STEPS TO PCB SOLERING
STEPS TO PCB SOLDERING
Steps to Exceptional PCB soldering:
READY YOUR IRON
Begin the tinning process by warming up the iron thoroughly and letting it rest until it reaches its full heat. Once it fully heats up, coat the tip thoroughly with solder flux, making sure to cover the entire tip. You’ll need to use plenty of solder flux to do so, and some of this will likely drip. Keep a wet sponge ready for this. Once you’re certain the entire tip is fully tinned, wipe it off with a wet sponge to get rid of any excess flux residue.
PREPARE YOUR SURFACE
A Good soldering job starts with a clean surface. To ensure your PCB board is clean and ready for soldering, use a cleaning pad to wipe the surface clean of any dust and debris. You may also use an acetone cleaner to give it an additional wipe down if available.
ARRANGE THE COMPONENTS
Even if you’re working with an exceptionally complex circuit board, you’ll likely only be soldering one or two components at a time. Begin this step by selecting a few small components and placing them where they belong on the board. Bend the leads as you find you need to and insert the component into the holes where they belong. If you’re having trouble getting the piece to stay still once you aren’t holding it in place, try bending the leads so that they rest at a 45-degree angle along the bottom of the board.
INTRODUCE SOME HEAT
Start adding a very small amount of solder to the tip of the iron. This solder is not what’s going to hold the components in place but is to conduct heat from the iron to the board. To properly heat the joint, hold the iron so the tip touches both the board and the component lead. Once the tip is in position, the solder you applied earlier will make contact with both the lead and the board, heating them up and preparing them for soldering.
ADD SOLDER TO THE JOINTS
Once the lead is heated, start the soldering by touching the tip of a strand of solder flux to the soldering iron tip and the lead. If you’ve heated this space correctly, the solder should flow freely and the flux should begin to liquefy. Keep adding solder around this joint until it’s entirely coated, forming a small mound. When you’ve reached this point, stop adding solder and remove your iron from the area.
INSPECT THE SOLDER JOINTS
Once the joint has finished cooling, conduct a small inspection of it. If the connection looks good, move on to trimming the lead. You’ll do this by using side cutters to cut at the very top of the joint.
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