Well End solder tips - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: g0mgx
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2017, 07:58:39 pm
content: Hi AllNew to the forum and just trying my hand at fine SDM soldering with little success. Just watched Daves tutorial where he references a "well end" solder tip.I dont seem to be able to find such a beast - can anyone point me at something suitable - I have a Antex 760RWK rework station, but another iron wont be a disaster if there isnt anything suitable for what I have already.Thanks very much.MarkG0MGX

author: Sdmideas
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 11, 2017, 08:02:01 pm
content: I use an edsyn 951sx with a well tip - works great for me.....I rarely if ever need to switch to anything else - even with really fine pitch stuff.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2017, 08:40:14 pm
content: Perhaps you can find a CF tip. IMO, these can work as good or better than spoon/well tips in most applications. Never tried a Pace "wave solder" tip, though.A CF is a bevel or hoof tip that has a chrome plating around the sides, so only the elliptical face of the tip can hold solder. The amount of solder it will hold is thus dependent on the surface area, up to a point. The reservoir is the meniscus of solder that forms on the face, and the surface tension of solder gives the tip suction action to remove bridges that will rival any conical. IME, about 3mm tip is the most efficient at this, as going larger starts to exceed the ideal ratio of area vs the surface tension of molten solder.The well/spoon tips are almost always 2-3mm bevel tips with a slight hollow/concave on the face, but they generally are tinnable on the sides. This gives them advantage when you need to make contact with the side of the tip. The hollow allows the tip to hold a good bit of solder without allowing the bead to fall off the face and onto the sides, and it reduces the tendency for little bits of solder to cling to the sides (for the most part, anyway; this is one area where the CF has an advantage). But depending on what you're doing, the CF s actually superior in many applications, IME. For one, a 3mm CF can actually hold and control (a lot) more solder than a similar well, IF the type of soldering you're doing allows a large fat bead. And for suction/bridges, a clean CF tip is just as good or better than a well/spoon, IMO. Also, for drag soldering, the hanging bead wraps partway around the toe of the pin, giving more thermal transfer. I find well tips have to be more "dry" at the tip to not bridge, due to the tinned area on the sides. Hence u can drag solder a tad faster with the CF.For drag soldering IC's, I use 3mm CF more often than my 2 well tips. In practice, I find CF and spoon/well to be functionally very, very similar. They apply and distribute solder as they heat. They suck excess solder out of bridges, but they keep that solder at the tip to redistribute to the next pin/joint. But CF is the one I choose if I had to have only one.Many people will use even a regular large hoof/bevel tip to drag solder. This works fine, as long as you are very careful to apply just a tiny amount of solder to the face. Once the bead accidentally clings around the side, you have to thoroughly wipe off the tip and start over. And if you have too much solder, a regular bevel won't suck the bridges out as well. With the CF or a spoon, there's a huge margin for error. And if you get way too much solder on there, you just flick off the excess and are ready to go.

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2017, 02:23:07 am
content: Hakko T12 tips include some."Shape BCM/CM"http://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/series_t12.htmlhttp://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/type_bcm_cm.html