X-Authentication-Warning: delorie.com: mail set sender to geda-user-bounces using -f X-Recipient: geda-user AT delorie DOT com Message-ID: <500474CA.5020505@estechnical.co.uk> Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:08:42 +0100 From: Ed Simmons User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; rv:13.0) Gecko/20120615 Thunderbird/13.0.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com Subject: Re: [geda-user] Soldering problems References: <500423C2 DOT 2030201 AT estechnical DOT co DOT uk> In-Reply-To: Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------090500080107020203000901" X-Authenticated-As: ed AT estechnical DOT co DOT uk Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------090500080107020203000901 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On 16/07/12 19:41, Rob Butts wrote: > Thanks Ed! > That is exactly what is happening. > > On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 10:22 AM, Ed Simmons > wrote: > > > We had this issue when using the damp sponge to clean the iron. > Switching to a brass spiral cleaner helped keep the iron clean, > and when it gets really dull and refuses to re-tin, use something > like this: > http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-iron-tips-accessories/0226287/ > - this brings up a good-as-new shine on the bit. > > Hope that helps. > > Ed > > No worries - please make sure you've got good fume extraction - it's nasty! Are you using no-clean flux? It's really difficult to deal with since most no-clean flux contains a plasticiser to halt any reaction from the small remaining amount of possibly active flux after it's been through a soldering cycle. This gets all over the bit of the iron and quenching the heat out of the bit with a sponge only makes it stick on harder. Reworking reflowed boards is such a pain (not to mention ugly and obvious) we're switching to water soluble fluxes so that we can actually clean it at the end. Such are the trials of short-run electronics. :-| If it spits while you feed the solder into the joints, the iron is probably a bit too hot, but this is hard to avoid without preheating the whole PCB until it's really toasty. On multilayer boards with pins connected to the ground-plane this is almost essential in order to be able to solder at anywhere near the correct temperature. --------------090500080107020203000901 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

On 16/07/12 19:41, Rob Butts wrote:

Thanks Ed!

That is exactly what is happening.

On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 10:22 AM, Ed Simmons <ed AT estechnical DOT co DOT uk> wrote:

We had this issue when using the damp sponge to clean the iron. Switching to a brass spiral cleaner helped keep the iron clean, and when it gets really dull and refuses to re-tin, use something like this: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-iron-tips-accessories/0226287/ - this brings up a good-as-new shine on the bit.

Hope that helps.

Ed

No worries - please make sure you've got good fume extraction - it's nasty!

Are you using no-clean flux? It's really difficult to deal with since most no-clean flux contains a plasticiser to halt any reaction from the small remaining amount of possibly active flux after it's been through a soldering cycle. This gets all over the bit of the iron and quenching the heat out of the bit with a sponge only makes it stick on harder. Reworking reflowed boards is such a pain (not to mention ugly and obvious) we're switching to water soluble fluxes so that we can actually clean it at the end. Such are the trials of short-run electronics. :-|

If it spits while you feed the solder into the joints, the iron is probably a bit too hot, but this is hard to avoid without preheating the whole PCB until it's really toasty. On multilayer boards with pins connected to the ground-plane this is almost essential in order to be able to solder at anywhere near the correct temperature.
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