Soldering Irons
Soldering iron tips transfer heat from a soldering iron into solder so that it melts and can flow into the joint between two components or workpieces. They’re also sometimes referred to as ‘bits’.To protect your soldering iron tips, you should tin your tip before and after soldering to create a protective layer between the air and the soldering iron tip. Tinning prevents oxidisation and allows for a more efficient heat transfer.Optimal operating temperaturePutting your soldering tips through excessive temperatures will shorten their lifespan. The temperature of the tip will decrease as the soldering iron is used more. There is the temptation to increase the idle temperature to compensate for this temperature drop – but don’t as this will shorten the life of the soldering iron tip. If you aren’t actively using your soldering iron think about turning it off or setting it to a low ‘idle’ temperature to maximise tip life.How do you clean a soldering iron?To keep your tip in perfect condition you should aim to clean before, during and after use. Before you solder, ensure that you have cleaned the surfaces which are to be soldered with an alcohol wipe.To clean your tips, use either brass wool (less abrasive) or stainless steel wool (more abrasive). Try to avoid using a sponge as doing so rapidly cycles the tip through a hot and cold cycle. Doing this repeatedly will cause metal fatigue and tip failure. Once you have cleaned the tip ensure that you cover the tip with fresh solder so as to present oxidisation.Using fluxWhen metals come into contact with oxygen an oxide layer is formed on the surface of the metal. This oxidisation prevents solder from wetting the joint correctly and impacts the quality of the solder joint. Flux dissolves this oxidisation layer.Reactivating your soldering iron tipsIf a soldering iron tip becomes oxidised it will appear darker in colour and you may not be able to tin it. If your tip is oxidised you can use a tip activator to remove the oxidisation as it will break down the oxide layer. Once cleaned and refreshed tin the tip again to protect it from oxidisation.Soldering iron tip shapesMost soldering irons have interchangeable tips that have slightly different shapes to allow for different tasks or precision levels. For example, conical tips are used for fine electronics work. Other common tip shapes include:bevel (aka hoof)chiselconcavepyramidbent
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Metcal SSC 0.51 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MFR-H6-SSC, SP-HC1
IDR380,016.47 -
Metcal SSC 1 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MFR-H6-SSC, SP-HC1
IDR372,149.72 -
Metcal STTC 0.4 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR475,676.15 -
Metcal STTC 0.4 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR531,477.63 -
Metcal STTC 0.4 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR531,477.63 -
Metcal STTC 0.4 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR566,091.33 -
Metcal STTC 1 mm Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR484,801.58 -
Metcal STTC 1.78 mm Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR531,477.63 -
Metcal STTC 1.78 mm Hoof Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR531,477.63 -
Metcal STTC 2.5 mm Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR531,477.63 -
Metcal STTC 2.5 mm Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with MX-H1-AV, MX-RM3E
IDR542,176.41 -
Metcal SxP 0.4 mm Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with MFR-H1-SC2
IDR364,597.64 -
Metcal SxP 3.5 mm Hoof Soldering Iron Tip for use with MFR-H1-SC2
IDR490,885.20 -
Portasol 2.4 mm Straight Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with Pro Piezo Gas Soldering Iron
IDR156,390.99 -
Portasol 3.2 mm Straight Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with Miniature Gas Soldering Iron
IDR188,592.22 -
Portasol 3.2 mm Straight Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with Pro Piezo Gas Soldering Iron
IDR139,503.70 -
Portasol Gas Soldering Iron Kit
IDR1,824,351.77 -
RS PRO 0.2 mm Conical Sharp Soldering Iron Tip for use with AT60D, AT80D
IDR60,311.75 -
RS PRO 0.25 mm Conical Sharp Soldering Iron Tip for use with DS90
IDR136,776.56 -
RS PRO 0.8 mm Conical Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with DS90
IDR143,594.41 -
RS PRO 0.8 mm Conical Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with DS90
IDR143,594.41 -
RS PRO 0.8 mm Straight Conical Soldering Iron Tip for use with AT60D, AT80D
IDR60,311.75 -
RS PRO 1.2 mm Conical Bevel Soldering Iron Tip for use with DS90
IDR136,776.56 -
RS PRO 1.2 mm Conical Chisel Soldering Iron Tip for use with AT60D, AT80D
IDR52,340.11