Soldering - Revision history

Aplstudent: /* Soldering */

2016-05-09T18:47:50Z

Soldering

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Soldering is a necessary skill for most experimental physics labs. The goal is to join two conductors electrically and mechanically by 'gluing' them together with molten metal. Soldering is not difficult, but requires some simple practices and tricks for best results.
-This page serves as the Advanced Project Lab's primer on soldering. It is not a complete description, and you should supplement your knowledge from other sources. Since soldering is a basic skill, there are many detailed lessons/instructions online (for instance, [http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm here], [http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/ here], and [http://www.theoatc.org/resources/basicsolderinginstructions.asp here], if the links still exist).
+This page serves as the Advanced Project Lab's primer on soldering. It is not a complete description, and you should supplement your knowledge from other sources. Since soldering is a basic skill, there are many detailed lessons/instructions online (for instance, [http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/ here], [http://www.theoatc.org/resources/basicsolderinginstructions.asp here], and [http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm here], if the links still exist)
 === Tools of the trade ===
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 === Basic Soldering ===
-The goal is to heat the two objects you want to join, then apply solder and let it flow between the objects, and then allow them all to cool together. A good solder joint should look shiny and have minimum surface area
+The goal is to heat the two objects you want to join, then apply solder and let it flow between the objects, and then allow them all to cool together. A good solder joint should look shiny and have minimum surface area.
 There are two main failure mechanisms in soldering:
@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 === Practice soldering activities ===
-practice stripping wire, using heatshrink tubing, and creating usable product, DB9 connector
+As a first practice practice soldering project, let's connect five wires on a single row of a female DB9 connector.  See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GLeCt_u3U8 this video] for an interesting way to achieve a connection like this.
 ===  BNC connection voltage divider box ===
-To work with perfboard and and combine everything together!
+A printed circuit board (PCB) is handy for several reasons, but primarily it (1) minimizes radio frequency pick-up by reducing the size of inductive loops formed by leads of circuit components, and (2) allows convenient mounting of circuit components so you don't have to creatively assemble them in free space. Soldering to a PCB is even easier than the connector we made in the previous section. Here one of the conductors you are trying to connect is the 'pad' surrounding a hole on the PCB (this is how connections are made to 'wires' in the plane of the board). You want the solder joint to look like a volcano, with the base at the pad and the pin of the piece you are soldering in place sticking out of the neck of the volcano. A cold solder joint is fairly obvious because the poor connection breaks the symmetry of the volcano; you can easily identify a joint that is not connecting to the base or the pin (see figure).

Aplstudent: /* Soldering */

2016-04-29T18:35:47Z

Soldering

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:35, 29 April 2016
Line 5:		Line 5:
	Soldering is a necessary skill for most experimental physics labs. The goal is to join two conductors electrically and mechanically by 'gluing' them together with molten metal. Soldering is not difficult, but requires some simple practices and tricks for best results.		Soldering is a necessary skill for most experimental physics labs. The goal is to join two conductors electrically and mechanically by 'gluing' them together with molten metal. Soldering is not difficult, but requires some simple practices and tricks for best results.

	This page serves as the Advanced Project Lab's primer on soldering. It is not a complete description, and you should supplement your knowledge from other sources. Since soldering is a basic skill, there are many detailed lessons/instructions online (for instance, [http://www.~~instructables~~.~~com~~/id/~~How-to-~~solder/ here], [http://www.~~theoatc~~.~~org~~/~~resources~~/~~basicsolderinginstructions.asp~~ here], and [http://www.~~aaroncake~~.~~net~~/~~electronics~~/~~solder~~.~~htm~~ here], if the links still exist)		This page serves as the Advanced Project Lab's primer on soldering. It is not a complete description, and you should supplement your knowledge from other sources. Since soldering is a basic skill, there are many detailed lessons/instructions online (for instance, [http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm here], [http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/ here], and [http://www.theoatc.org/resources/basicsolderinginstructions.asp here], if the links still exist).

	=== Tools of the trade ===		=== Tools of the trade ===

Aplstudent: /* Soldering */

2016-04-29T18:33:45Z

Soldering

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 == Soldering ==
-Yeah you want to solder
+Soldering is a necessary skill for most experimental physics labs. The goal is to join two conductors electrically and mechanically by 'gluing' them together with molten metal. Soldering is not difficult, but requires some simple practices and tricks for best results.
 === Mantainance and cleaning ===
-Wet sponge, clean tip
+Having a well-maintained soldering iron tip helps deliver heat in a more accurate fashion. These tips can degrade quickly if proper care is not taken. First and foremost, remember that this is a piece of heated metal and it is more ductile than at room temperature; please don't use the tip to pry or bend the pieces your are working on, since this can deform and even break the tip of the iron.
-=== Tools of the trade ===
+To keep the tip nice while your are working, drag it across a moistened sponge to clear debris and globs of solder. The steam shocks extra bits off the iron and restores a smooth, hot surface to enable efficient soldering. Before even starting on your piece, it is common to apply a bit of solder to the tip of the iron (this is called 'tinning') and then drag it across the sponge to establish a nice, fresh surface. It is also helpful to do this at the end of your session to cover up any exposed surfaces of the tip and reduce the potential for corrosion of the metal. Try to get into the habit of using the sponge every time you pick up and replace the iron in the cradle ('tinning' the tip should only be necessary at the beginning and end of a soldering session).
 <ul>
-<li>heatshrink tubing</li>
+<li>
-<li>desoldering pump</li>
+<b>Solder bridge</b>: This is when solder joins objects which were not meant to be joined by forming a 'bridge' across the space between the conductors. This occurs when soldering in cramped spaces, and is sympotmaic of too much solder being applied or an inaccurate placement. Simply use some solder wick or the desoldering pump to remove excess solder and reconnect. If you struggle to make the connection you want without bridging to other nearby conductors, try using some rosin flux to help keep that solder in place! (This reduces viscosity and encourages solder to go to conductors rather than forming a bridge between them; the only conductors which will be connected are the ones in physical contact.) Solder bridging is easy to identify using a multimeter to test for conductivity.
-<li>solder wick</li>
+</li>
-<li>wire strippers</li>
+<li>
-<li>soldering gun</li>
+<b>Cold-solder joint</b>: This is a more nefarious problem than solder bridging because it might not be noticeable for some time (eve YEARS later!). The problem arises if one of the conductors is not heated to above the solder melting temperature when the joint is made.
-<li>heat gun</li>
+</li>
 </ul>
-=== Soldering and DB9 cables ===
+=== Practice soldering activities ===
-practice stripping wire, using heatshrink tubing, and creating usable product
+practice stripping wire, using heatshrink tubing, and creating usable product, DB9 connector
 ===  BNC connection voltage divider box ===
 To work with perfboard and and combine everything together!

Aplstudent at 21:28, 10 March 2016

2016-03-10T21:28:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:28, 10 March 2016
Line 9:		Line 9:
	Wet sponge, clean tip		Wet sponge, clean tip

			=== Tools of the trade ===

			<ul>
			<li>heatshrink tubing</li>
			<li>desoldering pump</li>
			<li>solder wick</li>
			<li>wire strippers</li>
			<li>soldering gun</li>
			<li>heat gun</li>
			<li>rosin flux</li>
			</ul>
	=== Basic Soldering ===		=== Basic Soldering ===

Line 15:		Line 26:
	Fixing mistakes, taking things apart.		Fixing mistakes, taking things apart.

	=== ~~Creating something or the other~~ ===		=== Soldering and DB9 cables ===

			practice stripping wire, using heatshrink tubing, and creating usable product

			=== BNC connection voltage divider box ===

	~~Like maybe create a voltage divider or something~~		To work with perfboard and and combine everything together!

Aplstudent: Created page with "Intro Stuff == Soldering == Yeah you want to solder === Mantainance and cleaning === Wet sponge, clean tip === Basic Soldering === Putting things together. good solder j..."

2016-03-10T21:15:06Z

Created page with "Intro Stuff == Soldering == Yeah you want to solder === Mantainance and cleaning === Wet sponge, clean tip === Basic Soldering === Putting things together. good solder j..."

New page

Intro Stuff

== Soldering ==

Yeah you want to solder

=== Mantainance and cleaning ===

Wet sponge, clean tip

=== Basic Soldering ===

Putting things together.
good solder joints and bad solder joints.
Fixing mistakes, taking things apart.

=== Creating something or the other ===

Like maybe create a voltage divider or something