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Soldering guide 1

Soldering involves creating a joint between two metals by heating them with a soldering iron and melting solder into the junction. A proper setup includes a soldering iron, brass cleaner, tools, solder, and a board for components, which should be inserted from the non-copper side. After soldering, ensure joints are stable and correct any mistakes by removing excess solder or cutting tracks as needed.

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Szilvagyi Bence
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2 views

Soldering guide 1

Soldering involves creating a joint between two metals by heating them with a soldering iron and melting solder into the junction. A proper setup includes a soldering iron, brass cleaner, tools, solder, and a board for components, which should be inserted from the non-copper side. After soldering, ensure joints are stable and correct any mistakes by removing excess solder or cutting tracks as needed.

Uploaded by

Szilvagyi Bence
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to solder

Soldering is the act of making a joint between two metals. This is


done by heating up the junction between the metals using a
soldering iron and then melting solder into it. The solder flows
between the two metals, joining them and then sets when the
heat source is removed to leave a good, physically and
electrically, stable joint.

A typical soldering setup is shown in Figure 1. It shows a soldering


iron and stand, a sponge that can be used to clean the iron (we
now use brass cleaners instead), a set of tools commonly used
when soldering, a water bottle (needed if using sponge for
Figure 1 - soldering equipment
cleaning iron), some solder and some stripboard/Veroboard.
A wet sponge can be used to clean the solder tip, however water impurities decrease the lifetime of the iron tip,
we therefore now use dry brass cleaners instead (Figure 2).
Figure 3 shows a small selection of components commonly used - ICs, resistors, capacitors and LEDs of varying
sizes.
For ICs, it’s always wise to use a chip holder - that way you can easily insert or remove the chip and you also
don’t have to worry about damaging the chip with heat as you solder it in (Figure 4).

Figure 2 - brass cleaner Figure 3 - components Figure 4 - ICs and holders


It may be necessary to bend the legs of some components in order to make
them fit into the Veroboard holes (Figure 5), this can be done by hand or using
pliers.

Different components are obviously different sizes and so some will stick out
from the board more than others (Figure 6). It is usually a good idea to start
with the shortest components first as it makes it a lot easier to hold them in
place while soldering. In this example, the resistors are the smallest
components so they should be put in and soldered first. Figure 5 - bent legs

You will notice that the Veroboard has two sides - one with copper and one
without. Components should be inserted from the non-copper side so that the
legs stick out of the copper side to enable them to be soldered.

*** Before you start trying to solder, remember that the iron reaches 370°C
and that the components that you are soldering in will get hot too, so try
not to burn yourself! If you do, run the burn under cold water for 10 minutes
to cool it down and prevent any further damage occurring. *** Figure 6 - different sizes

Copyright © Emily Tatlow 2008, amended Julian Fletcher 2013


Switch the soldering iron on if you haven’t already done so and ensure the fume extraction
pipe is connected and switched on. When it’s at the right temperature (wait about a minute
for this to be reached), clean the tip on the dry brass cleaner to remove any old solder or dirt.
Next take some solder and melt a tiny bit onto the tip so as to coat it (Figure 7). This is called
tinning the bit and it helps the iron to make a better connection at the joint to be soldered so
that heat is transferred more easily. If you are having trouble tinning the bit, it may be due to
a damaged tip, speak to a technician, demonstrator or academic for assistance. Figure 7 -
tinning the bit
Now take the component you want and place it into the Veroboard in the required position then turn the board
so that the copper side is upwards. Take the soldering iron and hold it such that it contacts both the leg of the
component you wish to solder and the copper track at the same time. After a couple of seconds it should have
heated both enough for you to feed the solder in. The solder should start to melt and flow to cover the two
parts. Once you have fed in enough solder to just cover the joint you want, remove the iron and the solder at
the same time, being careful not to dislodge the component as the solder cools and solidifies.
Ideally you should get a joint like the one shown in Figure 8, the solder only goes where it
is needed, does not cover other holes or cross to other tracks, is evenly distributed around
the joint and fully contacts both parts of the joint. Be careful not to take too long or the
solder burns and goes dull leading to an unstable joint, it can also damage components
Figure 8 - good joint
(maximum heating times are often found on technical information sheets).
You do not want joints like Figures 9a-d:

Figure 9a - shows a joint Figure 9b - shows a joint Figure 9c - shows another Figure 9d - shows a joint
where too much solder where the solder has joint where too much where not enough solder
has been applied. In this not properly connected solder has been applied has been applied to make
instance it’s to the point with the copper and so and so the solder has the joint stable - this joint
where the solder has is unstable and liable to covered over adjacent can easily break and is not
spilled over onto the break away from the holes in the board - this electrically stable, it is
adjacent track causing a track this is an example makes fitting other another example of a dry
short circuit. of a dry joint. components difficult. joint.
If you do make a mistake like one of these, it is easy to fix. Simply heat up the solder again and either use a solder
pump (solder sucker) or some solder wick (available from a technician) to remove the excess solder and then try
again. Continue until all components have been soldered in.

Once you’ve soldered your components in you may find that, because of the design of the board, there are some
Figure 10 - cutting leads
tracks connecting components that you don’t want connected. This is easy to sort as well - take a track breaker
(the tool that looks a bit like a drill bit with a handle) and place it into a hole in one of the tracks at the point you
want to break. Gently but firmly twist it in the hole until the track has been cut away (Figure 10). Don’t cut in
too much as it will start to cut into adjacent tracks and also go too deep making the board unstable, just do
enough to cut that single track.

Any components that you have soldered in that have long legs can be cut down to neaten things
Figure 11 - and prevent
cutting tracks
short circuits. Just take a pair of wire cutters and cut the legs off as close to the solder as possible (Figure 11).
Check your board carefully for any dry joints or short circuits and correct as necessary. If all is correct then your
board is finished and ready to go!

Copyright © Emily Tatlow 2008, amended Julian Fletcher 2013

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