Soldering is the one of the tasks that a technician has to master when creating Printed circuit boards (PCB). There are basic steps that are needed to ensure safety, and there are common tools that are required to get the job done easily. Most of these tools are available within most electronics shops.
Soldering Iron
The soldering iron is the tool you use to melt solder. When working on PCBs, the advisable wattage for a soldering iron is around 15W to 30W. Anything higher than this range will pose a risk of damaging your circuit board. A three-pronged grounding plug is also an advisable option, since it eliminates the possibility of the soldering gun gathering stray voltage on its tip. Stray voltages have a high chance of damaging sensitive components in a PCB, like the Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS).
Solder
Solders come in wide varieties, but there are only a few types that are advisable when working on electronic components. The most common type of solder that you can buy readily in electronic stores is acid core solder. This type is not advisable on PCBs since it has the potential to destroy the board because of the acid. The best type of solder to use when working on a PCB is a rosin core solder, with a diameter that ranges around 0.75mm to 1mm. The small diameter is a great advantage when working on the smaller components of the board.
Solder Removing device
There are times when you need to remove solder from your PCB. To properly do this, you need a solder removing device. There are two types of solder removing devices that you can use; the solder wick and the solder sucker. Both devices' main function is to help you remove the solder from your circuit board. Solder suckers work like just like a syringe. When you melt the solder using the soldering iron, push down the plunger, position the nozzle towards the melted solder and push the release button to suck up the melted solder. On the other hand, a solder wick is a piece of copper wire that looks like a candle's wick. Just place the solder wick on the solder that you want to remove, heat it using the soldering gun, and the copper will attract the melted solder.
