settings. There are some soldering stations or irons that contain direct soldering tip temp readout on the panel. Some may not. If your station doesn’t have temp readout, you will face complications at work. If you have a multimeter at home, get a K-type thermocouple.
The underlying theme of the thermocouple is when different conductive metals are link together, and a temperature difference occurs. The flow of current is included from one metal to another. A voltmeter or other measuring devices can measure the voltage. The energy of a thermocouple (in room temperature) and the voltage of the heat source comparison determine the actual temperature.
Therefore thermocouple is good enough to show the accurate temp of solder iron tip, so it’s good for during soldering. However, this device is expensive.
The solution to this problem is using a digital voltmeter. This one consists of a thermocouple probe and displays the temp directly.
Simple rule to follow
To avoid any consciousness like overheat or damage the components, you need to heat the joints fast with proper temp settings. Practice with a tutorial soldering sheet heat up and flow the solder into it and leave.
Remember one thing very well; do not leave the soldering tip on the circuit board or components. Sometimes we forget to keep the tip in the right place after work. But that is a bad habit. Every soldering station has its particular thermal retrieval features for solder tips after performing every connection. But high-quality stations have reckless recovery time. Additionally, you need to know the preset temperature for soldering tip temp is not the same as real transient soldering tip temp.
And that is applying more for professional users.
Check This Video about Soldering Iron Temperature & What is the RIGHT soldering temperature?
Conclusion
So in this discussion, it appears that soldering temperature could depend on many things. As much you work with different components soldering tips and metal, you will more understand what temp is right for what conditions. In our case, we work in between 300 to 380 C for our soldering station at the workshop. You may need more or less as your best type soldering iron temp. So, spend more time with your work and work station and see what temp you are comfortable with.
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