How to Calibrate Soldering Iron Temperature?

Soldering iron is the most commonly used welding tool for electronic engineers and electronics enthusiasts. Using a soldering iron well will save us a lot of time in our work. At the same time, correct maintenance methods will help extend the service life of the soldering iron. Next, we will introduce you to the maintenance method of the electric soldering iron.

Calibration method

1. The tip of the soldering iron should be relaxed at least once every two days.
2. It is strictly forbidden to strike the tip of the soldering iron. (Because the heating wire is fragile).
3. Keep it at an appropriate temperature, do not use it overheating
4. If the soldering iron is not used for more than 10 minutes, put it at a low temperature or turn off the power.
5. When resting, the tip of the soldering iron should be tinned for protection.
6. Do not use the tip of the soldering iron to pick or squeeze the object to be welded during the welding process.
7. The iron head should be removed and cleaned regularly (once a week), and check whether there is any foreign matter at the heat pipe.
8. Do not use the main unit when the soldering iron is bad or the lead wire is bad.
9. If the red light cannot be extinguished under control within three minutes or the pointer on the meter head jumps, it is poor temperature control.
10. Stop using it immediately if you find that the temperature cannot be controlled, so as not to burn out the host.

The newly purchased soldering iron tip has a small amount of tin attached because the material of the soldering iron tip is copper, which is easily oxidized and forms an oxide layer on the surface when exposed to the air. Tin is attached to the surface of the soldering iron tip to prevent oxidation and is more durable when used. Easy to eat tin.

The heads of current soldering irons (temperature-adjustable soldering irons) are basically covered with alloys. After you buy them and plug them in, you can directly tin the soldering iron heads with solder wire. (Be careful not to use sandpaper to grind, as the coating will not be tinned if the coating is worn out) Temperature-regulated soldering irons are used in industrial production, and the soldering iron tip is silver-plated, so this kind of soldering iron tip must not be filed or sanded, otherwise just damaged.

The surface of the soldering iron tip of a good quality electric soldering iron will have a layer of metal coating. This layer of metal coating is to prevent oxidation. Generally speaking, with this layer of metal coating, the soldering iron tip will not be oxidized. Although the tin layer on the tip of the soldering iron will be oxidized, it will not oxidize to the tip of the soldering iron.

Dip the tip of the soldering iron with rosin, and then apply the soldering wire to the tip of the soldering iron. Keep in on it after each soldering. When heating until the tip of the soldering iron is about to change color, melt the solder wire (with flux) on the tip of the soldering iron. If it's a tin bar, wash the tip of the iron in flux first, then the tin. When using it, you need to carefully observe the temperature of the soldering iron tip. If you find that the tin on the soldering iron tip turns yellow, turn off the power or cool it down in the flux. If the tin turns dark red, it means that the temperature is too high, and the power must be turned off immediately to cool down.

Solder with flux to remove oxides. If it cannot be removed, cycle tinning, wiping, tinning, wiping until there is no oxide layer, and then apply new solder. After all the work is done, new solder should be applied to the tip of the soldering iron. When the soldering temperature is higher than 350°C and the work is suspended for more than 1 hour, the tip of the soldering iron should be tinned frequently.

Choose the appropriate tin wire, use solder with 63%-37% lead content when soldering, and often protect the soldering iron head with a layer. In addition, try to use thicker tin wire for welding work, because thicker tin wire has a better protection effect on the tip of the soldering iron.

Every time you use the soldering iron, you should clean the tip of the soldering iron, preferably with a special cleaning sponge. Generally, add a little water to the small box on the soldering iron stand, soak the sponge, and wipe it on it after using the soldering iron to remove the flux and old tin from the soldering iron tip. After cleaning, put a little tin on the tip of the soldering iron, and adjust the temperature to below 100 degrees Celsius to prevent oxidation of the tip of the soldering iron.

If oxides have appeared on the 80-watt digital soldering iron and there is no tin, you can use a knife to scrape off the oxide layer on the tip of the soldering iron, and then scrub it repeatedly on a cleaning sponge layer of tin to prevent re-oxidation.

Finally, the soldering iron can only be used for soldering, and you must not use the soldering iron to solder some plastic and messy things, because when the tip of the soldering iron is sticky, it is generally difficult to remove it, which means that the soldering iron is basically useless.

Do not remove the excess solder on the tip of the soldering iron before turning it off. The excess tin will protect the surface of the tin and prevent oxidation when the tip of the soldering iron reheats.

When storing the used soldering iron tip, care should be taken to ensure that there is in protection on the tip of the soldering iron. When soldering, the operator should not scratch the board, and the amount of sponge used to rub the tip of the soldering iron should be appropriate. Note that the sponge can be used before welding, but not after the operation is completed. Normally, the operator should not hit hard objects with the tip of the soldering iron to prevent damage to the coating on the surface of the tip of the soldering iron.

If there is foreign matter, stolen goods, paint coverage, or oxidation phenomenon found inside during operation, it should be cleaned before welding. It is strictly forbidden to use the tip of the soldering iron to iron plastic objects, which will reduce the service life of the tip of the soldering iron, and the pungent fumes produced will be harmful to the human body.