How to select the correct soldering iron tip: The Important Factors
A guide to choosing the most appropriate tip for your intended soldering application
The soldering iron tip is the part of the iron that is used to transfer heat from the element to the work pieces that are being soldered. The size, composition and configuration of the tip being chosen should be determined by the requirements of the intended application and by the work environment that it will be used in. There could even be rare instances where a custom tip may be desired.
Choosing the correct tip will greatly increase your chances of creating a quality solder joint. It is very important for you to match both the tip and the iron to the soldering application that it will be used on. It is always a good idea to make sure in advance that the desired tips size and configuration are readily available for the type of irons that you have chosen to use. Always remember that a good quality solder joint is rarely achieved by using improper, or inappropriate tools, materials, or equipment.
Creating brass models from scratch using resistance soldering
Bob Connors called up one day and asked if “American Beauty” resistance soldering tools could be used for building a 1/16th scale brass model of a soil finisher. His intent was to use (primarily) 1/4″ Brass bar stock for most of the frame-work and knew that an intense and localized heat would be required for soldering this type of mass together. He needed to be able to heat and solder each joint quickly enough so no previous joints could get hot enough to de-solder. Bob knew this was going to be a real challenge because brass is such an excellent conductor of heat. He sent us a schematic design of the soil finisher and we began to discuss resistance soldering equipment and process recommendations that we felt would work best for his special application.
After our initial discussion regarding the high thermal requirements and the accessibility of the intended solder joints, we agreed the best place to start would be the Model 105H9 High Capacity Probe System, with the addition of the Model 105358 Industrial Pliers-Style Handpiece. This worked out very well and as Bob continued working on this project we had some follow up conversations regarding additional soldering tools that could be added to increase the soldering range and capabilities needed to move forward with this project. This would include items like the Model 105227 Industrial Tweezers-Style Handpiece and the Model 10573 3/16″ Carbon Probe-Style Handpiece for greater accessibility and attaching smaller component parts. As Bobs new resistance soldering system continued growing to meet his needs his 1/16th scale, highly detailed soil finisher drew ever closer to completion.
We were excited to receive Photograph updates showing Bobs progress as his soil finisher slowly came to life and are now happy to be able to share this project and the final results with you.
“American Beauty Resistance Soldering” and “Your Imagination” The results are infinite.
Trouble shooting a 100 Watt American Beauty Power unit (Model 105A3)
Andrew G shared the following:
I have a 100 watt resistance soldering power unit (Model 105A3) that just quit working. I would like to know if there is a fuse that is internal that could be the problem, or is there any component that usually goes on these? I have had my system for about 5 years without issue. I have a pretty good grasp on electronic theory and would prefer to fix the unit myself. Any advice you can give me will be appreciated.