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Forum Soldering Stations & The Right Accessories - Where to start?
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  • State Suggested Answer
  • Replies 54 replies
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  • weller
  • solder tips
  • soldering_tip_life
  • commfeedback
  • weller_soldering_irons
Related

Soldering Stations & The Right Accessories - Where to start?

tbartonnewark
tbartonnewark over 7 years ago

Hi I work at Newark and I'm researching kitting soldering stations and replacement soldering tips together Assuming I start with a Basic Weller 120V 50W Station(WES51 or  WESD51WESD51 What tips sizes or shapes would you recommend for an entry level kit Any thoughts on tinners and sponges to extend tip life What would be the dream starter pack

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  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to mcb1 +11 suggested
    Hi Mark, I actually cheated too and I also found this small ceramic thingy at the $ store. It is supposed to be used to heat aromatic oil like a scented candle but I retasked it. I have glued it to a hockey…
  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 7 years ago +10 suggested
    Hi Tom, The recommendations that have been tendered so far are all great. I have always bought a variety of tips when I bought a system but as dougw points out they almost never get used and the tip he…
  • dougw
    dougw over 7 years ago +7 suggested
    I do all my soldering with the same size tip - it is not practical to swap hot tips all the time. But extra tips of the same type are always useful. The tip should be fairly short and fairly fine to get…
Parents
  • ninjatrent
    0 ninjatrent over 7 years ago

    This conversation sounds like a good reason for an experiment to determine which is ideal for proper soldering tip matainance, sponge or brass wool as method of cleaning solder tip.

     

    I currently use a cheap wet sponge pad but have found the brass wool to be very effective when used in the past.

     

    A wet sponge works great but the sudden temp changes do not seem like it would be beneficial to the lifespan of the tip, heating element, and any temp sensor the soldering iron might have.

     

    The concern with a brass tip cleaner might be some damage to the surface of the soldering tip with extended use.

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  • rachaelp
    0 rachaelp over 7 years ago in reply to ninjatrent

    ninjatrent  wrote:

     

    This conversation sounds like a good reason for an experiment to determine which is ideal for proper soldering tip matainance, sponge or brass wool as method of cleaning solder tip.

    That experiment could take a long time to complete, it's the sort of thing I expect the big soldering station manufacturers may have done but it would be interesting to see this done or maybe try and collect data from a number of people over time and see if there are any trends in how the iron tips last vs how people look after their iron tips.

     

    In my experience I have had soldering iron tips have what appears to be an outer coating delaminate after extended use when using a wet sponge but I have never seen this on tips since using the brass cleaner. I'm particular about keeping my tips clean and re-tinning them after cleaning so they don't get any oxidisation and I do this regardless of the cleaning method. I don't have enough data to draw any concrete conclusions about tip life vs cleaning method as the tips I had issues with were from a different soldering station brand than I now use so maybe that's a factor in longevity too.

     

    Best Regards,


    Rachael

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  • jadew
    0 jadew over 7 years ago in reply to rachaelp

    rachaelp,

     

    I have an AmScope one (but without the branding - I shouldn't call it an AmScope microscope, but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing they're rebranding), with the boom stand, something like this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41N-I8m7DKL._SY300_.jpg

     

    There are other places out there that sell the same microscope. Initially I wanted to get them directly from AmScope but it gets expensive when you take shipping to Europe into account, so I had to find a different source.

     

    Wherever you get them from, make sure you look into the video capturing system. You have to be on the lookout for:

     

    1) Poor resolution.

    2) Video latency.

    3) Lack of parfocality between the eyepieces and the camera (meaning that when the image is in focus through the eyepiece, it wouldn't be in focus on the camera). This is a problem I'm facing, because I don't have the proper adapter for the camera I'm using (a canon DSLR).

    4) Optionally, you may want to look into a trinocular that doesn't have to turn off one eyepiece in order to direct light to the photo port, but those heads are more expensive.

     

    I also recommend getting the 0.5x Barlow lens, because it increases the working distance and increases the field of view at the lowest zoom setting (the magnification gets halved, but the resulting range seems perfect for electronics work). With the .5x Barlow you get almost 20 cm working distance, which means you can poke with a screw driver from an almost 90 degrees angle.

     

    I don't recommend the 20x eyepieces, they're useless, but I'd get the 2x Barlow lens, because you can then inspect very small things with it. I also recommend getting an UV filter that you can fit on top of the lens (you can find cheap ones on ebay - it's just glass), in order to protect it from smoke and splatter.

     

    Razvan

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  • rachaelp
    0 rachaelp over 7 years ago in reply to jadew

    Hi Razvan,

     

    Thanks for the advice, it's very helpful! I was looking at trinocular and simul-focal variants and was leaning towards a standard trinocular because I didn't think I would care about having to switch one of the eye pieces to the camera for my usage, but I see now that this might lead to annoyance and additional faffing when I do need to switch between the two. I think the right choice would therefore be simul-focal.

     

    Are the camera ports on these standard C-mount ports so I can just buy a microscope itself and buy a high quality camera from elsewhere?

     

    Good points on the Barlow lenses and UV filter too, I'll definitely add those to the list too!

     

    How about for the ring lights? What are the ones that come with these scope like? Again do you know if they standard fittings so I could buy ring lights from other sources or are they a proprietary fitting?

     

    Many thanks,

     

    Rachael

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  • rachaelp
    0 rachaelp over 7 years ago in reply to jadew

    So camera wise, I'm thinking something like this https://www.pepleroptics.com/index.php/digital-microscopes/microscope-cameras/dino-eye-edge-am7025x-cmos-microscope-camera-usb-5-0mp.html

     

    I need macOS support in any software and the Dino-lite cameras have the DINOXCOPE software available for macOS. A lot of other cameras don't supply drivers for anything other than windows so whilst you might get video functionality out of them you might not get full control of the camera to get the best out of it.

     

    Best Regards,


    Rachael

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  • shabaz
    0 shabaz over 7 years ago in reply to rachaelp

    Hi Rachael,

     

    I think michaelkellett system has dual outputs, HDMI and USB by the looks of it, so will have reduced lag.

    The USB-only options tend to have lag, because there isn't enough bandwidth available so it compresses first. USB 3.0 would solve this, but then the options may be fewer. I've used a GigE camera, that provides uncompressed video, but nevertheless there is a (very slight) lag, although I have used it for component placement or soldering while viewing on a PC. The lag can be tuned out partially, depending on how it is connected (directly or through a switch) and packet size configuration on the PC and switch.

    I've tried a few combinations, it is still sub-optimal, but in the end I use a couple of systems with one camera: microscope and camera for very close-up inspection, but mount the same camera with a different lens and stand for component placement.

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  • michaelkellett
    0 michaelkellett over 7 years ago in reply to shabaz

    shabaz  wrote:

     

    I think michaelkellett  system has dual outputs, HDMI and USB by the looks of it,

     

    You're right - and I'm using the HDMI connected directly to a monitor. The speed is fine for soldering.

     

    I think it's important to actually try the system if you are going to spend a lot of money - my Ebay camera and lens was so cheap that I didn't bother and it works OK, if I hadn't had the demo I might have bought the Mantis and I would not have been  happy at all.

     

    MK

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  • rachaelp
    0 rachaelp over 7 years ago in reply to shabaz

    That's a very good point. I know with my current ultra cheap USB microscope that it can be annoyingly laggy which makes navigating a board trickier and that's not even a particularly high resolution. I'll look for ones that have HDMI output as well image

     

    Thanks!

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  • rachaelp
    0 rachaelp over 7 years ago in reply to michaelkellett

    michaelkellett  wrote:

     

    I think it's important to actually try the system if you are going to spend a lot of money - my Ebay camera and lens was so cheap that I didn't bother and it works OK, if I hadn't had the demo I might have bought the Mantis and I would not have been  happy at all.

    Yep, even the cheapest options for this setup would be enough of an investment to be really annoying if they turned out to not be right....

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  • jadew
    0 jadew over 7 years ago in reply to rachaelp

    Hey Rachael,

     

    rachaelp  wrote:

     

    Are the camera ports on these standard C-mount ports so I can just buy a microscope itself and buy a high quality camera from elsewhere?

     

    Yes, they're standard, but the tube or adapter that comes out of it isn't. I don't understand the optics of the phototube, but I think each microscope type needs a an adapter specifically built for it, otherwise it won't be parfocal.

     

    I had the same idea you do and now I have a bunch of adapters that don't make a good image and it's not parfocal either. I'm sure you can find the right combination, just make sure you do before you buy it.

     

     

    rachaelp  wrote:

     

    How about for the ring lights? What are the ones that come with these scope like? Again do you know if they standard fittings so I could buy ring lights from other sources or are they a proprietary fitting?

     

    I don't know if they're standard. Mine have 3 screws that tighten around the lens. If you have to choose between a powerful ring light and a less powerful one, get the powerful one. I got the medium version that was available for mine and it's just ok. I sometimes need more light and I bring it in from an additional lamp I have next to the microscope.

     

     

    Regards,

    Razvan

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  • genebren
    0 genebren over 7 years ago in reply to rachaelp

    Accessory wise the Barlow lens and the light ring make my Microscope very useful for solder.  When it came to the light ring I ended up building my own.  I wanted to work with a combination of full illumination and then various segments in order to make some defects really pop out.  With the design I came up with, each of the LEDs (12 total, with each LED package containing 3 individual LEDs) is uniquely controllable.

    imageimageimageimageimage

    I have modes to select the number of LEDs to turn on and then to rotate the pattern around the ring, one LED at a time.  There is also a couple of gradient patterns, where all the LEDs are on, but the intensities ramp across the filed.

     

    This was fun project.  I even machined the housing out of HDPE plastic.

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  • jw0752
    0 jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to genebren

    Hi Gene,

     

    What a great innovation. The ability to use light from different angles has to make the scope a much more powerful tool.

     

     

    John

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  • jw0752
    0 jw0752 over 7 years ago in reply to genebren

    Hi Gene,

     

    What a great innovation. The ability to use light from different angles has to make the scope a much more powerful tool.

     

     

    John

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