Basic Soldering Techniques and Tools You Need to Know

Hand soldering tin on electronics circuit board

Soldering is the process that requires practicing the most. It is also the process of filing one or more components one by one dissolving and running a solder in the joint. It can be applied to electrical and electronic projects, plumbing, and many others. It is not an easy task, so having IPC 610 certification is a must. It gives you an edge when you want to work in an electronics or manufacturing company. You must also be good at soldering techniques, it will help you make an excellent working circuit. If you want to get certified in soldering, check out IPC 610 certification near me

Let us know the different soldering techniques to get you familiar with soldering. There are two different methods of soldering. They are:

  1. Soft Soldering. It is a method of joining metals with eutectic tin or lead alloy. Metals like copper, brass, lead, tin, and steel are readily soldered but some metals like aluminum and cast iron both require special solder. A gas torch is usually used as a heat source for soft soldering.  
  2. Hard Soldering. It is taken to include those metal joining techniques in which a filler rod is used as the joining medium. Heat is provided by a gas torch and there is no melting of the parental metal. It included silver soldering and brazing but not welding. Not let’s get to know these two:
  1. Silver Soldering – It is the process of joining metal with melted silver solder. Heat is applied on the silver solder to melt and apply it on a prepared joint. It is essentially used for joining  silver but it can also be used to join other metals such as copper, brass, and gold.
  2. Brazing – In this procedure, connecting two terminals of the base metals could be formed by liquid metallic space filler. The filler runs by the attraction of a vessel through the joints and cools down to give a solid union through diffusion and atomic magnetism. In addition, it produces a very strong joint and makes use of a brass metal as a space-filler agent.

There are tools that you need in soldering. 

  1. Soldering iron – is used as a heat source for liquefying solder. For soldering heavy components and cable, you require electricity to bring the tip of the soldering iron to a high temperature. In short, a soldering iron device is used for soldering electronic components by hand. 
  2. Solder Flux – Soldering flux is a chemical substance used to prepare the metal surfaces before soldering. It cleans metals by removing any oxides and impurities.
  3. Soldering Paste – It is a mixture of powdered metal solder particles and sticky flux with the consistency of putty. In the electronics industry, it is used to connect surface mount components to pads in the manufacture of printed circuit boards.

If you are aiming for an IPC-A-610 certification, check out IPC 610 certification near me. It is ideal for quality supervisors, manufacturing supervisors, engineering supervisors, and even individuals who want to take their skills to the next level.

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