HAKKO FX 888D and T18-BL tip  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: breakz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 01:19:02 pm
content: Hi,I am super happy with the default tip that came with the FX888D but I have a 0402 pcb with some very dense areas where I need a fine tip in order to solder caps and IC's , so I though to get the T18-BL tip, at 350C it was almost impossible to melt the solder which was on the pad of the pcb, I raised the temperature up to 450C ,better results but not happy enough with it compared to how easy and quick the conical tip melted the solder on the pads with the default 350C.I use Kester 60/40 solder.Should I raise the temperature more ? any experience ? other tips for suitable for such jobs ?thank you

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 01:58:15 pm
content: Is this original hakko tip? But even if it's original which is much better than knockoffs, you most likely still will have trouble soldering pads connected to copper pours without preheating, especially on multilayer PCB. If you want somewhat decent heat transfer, you should use something like T18-S4 or small chisel. There is no way that long pointy tip will be able to transfer decent amount of heat.

author: breakz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 02:11:14 pm
content: Yes its the original tip, not fan of the cheap alternatives.Yes its a multilayer pcb.So whats the reason for Hakko selling such a long tip without being effective enough ?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 02:33:19 pm
content: Quote from: breakz on February 13, 2021, 02:11:14 pmThey are useable with preheater or low thermal mass solder joints. It's your problem that you have unrealistic expectations.

author: breakz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 03:51:32 pm
content: The T18-S4 looks good, what about the T18-SB ?The tip of the T18-BL that I used has R0.2 and is already quite "thin" for me ,the T18-S4 has R0.125 so it is even thinner ?!? The T18-SB has R0.2, so I guess I could go with either of them,right ?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 03:55:07 pm
content: T18-SB will be way worse than T18-S4 at heat transfer.

author: breakz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 04:45:34 pm
content: Really ? Can you please explain why ?I see that the length of the SB tip is 13.2 while the S4 is 14.5Thanks.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 05:51:42 pm
content: Because S4 has many times larger cross section in part which transfers the heat to tinned end. SB is basically the same tip with a lot of material removed.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2021, 11:46:44 pm
content: Lots of folks here with more soldering knowledge, skill, and experience than me but I think the answer is that you want a tip that is small enough to fit without heating adjacent parts and pads, butlarge enough to get good surface contact with the target part and pad. My limited experience is that the conical tips don't transfer much heat to the part and pad. Fwiw, I've found that the T18-D Hakko tips are pretty effective and if you buy the range from the smallest to the largest you need you will probably have the right tip on hand for SMD and through hole. Ultimately, if you get the tip with the most surface contact against the part and the pad that you can fit onto the target area (such that any larger would infringe on adjacent parts or pads) and you still aren't melting solder, then you pretty much have to turn up the heat. Another consideration is if the target joint isn't new/clean, then adding some flux can help.https://hakkousa.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=888+tips&series=68Checkout D08, D12, D16 and maybe some other D's. Until you find that the largest D doesn't fit, or isn't needed, keep going larger - you might be surprised.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2021, 12:23:02 am
content: I'd recommend you look at T18-CF1, I can get on some pretty small stuff with that and only the face is tinned, which makes neatness easier. There's also T18-C08, which is a bit smaller, and T18-C1 which is similar but more of it is tinned.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2021, 01:01:41 am
content: That tipT18-BLmade me give up completely on the FX888 for SMTIt was a true heartbreaker. The tip had nothing for heat and I learned there is a significant air gap between the heating element and tip in Hakko designs 936/937/888. For the 888 Hakko did tighten tolerances, so the 888 tips have a few thou smaller hole than the 937. Don't mix up the tips between models.I ended up going with T12 which has no air gap and much better heat transfer from heater to tip.