Soldering Iron Tip Metallurgy - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: gregallenwarner
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 06:31:39 pm
content: I'm currently looking for a replacement soldering iron to upgrade my station with, and I had some questions regarding the metallurgy behind different iron tip platings.I was told on another thread that an iron plating is best for solder adhesion. (I want to be able to touch the tip of my iron with solder, and have a "blob" of molten solder stick to the tip where I can carry it over to a wire or a part.) My current iron is chrome plated, which is solder phobic, and the solder just beads up and pulls away from the tip, never sticking to it.I've been researching Hakko irons, and all their tips are tin plated. (Actually, a plating of iron, covered by a plating of chrome, and the working end of the tip is even further plated with the tin.) They say the tin has good adhesion to molten solder. But my question is, do I have to use lead free solder exclusively with a tin tip? If I'm constantly melting lead solder on a tin plated tip, won't the lead in the solder slowly react with the tin in the tip and wear it down over time? Has anybody else had any experience using Hakko irons or other tin plated tips with lead solder?Thanks for the info.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 09:00:00 pm
content: I doubt ANY soldering iron tip is chrome plated all the way to the tip. If it is it is defective. I have never had an issue with solder NOT sticking to a tip until the tip was at the end of its useful life. More likely is a tip that is damaged or has a thin layer of oxide coating it which is preventing your solder from sticking. I have seen occasionally I have to flux the tip and whipe it to get the solder to stick again. Remember, tips are considered consumables in the long term. Similar to tires, brake pads and wiper blades on a car.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 09:22:28 pm
content: In the archives see:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-solder-tip/msg230228/#msg230228https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/ebay-soldering-tips-advice/msg170618/#msg170618https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-solder-tip/msg230561/#msg230561There's a lot about tip construction available for free from Hakko's website, or check the links in the above posts. Bottom line, is you can use lead or lead free without issue, the key thing is that lead free wear the tips down faster at > 350oC tip temps, and the lower it is, the less the wear. You can see the effects of various alloys and temp on the graph.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 10:35:49 pm
content: This is the least you should worry about. Focus your time on something else such as solder type and flux, you have control over but not the tip coating. Unless you have access to iron plating facility then its another story, let the manufacturer deal with these issues.I have seen the tips you mention, they are actually designed that way so it leaves a nice blob on the joint when removing the iron tip. It's almost like antistic frying pans. But it doesn't always work well.Tip wear is unavoidable but you can slow down the process by lowering the temperature and avoid super active flux types. The tips are not cheap but you can always buy 3rd party tips for very little money. Tip plating is not rocket science, there are plenty of choices out there.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 11:41:23 pm
content: Quote from: gregallenwarner on October 18, 2013, 06:31:39 pmNo. You can use either lead based or lead-free alloys.The tips will even last longer with lead based alloys than lead free as illustrated in the graphsaturationposted. BTW, lead-free alloys tend to need more aggressive flux chemistries to get it to wet, which can help reduce tip life as well.BTW, genuine Hakko tips will last you a good long time if you take care of them (very heavy plating based on a pic another member posted somewhere in here).Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on October 18, 2013, 09:00:00 pmHad this issue once on the cheapest of cheap firesticks. No tinning on the tip out of the package, and wouldn't take solder for anything. Sanded it (needed for emergency repair, so I wasn't concerned over using past a single use), and got the solder to stick.Quote from: nukie on October 18, 2013, 10:35:49 pmI hadn't realized anyone was making tips like this intentionally. In the instance I ran into it, I figured it was cost cutting gone a step too far or the manufacturer was new to producing soldering irons.Learned something new today.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2013, 12:24:36 am
content: Quote from: gregallenwarner on October 18, 2013, 06:31:39 pmThat depends on type of tip and also assuming you're using genuine one and its well maintained. Just DO NOT file the tip.This excellent Hakko's video (the one at the bottom) shows you how different tip platings, watch closely how the molten solder behaves differently at different coatings ->Difference between BC/C type and BCF/CF typeAnother reference ->Why are soldering tips worn out ?

author: gregallenwarner
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2013, 12:35:46 am
content: Thanks everyone for the useful information. I went ahead and ordered a Hakko FX-888D and several tips, and I'm not gonna worry about it too much.

author: dr_p
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2013, 08:52:32 am
content: How much is a tip supposed to last? I have a Weller WES-51 with a chisel tip and it was used for 3-4 years, then I got it and have been using it for another 3 years. The tip seems just fine and I'm curious how long before you have to exchange the tip and how do you know it has to be replaced?On average I use the soldering station for about 1h every day, mostly on 300C (570F).

author: wkb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2013, 09:15:10 am
content: Quote from: dr_p on October 23, 2013, 08:52:32 amWell, as soon as you find that proper soldering becomes cumbersome/impossible it is time to throw it in the bin. At least that is my approach