RoadTest: Sign Up to RoadTest the Weller WXsmart Soldering Platform
Author: Gough Lui
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Workshop Tools
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: Kurtz Ersa i-CON TRACE, Metcal CV-series
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Documentation on some features still lacking, seemingly one-off incidence of tip failure/intermittent contact.
Detailed Review:
Weller WXsmart Connected Hand Soldering Platform RoadTest Review
April-May 2023 by Gough Lui
When it comes to electronics, soldering is a key part of the assembly process. While many pieces of electronics are assembled automatically in production line processes, there are always prototypes, niche products, problematic parts, repair and rework demands that necessitate hand-soldering. In fact, hobbyists and professionals like myself may spend a lot of time hand-soldering in order to build one-off devices troubleshoot problems and repair broken devices.
But to solder well is an important skill that needs time to develop. I’ve been fortunate to have used all sorts of irons from simple plug-in no-brand irons to high-end thermally regulated soldering stations with interchangeable tips. Getting a quality joint is important if you want your device to operate reliably under stresses such as thermal cycling, shock and vibration. Having practiced over many years, I have managed to solder things which my colleagues would find difficult and rarely ever produce a bad joint. However, in full disclosure, I am not IPC certified mostly due to cost and time constraints, although (one day) I would like to be.
Being someone who does solder quite frequently, who is now comfortable with SMD technology and has an interest in Industry 4.0 type IoT connectivity and automation, I applied for this RoadTest to see just what the Weller WXsmart has to offer. Thanks to element14 and Weller for selecting me as one of the three to review this product.
As this review requires the delivery of an unboxing video, I also decided to deliver an unscripted video summary as well. For the reader’s convenience, all videos are embedded here:
Soldering, despite seemingly being a solved problem, is an area that sees improvements. Newer active-control tips provide better temperature regulation and response, with temperature flexibility that fixed-temperature Curie-point systems cannot provide. However, the potential for bad joints still remain which can be quite costly when it causes failure in-the-field, especially in safety-of-life applications such as those found in automotive, marine, aerospace and medical industries. The Industry 4.0 revolution, as it pertains to hand soldering, is to add IoT into soldering stations to provide the ability to automate and monitor in order to ensure compliance with procedure, detect anomalies and trace issues down to their source to reduce the potential for costly problems and ensure minimal waste.
The Weller WXsmart solution is a connected, IoT-enabled hand soldering platform designed to be Industry 4.0-ready and integrate with MES through MQTT allowing everything to be configured, controlled and monitored. The unit comes with serial, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity as standard. The WXsmart is essentially the unit that forms the “heart” of the bench supporting soldering irons, hot air tools, smaller preheaters and solder baths. It can also, through its serial connection, co-ordinate benchtop control of WXair supply, larger preheaters and fume extraction systems. The system supports the latest technology irons such as the WXMPS MS, WXUPS MS, WXMTS and WXUTS with smart-tip active heating technology, but also supports older WX-series irons and accessories. Such a mix-and-match arrangement protects existing investment in Weller equipment and provides an upgrade path in the future as the need arises. By integrating WCU calibration unit into the system, the correct soldering conditions can be easily maintained. The solution also improves ease of use with a colour touch-screen LCD providing intuitive operation and in-depth views into the operational status.
The Weller WXsmart platform stands out in the market because of its versatility in supporting applications aside from just a soldering iron. Being able to provide hot-air rework and desoldering tools, with control of benchtop equipment such as fume extractors, preheaters and temperature calibration units maximises versatility and reduces integration work. Compared to the Kurtz Ersa i-CON TRACE and Metcal CV-series, it has a much more user-friendly user interface in the form of a larger colour LCD touch-screen, has the strength of having all communication interfaces enabled from the factory and the versatility to support more than just soldering irons. In return, Metcal’s Connection Validation technology appears to be unique in being able to provide real-time feedback on IMC formation.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch1: Market Survey & Feature Introduction.
The Weller WXsmart demonstration kit is a generous offering, packed in a gorgeous custom KKC Koffer wheeled suitcase. While this is great for travelling trade shows and reviews alike, ordinary purchasers should not expect this level of packaging from their purchases as the WXsmart system is very much a mix-and-match system to meet your specific needs.
It would appear that much of the kit is Designed and Engineered in Germany, and Made in Mexico. Included is the WXsmart base unit, a 300W-rated station with a glass front panel which is ESD safe, featuring a capacitive touch colour LCD and two ports for either two soldering irons or one with a hot air pencil or desoldering tool. The heavy base unit uses a toroidal transformer, hence comes in 120V and 230V variants. It features USB-A for devices, serial for on-bench instruments or PC connectivity, Ethernet and in-built Wi-Fi. A matching WXair unit provides vacuum and air for the hot air pencil and desoldering tool. This is designed to sit underneath the WXsmart and is universal-voltage.
A WCU adds to the traceability aspect by providing a temperature calibration facility which can automatically set and memorise tip offset temperatures as measured by a thermocross sensor.
With regards to handpieces and tools, the WXMPS MS is perhaps the most versatile soldering pencil suiting ordinary, micro- and pico-soldering requirements using matching RTMS and RTPS tips with a rating of 12V/40W. The WXUPS MS is suited for heavy-duty tasks with a rating of 24V/120W with matching RTUS tips. Both handpieces are metal-bodied, feel well weighted and balanced and feature very flexible burn-proof silicone cable. Safety rests allow for the choice of sponge or brass wool cleaning, although tips cannot be stored well in the integrated tip stand and instead a separate one is used.
The WXHAP 200 is a 24V/200W rated hot-air pencil. It is more delicate than its mains-powered brethren, being more slender and having finer tips suited for smaller components. It has a plastic body and a single button for operation, relying on the WXair for the air supply through a separate hose. The WXDV 120 is a 24V/120W rated vertical desoldering tool which also has a plastic body, single-button operation and relies on the WXair for the vacuum supply through a hose. This tool uses XDS or XSDL (long-life) friction-lock nozzles and a maintenance kit is also supplied with tip changing pliers and tools to clean out solder clogs. Throughout the system, LED ring lights or bars are used to indicate tool status.
Accessories supplied included a 100gm spool of 0.5mm WSW SAC M1 solder, a Weller Erem 622N side-cutter and EC3CSA tweezers.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch2: Unboxing & Design Features.
The setup process of the WXsmart is straightforward. The touch user interface is beautiful, colourful and intuitive. If you can operate a smartphone, you’ll have no trouble interacting with the WXsmart. Configuration pages are divided into a scrolling list on the left and value manipulation on the right. There are, however, a few terms and acronyms which can be confusing to a first-time user though and some localisations could possibly be improved. It’s great to see just how customisable the unit is. Unfortunately, text entry is a bit tricky with the limited size of the screen, although numeric entry is a bit more tolerable. It was discovered that the touch screen can be a bit touchy if it’s a bit dirty. Some tasks, such as swapping from a tool setting page to a bench setting page require a few more swipes than I would like and changing the temperature manually can require quite a few taps. I imagine that such user interface elements could be improved by allowing direct entry or adding additional shortcuts.
That being said, there is a philosophical divide here that affects not only the WXsmart but anything that uses touch-screens. The WXsmart’s touch screen may provide all the functionality of a traditional user interface, but it has no tactility. While soldering, my eyes are usually on the workpiece. Being able to “feel” the button to elicit a change could be an advantage as it may reduce the need to take eyes off a workpiece. While this may not be a major issue especially where settings are “locked in”, I feel this deserves mentioning as it takes some getting used to. Furthermore, some of the nice visualisations are perhaps a little “redundant” as one is usually not looking at the screen while they’re soldering.
Firmware updates of the WXsmart allows for features to be added and issues to be resolved in the field. The upgrade process is quite lengthy, however, was successful in the review which added a number of paid options and minor improvements to the user interface. A user manual isn’t required for the most part although the picture-heavy guides which remind me of IKEA manuals and short introductory YouTube videos often leave something to be desired when considering the use of more advanced features (e.g. locked users, tip locking).
The WCU is a good addition for automatic calibration of tip offset as long as it is connected with a serial data cable. It is easy to operate with its monochrome LCD and colour-coded terminals for the correct installation of the thermocross sensor. It is unfortunate that it is not powered by the WXsmart and requires a 9V battery, although it seems the battery will last quite a while. The review bench is completed by adding additional accessories on-hand.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch3: User Interface & Setup.
Some readers may wonder why a soldering station might need an array of connectivity including serial, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and USB as it may seem unnecessary at first glance. However, having this connectivity allows for a level of automation, process control and integration to ensure quality results are being achieved and avoid in-field failures.
The WX SmartControl app for Android allows for a smartphone to act as a second screen, controlling the WXsmart as if sitting at the station (with some limitations in terms of settings that can be accessed).
The WX SmartControl app for Windows allows for a desktop or laptop PC to remotely monitor up to three stations simultaneously, recording live data to a semicolon-delimited text file. These apps are distributed via their respective app stores and require no programming to get started, having additional security features such as two-factor authentication on first connection.
Integration with a Manufacturing Execution System is via MQTT-over-Websockets despite the unit displaying just “MQTT”. A plethora of STATUS topics exist which allow a real-time view into the station and connected accessories. However, documentation is not yet ready for the SET topics which are required to perform remote control and procedures for provisioning a TLS certificate for encrypted communications are yet to be clarified.
Overall, I feel that the apps could use a little bit more polish regarding handling of firmware incompatibilities, improved screen utilisation especially for desktop and some level of feature parity across desktop and mobile, given that the WXsmart is not able to be accessed or controlled through a web browser. Similarly, the documentation for the MQTT-over-Websockets-based MES integration is definitely needed to ensure the features can be used to their maximum extent.
Paid firmware options unlocked included profiles for time-temperature ramping (useful for preheaters), tracking (for teaching and assessing soldering time/energy), a calibration manager (to enforce calibration requirements) and QR barcode reader support (for loading configuration data). I was excited about tracking, however, it doesn’t seem to reliably detect a solder joint event every time and appropriate settings are a bit cryptic without documentation.
As the WXsmart is still in the early phase of its product lifecycle, such software improvements are likely to materialise as Weller actively works on delivering both updated software and documentation. However, it seems that some things (e.g. the QR Code Generator, MQTT MES integration) may require contacting Weller support directly until such time. I would like to see more use of the USB port - for example, logging soldering session data to a USB stick may be a good feature to have.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch4: Connected Operation & Paid Options.
In my two months of using the Weller WXsmart, I’d have to say that it is a very competent soldering, rework and desoldering station without any major faults.
The WXMPS MS handpiece is very versatile, working magic with through-hole and surface-mount components alike. I was able to construct a number of electronic kits including my own SMD challenge which had components as small as 01005 with no problems.
The WXUPS MS handpiece is adept at high-power soldering applications, soldering large terminal blocks to 2oz copper PCBs, tinning 6mm2 wire, soldering BNC connector shells and plastic Kycon KPPX-4C connectors with no trouble at all.
Both handpieces feel premium with their metallic bodies, flexible burn-proof silicone wire and feature very fast heat-up. It’s so fast that it’s usually ready by the time I’ve picked it up and positioned it on the workpiece. Rarely am I ever waiting for the iron – I don’t think about waiting for it to heat up and I don’t think about waiting for it to recover temperature between joints. I can just get on with the job of soldering – and that’s a great feeling. The LED light ring is also an excellent addition, as it gives me instant feedback as to whether the iron is ready.
Calibration with the WCU is fast and straightforward, adding additional reassurance of correct soldering temperature. The tips all have short tip-to-grip distances of 30mm, 45mm and 50mm for RTPS, RTMS and RTUS tips respectively which provide better control.
The WXHAP 200 hot air pencil did a good job of reworking components, straightening SMD parts including LEDs without cooking them and allowing for other parts to be plucked off boards. While it’s not as “big” as a mains powered hot air gun, it has a precision that the other usually lacks. The WXDV 120 was a surprisingly competent performer, desoldering through-hole components with little fuss and without clogging up. It is easy to clean and the nozzles are available with a rounded and flat profile, the latter improving heat transfer and sealing to pull just a bit more solder out of those annoying plated-through holes.
The main downsides include the potential safety issue if someone does not follow the manual, changes a tip when hot and manages to slip. Similarly, a hot tip in the tip stand could be easily grazed when selecting another tip. The tips themselves all seem to have a slight tilt, so they aren’t exactly straight when rolling them around on a desk which can make for a bit of awkwardness in handling. The main power connections also take a bit of care to align arrows before plugging in and then rotating the locking collar which may sometimes necessitate two hands. The hot air tools do feel a bit light and hollow due to their plastic construction and their air hoses can be a bit finnicky to attach and detach. Not being able to have both attached at the same time is a bit of a potential disadvantage as it necessitates frequent switching depending on use case. Controlling the hot air tool temperature and speed necessitates moving back to the home screen, to the benchtop control screen and then the WXair control screen which is a few more steps than would be expected. The vertical desoldering iron can, due to its design, get rather warm in use.
While the list of gripes may seem a bit long, they are mostly minor and they shouldn’t overshadow the fact that the WXsmart does exactly what a good tool should do – get out of your way and let you focus on the work. I’ve never enjoyed soldering quite as much as I have when using the WXsmart and it’s also completely erased my biases against lead-free solder by showing me what proper temperature regulation can achieve.
However, in full disclosure, my use of the WXsmart was not without mishap as one tip managed to overheat and fail on initial start-up and another displayed some intermittent behaviour during the review which may have been caused by a handpiece contact issue. The items have been returned to Weller for analysis in exchange for replacements and to Weller’s credit, their support has been very accommodating.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch5: Usage Scenarios & User Experience.
It’s not all that easy to test a soldering station in a quantitative, meaningful way, but I tried it nonetheless. Testing power consumption using a Tektronix PA1000 Power Analyser revealed zero standby current for WXsmart and WXair units due to the use of hardware power switches. Idle power consumption measured 5.895W and 2.434W respectively, for a total of 8.329W which is reasonable. Quiescent standby current of the WCU was measured by a Keithley 2450 SourceMeter at 8.2µA with operational current of 2.8mA corresponding to about 196 hours from a 9V PP3 battery.
Calibrated tip temperature offsets using the Weller WCU ranged from -23 to 22°C which is quite a spread. While an offset of around 10°C could be acceptable, this suggests that some tips may not provide the optimal temperature if used without prior calibration.
Tip heat-up and recovery checks with a B&K Precision DAS240BAT Multi-Channel Recorder and ther thermocross from the WCU revealed no measurable overshoots and temperatures within 6°C for the WXMPS MS + RTMS 002 C MS combination post-calibration. Heat-up times from standby are around five to six seconds. The WXUPS MS + RTUS 016 C MS combination post-calibration had temperatures within 10°C which may have been due to a poor calibration but is close to the ±9°C specification. No overshoots were recorded and warm-up times from standby ranged from six to ten seconds. Both results show quite speedy warm-up and well-controlled temperature behaviour even when perturbed by blowing on the tip.
Network audits using nmap revealed the presence of an Sevenstax HTTP/S web server on Port 80 and 443 and Zeroconf on Port 5453 in UDP. No other ports were open, ensuring the device has a limited attack surface. Furthermore, the websever does not expose any useful pages on default paths.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch6: Performance Tests.
While not originally proposed for the RoadTest, I did complete a teardown of much of the kit without harming it. In the process, it revealed a lot about the components and design within the units, but also raises interesting questions as well.
The WXsmart unit itself uses a large toroidal transformer which is wound for a single input voltage at its core, but this is controlled with a PCB containing four STMicroelectronics STPS20H100CFP 2x10A 100V Schottky rectifiers attached to a bracket which also supports the weight of the PCB. The serial interfaces appear to be transformer isolated and optically switched somehow. The Wi-Fi connectivity comes courtesy of an Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32D and there are a pair of wet electrolytic capacitors from Nichicon’s VK-series which are 85°C rated (rather than 105°C for longevity). Other key parts include a VARTA coin cell for real-time-clock backup, a Micron MT25QL512ABB8ESF-0SIT 512Mbit serial flash which may contain firmware, a STMicroelectronics STM32F746 216MHz ARM Cortex-M7 with 1Mbyte of flash, a Micron MT48LC4M32B2B5-6A 128Mbit 133MHz SDRAM, a PIC32MX460F 80MHz MIPS core, shunt resistors for power measurement, Vishay SiDR626LEP MOSFETs, Analog Devices LTC7004 drivers, TVS protection diode, RGB LEDs, LM339 opamps, a PA9545A I2C switch and a Texas Instruments TLC59116 LED driver. The display appears to come from Rocktech Displays, marked RK043F55HSN-CT019A and YCD-BLS043-21HS.
The WXair unit is built around a pump powered by a Meanwell RPS-120-27 power supply rated at 27V at 4.5A and a PIC18F25K42 16MHz 8-bit microcontroller. Texas Instruments MAX3221E chips take care of the RS-232 communications and an onsemi FQD19N10L 100V 0.1mOhm N-channel MOSFET likely modulates power to the pump with the front-panel PCB being nothing more than an LED board.
The WCU is similarly built around a PIC18F27K42 with a Texas instruments MAX3221E as well. Measurements seem to be handled by an Analog Devices MAX31856 Precision Thermocouple to Digital Converter.
Some investigations were made into communications, confirming ±6V RS-232 levels with idle-low at a rate of 1200bps and a presumably correct pin-out which relies on the roll-over of the cable to swap RX and TX between the host and device end.
Finally, a retail example of a WXMPS MS hand-piece was received with replacement tips in lieu of a failed tip and an intermittent one. This gave us the opportunity to see how retail handpieces would be packaged.
For more information, see Weller WXsmart In-Depth Ch7: Teardowns & Replacements.
The world of soldering is moving towards smart, active tip technology for better thermal response performance and towards Industry 4.0 capabilities, adopting IoT connectivity for integration with MES which would, in theory, ensure compliance with procedures through process control, reduce the potential for failures in-the-field by maintaining quality and provide full traceability. In this space, it seems that Weller is the only one to offer a single solution that encompasses not only soldering irons but also associated equipment such as preheaters, hot air pencils, desoldering tools, calibration units and fume extractors. Compatible with a range of existing WX-series tools, it allows for a mix-and-match upgrade path that protects existing investments. The Weller WXsmart thus fills the role of being the “heart” of the bench, complete with its beautiful and responsive colour touch-screen LCD which makes for intuitive and straightforward operation.
The provided demonstration kit is quite comprehensive, major components included the WXsmart base unit, WXair, WXMPS MS handpiece with an assortment of RTPS and RTMS tips, WXUPS MS handpiece with an assortment of RTUS tips, WXDV 120 vertical desoldering handpiece, WXHAP 200 hot air pencil and WCU calibration unit. In my time using the station, I found it extremely competent and impressive, especially regarding thermal response and warm-up behaviour for both WXMPS MS and WXUPS MS handpieces. The ring-light and motion sensing were very effective and allowed for aggressive sleep times which save energy and prolong tip lifetime. The short tip-to-grip distances and comfortable rubberised grips made for good control in precision soldering applications. It was a pleasure to use with a range of tested lead-free alloys including SAC305, Sn100C, 99C and 95A. The desoldering handpiece also worked excellently without clogging, with the flat-profiled tips providing a bit of an edge when clearing plated through-holes. The hot air pencil isn’t quite as powerful as a hot air gun, but it offers a delicate touch and excellent temperature regulation that impressed by allowing hot-air soldering of SMD LEDs without destroying the plastic lens. Having the WCU provided added peace of mind with regards to tip temperatures and did produce repeatable offset results.
Any gripes were generally either minor or concerned itself with more advanced functionality which I would not consider a show-stopper in any way. Much of this may be improvable with software updates and improved documentation. During the review, an unexpected tip failure did occur, which is under investigation by Weller. However, they were quick to provide support and replacements for what is likely to be a one-off issue.
Overall, I’d have to say that the WXsmart system as a whole makes soldering a joy. As a tool, it gets out of the way and lets me focus on the work, which is what all good tools do. The supporting Weller Erem E5CSA tweezers and 622N sidecutters also get an honorable mention for their quality build as well. Having used some other professional stations, I’d have to say that the user interface and connectivity on the WXsmart is a step above the rest while the handpieces are at least as good, if not better, making it hard to fault.
Thanks again to Weller and element14 for selecting me for this RoadTest. I hope you enjoyed reading this review. Please feel free to leave a like and/or a comment, especially if you have any questions, and I will endeavour to answer them as soon as I can.
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Bonus blog - Weller WXsmart Bonus: WXMPS MS Handpiece Teardown & Analysis
- Gough