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  • Author Author: shabaz
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Wiha Surface Mount Tweezers – Quick Review!

shabaz

When soldering surface-mount parts, half the battle is obtaining a reliable grip on the components when manipulating them into position. Another battle is seeing them !

I lost a really nice pair of VOMM PSF-SA-ESD tweezers, so I was keen to replace them. I couldn’t find a convenient source in the UK, and as a result needed to look for a different brand, with the same shape (1 mm flat tip, known as shape code PSF). I find that size and shape really convenient for the majority of surface mount parts that I use.

I decided to give a couple of Wiha tweezers a try, it's just been a couple of days, but I am currently happy with them!

image

I tried Wiha models 32325 and 44523 . The former is a little cheaper than the latter, but the 44523 feels better in the hand. Perhaps there is a slightly better surface finish too. To me, the 44523 feels identical, or near-identical to the VOMM ones that I lost, but the 32325 feels pretty great too.

Incidentally, all the documentation on the Internet for the two tweezer models is incorrect; the tweezer datasheets/catalog pages have got the lengths wrong. The lengths in my photo above are correct.

With both of them, I didn’t lose any components during experimentation. They grip the parts reliably, and the tip is a comfortable size and shape for working with typical SMD parts.

The photo below shows the 44523 gripping an 0805-sized resistor and an 0603-sized capacitor.

image

This two-minute video covers a quick review of the tweezers:

I'd be curious to know what tweezers other people use, and their experiences with them. Different tweezer shapes may suit others better. 

Thanks for reading!

Parents

  • Very nice video/blog on selecting tweezers.  I find it difficult to find the perfect tweezers, so typically use a combination of a couple of models to assist in soldering SMD/SMT components.  I will have to check these tweezers out when I am looking to replace any of my existing ones.

    Thanks for sharing!

Comment

  • Very nice video/blog on selecting tweezers.  I find it difficult to find the perfect tweezers, so typically use a combination of a couple of models to assist in soldering SMD/SMT components.  I will have to check these tweezers out when I am looking to replace any of my existing ones.

    Thanks for sharing!

Children
  • in reply to genebren

    Hi Gene,

    Thanks! Your solder work looks good in your blogs, so I can imagine you have got tweezers that suit you.

    I don't know why the tweezer manufacturers make it so hard to select them, often not even showing a photo of the tweezers in detail.

  • in reply to shabaz

    This is my go to set of tweezers (although one of them is currently missing - hopefully to be found when I get around to cleaning my workspace).

    image

    The first one is a simple self-closing, pointed tweezers that I use to hold parts to the PCB while tacking a few leads down.  This pair is a super cheap unmarked that I picked up somewhere many years ago.

    The second one (currently missing) is a heavy duty (nice and thick), pointed tip tweezers (marked 758 TW 446).  This is a somewhat pricey piece that I have owned for quite some time.  Again, I have no idea where I picked these up, but they are Swiss made and list for around $25-30.  These have such a nice hand feel and I hope to either find them (in the mess) or replace them sometime soon.

    The third one is my current favorite, a curved, round tip pair, 2AB-SA from technik.  I have found the curved, round tip tweezer to do a little bit better of a job in picking up small (0603 and 0402) parts.  I like that the curved tips offer a much more comfortable hand position, often allowing me to rest my hand on the board holder, thus reducing fatigue while soldering for several hours.