What Is a Soldering Service?
A soldering service is a technique for joining metal materials by fusing an alloy called solder.
In advance, impurities such as oil are removed and flux is applied to improve the adhesion of the solder.
Uses of Soldering Services
Soldering services are mainly used on the circuitry of electrical products.
- Prototyping printed circuit boards.
- Fabrication of electrical and electronic circuits.
- Joining metal piping and copper tubing.
- Stained glass fabrication.
- Fabrication of accessories and models.
Although this joining method is primarily used for industrial applications, it is sometimes used in the fabrication of accessories.
Principle of Soldering Services
Soldering services use heat to melt solder to bond materials together.
1. Solder
Solder is an alloy that uses metals such as tin. It is characterized by a lower melting point than other metal materials and melts easily when heat is applied.
2. Soldering Iron
A soldering iron is a special tool with a heater attached to the tip. The heater heats the tip of the soldering iron to a temperature that melts the solder. There are two types of heat sources for heaters: electric products and gas products. The tip of the soldering iron needs to be replaced or sanded periodically because the solder sticks and burns when used for a long period of time.
3. Flux
Flux is soldering services accelerator. It is used to remove contaminants from the surface of the material while improving the spread of solder. Acidic materials such as hydrochloric acid are sometimes used, but basically pine resin and synthetic resins are used. It also plays a role in preventing oxidation of the material surface.
Types of Soldering Services
There are various methods of soldering services other than hand soldering.
1. Hand Soldering Services
As explained prior, manual soldering services are method in which soldering is performed by hand. It is mainly used for prototyping and experimenting with circuit boards. In addition to temperature control, there are many other operational precautions that must be taken, and There are qualifications such as soldering services certification and electronics assembly technician certification.
2. Dip Soldering Services
After electronic components and connectors are mounted on a printed circuit board, solder is blown up from the underside of the board in a molten solder bath called a dip tank.
3. Reflow Soldering Services
After mounting electronic components on a printed circuit board, soldering services are performed by heat using cream solder. Cream solder is a solder mixed with fine flux in the form of a cream with high viscosity. Since cream solder can be applied to the board in advance, it is characterized by high adhesion accuracy.
As with dip solder, it is used for mass production of electronic circuits, etc. In the surface mounting process known as SMT, a series of operations from cream solder application to chip component mounting to passing through the reflow oven can be performed in succession.
Other Information on Soldering Services
1. Lead-Free Solder
Solder materials are required to have a low melting point and good compatibility with adhesive metals. Alloys of lead and tin have been used for a long time, but the toxicity of lead has become an issue. Therefore, in recent years, the development of lead-free solder has been promoted from the viewpoint of protecting the natural environment.
In particular, solder materials that are widely used include tin-silver-copper or tin-bismuth systems. Tin-gold solder also exists. Another drawback is that many materials have a higher melting point than lead-containing solders, requiring more energy.
2. Soldering Services for Pipe Connections
Soldering services may be used to connect copper or water pipes. Brazing is another technique that uses molten metal to bond pipes together.
The difference between the two is the bonding temperature: soldering services requires temperatures below 450°C to bond solder, while brazing service requires temperatures above 450°C. Therefore, metals such as copper and silver are used for brazing.
Because of the lower temperature, soldering services are heated with a torch, while brazing service is heated with a gas burner.