Advanced soldering stations can meet all requirements of miniature-scale and complex manufacturing

Today’s soldering stations come with ultra-precise heating and temperature control, thanks to innovative technologies. These are also specifically designed for micro-soldering applications

By Richa Chakravarty

Monday, April 21, 2014: A soldering station is an intrinsic part of electronics manufacturing. Today, the makers of soldering stations have introduced advanced features to make these stations more handy, comfortable and reliable. Depending on whether the soldering wire used is made of lead or a lead-free material, two types of soldering stations are in use – the typical lead-based station and the newer lead-free variant. The lead-free soldering stations are used for lower temperature soldering or for lead-free soldering due to their advanced heating technology and fast thermal recovery.

The latest in the market

Soldering stations today come with advanced features to meet all the requirements of miniature-scale and complex manufacturing. Innovative technologies today offer soldering stations with ultra-precise heating and temperature control and are specifically designed for micro-soldering applications.

Smart heat technology is the latest technology driving the market. This technology allows the higher thermal performance requirements of lead-free alloys to be met without increasing the tip temperature. Thus, the risk of thermal damage is eliminated. Informs Pankaj Saxena, director, Mectronics Marketing Services, “This technology operates at lower safer temperatures and the power is delivered in proportion to the load. This technology eliminates the possiblity of current overshoot.”

Manufacturers are also looking into each aspect of the soldering station so as to enhance its features. These stations come with a fully integrated tip cartridge and are temperature sensitive to meet the requirements of miniature applications with precision and safety. Let’s look at the enhanced features of the soldering/desoldering stations available in the market.

Excellent thermal recovery: Compared to the earlier conventional models, the latest digital, electrostatic discharge (ESD) safe all-round soldering stations come with a heat output that has been increased by 30 per cent. They also deliver excellent thermal recovery. For heat conductivity, too, most of the soldering stations use T18 series tips. This allows soldering at a lower set temperature and reduces both the thermal impact on components as well as tip oxidation, which would otherwise shorten the tip’s life. Sumitron Exports offers Hakko’s advanced line of soldering stations—the FX series (FX 888D and FX 951). “These compact units deliver superior heat transfer and rapid thermal recovery. They come with a password function, with which settings can be locked 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. A user can set up to five pre-set temperatures,” informs Vinod Bajaj, general manager, Sumitron Exports Pvt Ltd.

Microprocessor-controlled soldering stations: High performance and multi-function stations come with soldering irons and desoldering gun tools that are controlled automatically by microprocessors. The heating element is made of positive temperature co-efficient (PTC), and the sensor on the soldering tip can control the soldering temperature quickly and accurately. “The high power and gun type design makes the iron gun suitable for fine desoldering work,” shares Manish Kwatra, managing director, Metro Electronic Products.

MTQ 917 is the latest soldering/desoldering station launched by the company. This is an ESD safe, lead-free soldering station. “The product is designed especially for lead-free production techniques. 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,” adds Manish Kwatra.

Multi-function stations: Most of the soldering stations are multi-function units that perform tasks for both soldering/desoldering and rework stations. Mectronics Marketing Services offers the Metcal 5200 series manufactured by OK International, which features a dual-simultaneous use option, which means that two hand-pieces can operate from one power supply at the same time. The dynamic option enables the two hand-pieces to share an 80 W output power based on demand, hence adding to the application flexibility and speed.

Informs Pankaj Saxena, “The latest soldering/desoldering stations not only save money but also eliminate downtime. MX-5200 comes with a built-in power indicator meter with digital display and bar graph, which dynamically provides the operator with feedback on the status of the soldering operation. It provides ground fault interrupt alerts to the operator, and shuts down the system in case the AC ground monitor detects power line ground failures.” Metcal stations can perform at safe and controlled temperatures. The tips and cartridges sense the load and instantly deliver the right amount of heat directly to the solder joint. The MX-5200 series comes with four different hand-pieces and a comprehensive range of soldering and rework cartridges. These include the Metcal advanced hand-piece for SMD rework, an ultra fine hand-piece for fine access, a precision tweezer capable of removing a range of components from 0201 chips to 28 mm SOICs, and a desoldering gun for safely removing through-hole components.

Compact and automatic functionalities: Soldering/desoldering stations today carry automatic features that provide greater comfort and require less effort from the user. The latest 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 called P105-A to solder or desolder very small-sized components. The Nano range comprises complete stations designed for micro-soldering and desoldering of components like chips of 0402, 0201, 01005, etc. Its control unit incorporates the exclusive JBC heating system, and the intelligent sleep and hibernation functions. “The most recent preheater by JBC facilitates any soldering or desoldering job by applying infrared heat. Another innovative feature is the automated tip cleaner, which consists of two motorised brushes that start or 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 soldering/desoldering stations,” shares Pravin P Joshi, vice president, sales and business development, iNETest Technologies India Pvt Ltd.

Response to most delicate and difficult application: Today, soldering stations provide a perfect balance between power, response, temperature control and lower tip costs. They provide fast heating up as well as heat-recovery times with ultra-precise performance. The innovative two-channel soldering systems offer an anti-static touchscreen, intelligent sleep mode, multi-language display, intuitive interfaces, automatic energy saving mode, programmable read, write memory, etc, for electronics design and industrial applications. “By using the TFT screen plus capacitive keyboard and intuitive interface, users get faster access to the main menu and can obtain useful information, at a glance,” shares Pravin P Joshi.

How to choose the right soldering/desoldering station

Users typically look for intuitive, easy-to-use solutions that reduce costs. They also look for solutions that serve a wider range of application possibilities for enhanced flexibility. Hence, buyers should look into the following points:

• A station should have a control unit that can support multiple tools. This means the users can build their own soldering or rework stations depending on the task. This control unit independently manages each tool’s parameters, such as temperature limits or the sleep and hibernation modes.

• The cost and life of not only the system but also the consumables like bits/cartridges, filters, etc, should be evaluated. Hence, a buyer has to select a system with a good bit and cartridge life.

• The station should have a fast recovery time when it is powered on or when it is in sleep and hibernation modes.

• Buyers must consider the most innovative technology in order to take their work beyond the station. Advanced stations have incorporated USB connectors, and the new control units for robots allow users to manage their jobs remotely from a PC. 

Metcal’s MX-5200 series offered by Mectronics

• Two-user or single-user with dual applications. Can be operated with two hand-pieces dynamically sharing the 80 watts of power • Fast time-to-recovery that delivers increased production rates and throughput • Seamlessly addresses the challenges of high mass components, multi-layered boards and lead-free solders • ESD safe and features incoming AC ground monitoring circuitry

JBC’s NAST-2C offered by iNETest

• Soldering at lower temperatures of 50°C less than other brands • Fast temperature recovery of 350° in two seconds • Tip life increases by five times with proper use of sleep and hibernation modes • Easy cartridge extraction saves time; ergonomic tools, ESD safe • Control unit with four tools connectivity having more than 6 soldering/desoldering handpiece options to connect • Microcontroller-based, so no calibration is required

Weller’s WX system

• Intelligent tool recognition and accessory management • Multi-purpose USB port and intuitive interface • Robust touch screen, viewable from all angles, and multiple language support • Programmable read and write memory, and increased accuracy • Automatic energy saving mode