Recession Busters
February 2009
Here at Hexacon we
know that everyone is experiencing difficulty during this economic crisis. We
thought the best we can do is to remind our customers how to get the most from
their soldering tools. We call this column “Recession Busters” and hope to add
to it periodically. You are receiving this mailing as a result of your purchase
history with Hexacon. We are here to
support our customers and if you have a question about your soldering iron or
station we want you to contact us directly. We value you as our customer and
wanted to share what we know to help stretch that shrinking dollar.
A clean sponge is the lowest cost way to make
sure soldering tips are well maintained. If your sponges are black and covered
with solder and flux residues, chances are that you are transferring these
residues onto the work being soldered. The sponge used should be wet enough to
see water if pressed with your finger. If the sponge is too dry it acts as sand
paper and mechanically abrades the plated surface of the soldering tip. Sponges
are the cheapest thing to replace and will extend tip life.
Did you know that
the most common reason for premature element failure is an unseated tip in the
element core? Fully seat all tips at
the base of the element core for optimal element life. If element operates
without direct contact with tip the element overheats and fails. Unseated tips
will void any warranty claim.
Did you know that
using a voltage controller with your
steady output iron lowers the iron voltage and reduces the energy usage too?
The voltage controller can be used to turn the iron down during idle periods
and still be ready to use when you are.
A lower temperature on the iron will also have the added benefit of
increasing the life of your soldering tip.
Did you know that
Hexacon still sells most of its tips
individually? Except for J tips you can still buy one tip. Other soldering iron manufacturers sell tips
in larger package sizes.
A properly
designed iron holder can increase the
efficiency of your soldering tool. Poorly designed holders may heat sink an
iron causing idling temperature losses of up to 200 degrees F. Which part of
the iron comes in contact with the iron holder is also critical to an iron
holder’s design. If the angle at which the soldering iron is supported is too
great, convection heating will generate handle heat. Hexacon designed a custom
bench mounted iron holder to accommodate as many as four soldering irons at one
station.
May 2009
A coating of solder
makes your soldering tips last
longer. Apply a fresh coating of solder to your soldering tip before placing
the iron back into the iron holder. This solder coating is known as “tinning”
regardless of alloy or metal content.
Although instinct
would guide a user to wipe the tip clean before placing the iron in the holder,
a freshly wiped tip that has no solder on it and is returned to the holder at
operating temperature will only oxidize the surface of the tip. The longer the iron idles in this condition
the more difficult the removal of the oxide becomes. Oxide build-up on the tip
surface can interfere with optimal heat transfer to the termination being made
and could transfer these oxide residues to the connection. At some point no amount of flux or mechanical
abrasion will remove these surface oxides and the tip becomes dewetted and
unusable due to poor solderability. * (Dewetting is becoming more common with
the switch to lead-free alloys.)
A little solder to
coat the tip is a small price to pay compared to the cost of replacing a
prematurely failed tip.
Another way to
extend the life of your tips is to prevent the build-up of oxidation at the
other end of the soldering tip. How do you do that? It’s easy. Each
morning before you plug-in the soldering iron or station in loosen the tip from its housing and
move it around. It does not have to be completely removed just twist and pull
it out an inch or two. Take special care to fully reseat the tip in the element
before plugging the iron back in and beginning the day’s work. This daily
maintenance on the tip will take under a minute.
In case you missed
the explanation of the importance of fully seated tips the February 2009
edition of Recession Busters describes how improperly seated tips can shorten
element life.
Future Recessions Buster
Topics
Retinning &
Reconditioning Tips