I don't know if this makes any difference, but the one I have is not a magnastat. It's a WS-51 iron with a ETH tip. The point is about 0.8 mm wide. I don't like the really thin tips such as the ETS, because they get bent too easily, and the ETH tip works fine for 0.5 mm flat packs. It still wets around the whole tip, without any bad spots.
The only time i could not fix a tip, was when the steel was completely worn off and the copper underneath had very little life left in it.
greg
Perhaps, but can you buy special tips (like a hollow point for mounting fine pitch SMT devices)? Ersa still carries these sort of tips for my 15 year old Ersa soldering station. A new Ersa digitally controlled soldering station costs about 120 euro.
-- Reply to nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.) Bedrijven en winkels vindt U op www.adresboekje.nl
On a sunny day (Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:24:32 GMT) it happened snipped-for-privacy@puntnl.niks (Nico Coesel) wrote in :
Actually in case of 'must' Weller tips _do_ fit in the Voltcraft. The Weller tips are shorter, but they fit (the Weller magnetstat has magnets, the Voltcraft has electronic control. ftp://panteltje.com/pub/soldering_tips.jpg the top one (sorry for the bad picture) is a Weller eaten away because some plastic reacted with the not protected copper I think. The long ones are the Voltcraft ones. You can make the Weller ones fit better by putting a one turn copper wire on front, but I think using the Weller tips causes some parts of the Voltcraft to heat up more, so maybe no good idea. I do not have a hollow point, but a few very fine needle like tips. I like the programmable 3 preset temp buttons and auto shut off..... Auto shutoff is a great fire protection.
I also know everybody gets used or attached to their soldering iron :-)
Yes, Magnastats aren't used much anymore. Here it is WECP, no need to select tips by "heat number". I didn't have much luck with the digital readout station. They break too often, over-engineered inside IMHO.
Try the ETS tip. I find that really useful for fine pitch SMT work.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:22:43 GMT, Jan Panteltje Gave us:
It has to do with tip temp, and the water in one's sponge, and the oxidizing effect of the flux.
Tip temp is the biggest. A really hot tip wiped on the sponge will corrode far worse than a cooler tip. It depends on the number of layers that are attached to the via for thru hole and SMD can always be soldered at proper, cooler temps. Almost every production line I have ever walked down that had adjustable temp irons, they were set to nearly 850 degrees F, chugging away in their stand... Corroding very quickly.
I like my Metcall, which I turn off when I am not using. The tip heats in 6 seconds flat, and lasts for years.
For heavier work, I do like an adjustable type iron, and a real good one, cheap tips and all, is a nice Edsyn. Great, high value production line quality, constant duty cycle (per shift) irons and tips. Instead of turning it off, I just reach over and turn it down, and then back up right before I use it. Works great to extend tip life. Big blobs of solder on it while in use doesn't do much for it because with the big blob of solder came big gobs of flux.
Ny tip is wiped very clean. I turn off the iron, and right as it is cooling toward 500, I add a small drop to my tip faces/nose/whateveryouwannacallit. The temp drops even lower, the solder solidifies, and the flux quits acting on the metal. Now that it is cool and solid, I can wipe the excess flux off of that solder drop, while it is still hot on the sponge, further cooling the tip for the night's rest. My tips have always lasted for months longer than anyone else's. It's all about chemistry and heat.
Now, get the flux out! ;-]
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:15:21 +0000, snipped-for-privacy@ukonline.invalid.invalid (Adrian Tuddenham) Gave us:
This solder also works extremely well on fine gauge magnet wire. Some are so fine that using regular solder can actually guarantee a fault will occur.
On 21 Dec 2006 09:57:57 -0800, "Arlet" Gave us:
If you use water towers, you likely have some small cholination to keep algae off the tank walls, and subsequently out of the water.
Eh... maybe you guys don't have algae up there. :-]
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:15:24 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@pitt.edu (GregS) Gave us:
Go to an auto parts store or welder's supply and buy a set of welder's torch tip files. It is a small cassette of needle files for cleaning blow torch tips. One of the set is perfect for keeping the suck tube part of the tip sucking.
I hope this information sucks. :-]
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:34:03 +0000, snipped-for-privacy@ukonline.invalid.invalid (Adrian Tuddenham) Gave us:
You are so bad... for tourism!
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:23:02 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@pitt.edu (GregS) Gave us:
There is a Kester product called a "Tinning Block" that is a 2" x 2" x 2.75" block of "sal ammoniac" in a box. Cut the top 3/8 inch off the box with your exactoblade, and you are set.
One sets ones tip temp hot, place some solder and flux on it, and dig it into a face of this block sideways and rotate it while gouging into the chemical. Do not breath the rising fumes as they may be slightly caustic) It will remove any scale one thinks is erosion, and VIOLA! the tip will look new again. Fully tinned and ready to go.
They are only a few dollars each and last for years and extend tip life dramatically, especially in high tip temp settings.
The word for today is:
DROSS
No, we don't have water towers. Not to store water, in any case. Water is just pressurized with pumps. It seems that where ground water is used, the purified water is stored in underground tanks.
When river water is used, teh storage seems to be before the purification stages.
Chlorine is only after contamination occurred. And there is a need to maintain water pressure at all times. Not this 'suck water out of the pipe' think seen in countries with a less reliable water supply.
Thomas
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