From ultra precise heating and temperature control to active tip technology, soldering has evolved to meet the varied demands of operators
By Richa Chakravarty
A faulty solder joint remains one of the major causes of equipment failure, and thus the importance of the soldering station and high standards of workmanship in soldering cannot be overemphasised. Soldering stations have kept up with the pace of change in electronics manufacturing processes, with respect to the miniaturisation of electronic components, multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs), etc and offer advanced features to meet the requirements of complex manufacturing. From ultra precise heating and temperature control to active tip technology, soldering has evolved to meet the varied demands of the operators. But the biggest breakthrough in this segment is the development of robot soldering machines. Here’s the latest available in this particular market segment.
The latest in the market
Robot soldering systems: Most soldering systems incorporate more than one machine, usually available with an attached desoldering system. That not only helps operators to save money but also to eliminate system downtime. The latest advancements have been in the area of robotic soldering, in which one system comprises four machines including a rework station, a soldering and a desoldering device, as well as a vacuum or hot air pick up. Such soldering machines are suitable for mass production, and have high reliability and 24 hour productivity. They offer ease of use while programming software and using adaptive programming interfaces for different applications. Data retention and storage features are also available. Robotic soldering machines do not just provide real time connectivity but can be accessed remotely from different locations too. “The robotic soldering machine is actually meant for bulk production. As one operator can be assigned to work on four different applications simultaneously, this cuts down on manufacturing time and also leads to uniform and accurate performance. This is best suited for bulk manufacturing and R&D processes,” shares Sourabh Tiwari, product specialist, Weller India.
The Nano soldering station: The current soldering/desoldering stations come with automatic features that provide greater comfort and require less effort from the user. The latest on the block is JBC Tools’ Nano soldering station offered by iNETest Technologies India. The soldering station has a TFT screen plus a capacitive keyboard with an optional pedal P105-A to solder or desolder very small sized components. The Nano is a complete station designed for micro soldering and desoldering of components like 0402, 0201 and 01005 chips, etc. Its control unit incorporates the exclusive JBC heating system, and the intelligent sleep and hibernation functions. “With every passing year, manufacturers keep developing their products to meet the requirements of the industry. The most recent preheater from JBC facilitates any soldering or desoldering job by applying infrared rays. Another innovative feature is the automated tip cleaner that consists of two motorised brushes that start/stop working when a photoelectric sensor detects the soldering tip at the window. The user just needs to bring the tip gently to the cleaner window and let the system work for as long as necessary. Such are the advancements being introduced in the soldering/desoldering stations,” shares Pravin P Joshi, vice president, sales and business development, iNETest Technologies India Pvt Ltd.
Intelligent heat management: Temperature control is one of the most important factors to look for in a soldering system. The wrong temperature can lead to faulty soldering, which in turn can lead to total production failure. Intelligent heat management technology allows the soldering station to reduce the temperature by at least 50ºC. With an advanced intelligent algorithm in the heating control system, the soldering systems help in increasing performance. Lowering the temperature reduces the risk of damaging components, and improves the quality of soldering and desoldering. Most of the advanced soldering machines come with the sleep and hibernation features that automatically reduce tip temperature when the iron is resting in the stand. The station automatically goes into hibernation when the programmed time in sleep mode is over. The power supply is cut off and the tip remains at room temperature. Hence, it optimises heat transfer by reducing the thermal barriers.
JBC’s ergonomically designed range of tools feature soldering and rework irons that guarantee efficiency. The short tip to grip distance allows the user more control and higher precision. An instantaneous heating system and an integrated thermal sensor ensures quick temperature recovery. Its heating system recovers the tip’s temperature quickly. This increases work efficiency and lowers the solder temperature. Also, it comes with an extended tip life of up to 400 cartridges, i.e., tips that last five times longer.
Compared to earlier conventional models, the latest digital, ESD safe, all round soldering stations come with excellent thermal recovery where the heat output can be increased by 30 per cent. For heat conductivity too, most of the soldering stations use the T18 series tips. This allows soldering at a lower set temperature and reduces the thermal impact on components as well as tip oxidation, which can also shorten tip life. Hakko’s advanced line of soldering stations, the FX series (FX 888D and FX 951), deliver superior heat transfer and rapid thermal recovery. They come with a feature with which settings can be locked using a password to prevent them from being changed unexpectedly. Also, the user can simply select the desired temperature from a selection of preset temperatures, registered in advance. Users can set up to five preset temperatures.
Power-on-demand technology: In comparison to the conventional soldering irons that worked on the principle of constant power and variable tip temperature, today’s smart heating technology approaches manual soldering in a totally different way. It keeps the tip temperature constant and not the power supplied to it, and the power varies automatically. Smart heat detection senses the increase in thermal load demanded by the larger heat capacity of a bigger joint and compensates by increasing the power.
In real world production environments, where one finds differently sized solder joints, conventional soldering stations are unable to cope with the continuously varying thermal demands. The problem is that while the thermal load increases, the temperature of even a correctly calibrated iron falls as it supplies thermal energy to the increased thermal load of the colder joint. In order to bring the joint up to reflow temperature, to speed up the soldering time or to reduce the iron’s recovery time, generally the operator increases the iron tip temperature, often up to its maximum setting. This, of course, increases the chance of damage being caused by overheating. However, using the advanced smart heat technology, or rather, power-on-demand, the soldering stations today do not overshoot, they do not need any calibration and they deliver high throughput at lower temperatures.
Metcal’s new MX-500 series launched by OK International utilises smart heat technology, wherein each cartridge is equipped with a self-regulating heater which senses its own temperature and closely maintains its preset idle temperature for the life of the heater tip. The tip temperature is determined by the inherent metallurgical properties of the heater; no external adjustment or equipment is required. The MX-500 series retains a switchable dual port and 40W operation, while introducing numerous new features in a new housing.
Advanced tip technology: This highly innovative technology offers ultra precise heating and temperature control specifically designed for micro-soldering applications. The fully integrated tip cartridge delivers the fastest recovery. With the help of this advanced tip technology, temperature-sensitive and miniature applications are mastered with precision and safety.
The new tip technology offers twice as much power and efficiency in a small and ergonomic pencil design. “The latest soldering stations come with a compact, powerful heating element that has a replaceable soldering tip, which guarantees dynamic performance and best life cycle costs. The rapid transfer of heat into the soldering tip is quickly and precisely controlled with sophisticated electronics. Soldering stations with such precise and accurate tips are very much in demand for miniature applications,” informs Sourabh Tiwari.
Weller offers soldering stations with three heater/tip technologies designed to master all kinds of soldering applications—from the most delicate to the most difficult. The high-power heating element in the soldering station is combined to form a homogeneous and near perfect heating system, providing operators with the highest quality solder joints.
The latest tip heater sensor technology developed by Goot Japan offers ultra long tip life that is three times times more than any existing technology available in the market. The fast heat generation and recovery makes the operators’ job more efficient and hence results in a low cost to owners. “This technology gives higher output with lowest power consumption. Hence, there is no temperature change on the tip even after long usage. Also, Goot Japan has developed a no-clogging solder wire feeder which can be combined with these soldering stations for controlling the solder quantity for a job that the operator does manually, yet cannot hold the solder wire. Hence, this offers operators a comfortable work environment,” shares Ajay Gupta, owner, Advance Tech Services Pvt Ltd.
Multi-function station: The latest model MTQ 917 introduced by MetroQ is a multi-functional soldering and desoldering station which offers high performance and for electronic product research, production and rework. The soldering iron and the desoldering gun tool are controlled automatically by two micro-processors. The digital control electronics and high quality sensor and heat exchange system guarantees precise temperature control at the soldering tip.
“The highest degree of temperature precision and optimal dynamic thermal behaviour under load conditions is obtained by the quick and accurate recording of the measured values in a closed control circuit, and this design is especially for the lead free production technics, informs Manish Kwatra, managing director, Metro Electronic Products Ltd.
Making a purchase decision
There are three important aspects that the buyer should look into before making a purchase decision. First, a user must always look for intuitive, easy-to-use solutions that reduce costs. The second is an application advantage—users should look for solutions that serve a wider range of application possibilities for enhanced flexibility. Finally, the productivity advantage must be evaluated, wherein customers look to lower costs without making compromises through solutions that raise productivity comprehensively. Common features that users should consider while opting for a soldering station are listed below.
ESD-safe designs: All soldering stations work on electricity that gets converted into heat, creating an electric field around it. This may lead to electrostatic discharge (ESD) at times, creating device failures during soldering. The devices available in the market are pretty compact and delicate. Thus, it is essential to look for an ESD-safe soldering station that prevents static from building up by grounding the iron.
Thermal recovery: The thermal recovery of a soldering station is directly proportional to its power. A soldering station with low power will lose power fast, and will have a lower thermal recovery. Hence, stations with low power will be slower to work with. Since details about the thermal recovery of any soldering/desoldering station are not usually mentioned on it, users should look for its power ratings. A soldering station with a power range of 50W to 80W is considered to be the best for fast operation, whereas a station with a power rating of 20W to 30W, or even lower, is unsuitable for most projects.
Temperature accuracy: This is the most crucial factor to look at while evaluating a soldering station. Ideally, the accuracy should be ±0.001°C, which is impossible, but a soldering station with ±5°C of temperature accuracy is considered good enough. A station with adjustable irons and tips should have the accuracy calibration option to maintain working efficiency.
Tip-to-ground ratings: This rating refers to two different parameters—potential and resistance, where tip-to-ground potential is the existing voltage between the tip of the soldering iron and the common ground of the station, and the tip-to-ground resistance is the resistance between them. The first is the leakage potential, which should not be more than 2mV, while the resistance should not be more than 5Ω. Otherwise, the overall current will leak out and the station will never provide the required efficiency.
What to look for when buying a soldering station
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Select a station with a control unit that can support multiple tools. This means that users can build their own soldering or rework stations, depending on the task. This control unit manages each tool’s parameters independently such as temperature limits or the sleep and hibernation modes.
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Compare the cost and life not only of the system but also of consumables like bits, cartridges, filters, etc. So select systems where the bits/cartridges also have a good life span.
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Ensure the system has a fast recovery time when the tool is powered on or when in sleep and hibernation modes.
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Consider the most innovative technology to take your work beyond the station. Advanced stations incorporate USB connectors, and the new control units for robots will allow you to manage tasks remotely from a PC.
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In case you opt for imported models, procure these only from authorised distributors in order to receive good support, post sales.
Robotic solder machine from Weller
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Multiple axis robot available based on customers’ requirements
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Able to load multiple boards (with a suitable or custom jig) for quick soldering of one soldering cycle at a time
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Full control on the amount of solder applied to the various soldering points
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Quick and rapid movement between subsequent soldering points
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Equal and consistent pressure (in grams force) applied by the soldering iron to the part being soldered
JBC’s NAST-2C soldering station
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Soldering at lower temperature: 50 °C
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Fast temperature recovery: 350 °C in 2 seconds
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Five times longer tip life using sleep and hibernation modes
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Easy cartridge extraction saves time; ergonomic tools, ESD safe
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Control unit accepts six tool changes
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Microcontroller based, so no calibration is required
Advance Tech offers Goot’s RX-822AS soldering station
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Fast heat generation of set temperature of 350° C in 14 second for 150 watt iron and 6 sec for 72 watt iron
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Excellent heat recovery, new ergonomic design with light weight hand piece, easy change of tip without any additional tool
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Thick iron plating for lead free soldering and ultra long life
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Comes with low heat hand piece, key pad lock function, sleep function automatic switch off when inactive for preset (programmable) functions
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Station comes with 2 stands. Bit comes as an optional choice
Metcal’s MX-500 series
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Comes with integrated power indication meter, which displays a graphical and numerical representation of the power applied to the cartridge
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User-programmable power saving mode, which is adjustable from 10 to 120 minutes
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Ground fault interrupt, which detects power line ground failures, and immediately alerts the operator and shuts down the system
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Universal power supply that automatically senses the input line voltage and adjusts accordingly
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Greater process control with smart heat technology
MetroQ’s MTQ 917 multi-function soldering/desoldering station
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Power supply: 110-130V AC/220-240V AC
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Power consumption: 60W+80W
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Main fuse: 3.15A
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Function display: LCD
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Voltage:24V AC with power: 60W heat up rating 130W
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Temperature: 60°C to 480°C
