Soldering Review Article

          This week, I studied soldering, why it is important, and how to use it. Also, how to use it safely. For my assignment this week, I will be writing about which soldering iron is the best to use and for what purpose or activity.

          There are many soldering irons or guns that you can use for all sorts of soldering activities. However, some soldering guns can be more useful for certain circuit boards than others. For example, chisel or screwdriver and spade tipped soldering guns have surface area on their tips, which hold on to solder better, while conical tips tend to let it go or draw solder away.

          Also, every iron has a number of Watts, and every time the soldering iron touches a part, the heat or Watts drop. Every time the soldering iron is taken away from the board, the heat or Watts increases back to its normal temperature. If a soldering iron has 20 Watts, and you use that soldering iron on a circuit board, the temperature will go down until you remove the soldering iron from the circuit board. Then the temperature will rise until it is back to 20 Watts. Altogether, for most small electronics, a 25 to 30 Watt iron should work.

          My grandmother is the VP of a company that builds circuit boards for computers called BlackFox, and I am so excited to learn more about soldering from RPC and from her.