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Safety glassesPantsClose-toed shoesDo not touch your face or eat without washing your handsMust wash hands before leaving the lab area.
Soldering station Base, soldering iron, spongeSolderWire cuttersWire strippersWireHelping HandsPCBResistorsSolder Wick
What a proper lab joint is supposed to look like. How to solder a resistor onto a PCB. How to use Helping Hands efficiently and effectively.
How to hold the wires/components, soldering iron, and solder wick at once. How to ensure we do not burn the solder and get more efficient and effective with soldering to make it repeatable.
AT 209 Soldering
Introduction
Soldering is important in the UAS industry. This is because it builds and repairs reliable electronic connections and, when done properly, ensures consistent power and flow for the drones. The main objective for this lab was to practice soldering, become familiar with lab equipment, and become familiar with safety procedures for safe soldering.
Soldering Safety
Figure 1. Safety glasses on, long sleeves and pants, and closed toe shoes.
Since lead and tin are the most common combination of metal alloy used in soldering, rosin flux is present. Lead, tin, and rosin flux can cause minor eye and respiratory irritation. In addition, the soldering iron reaches incredibly high temperatures. To ensure I was following safe protocols, the following precautions were required:
Tools and Equipment
Figure 2. Soldering station
Main Tasks
Lap Joints
After acquiring all safety and tool equipment, I cut 20 AWG wire in half and then stripped the wire about 0.5 inches from the end.
Next, I set up our station, figure 2, plugged the soldering iron in, turned it on, and set the dial to ‘4’. While it was heating up, I used Reverse Osmosis (RO) water to dampen the sponge. I used RO water instead of regular tap water because the water in Indiana is considered hard water. It has a high percentage of calcium and magnesium that will erode and damage the soldering iron and wire.
After the soldering iron was heated up and the sponge water damp, I began to prep the soldering iron tip. To do this, I cleaned the iron tip on the damp sponge and then used a brass sponge to remove any build-up. Once the soldering iron tip was completely cleaned, it was time to tin the wire.
To tin the wire, I applied a thin layer of solder to the solder iron tip and the wires, or components, being joined together. After each separate wire was tinned, I soldered the wires together to complete our lap joint. I practiced all the steps above until the lap joint was shiny and even on the overlap.
Figure 3. Two 20 AWG wires stripped 0.5 inches
Figure 4. The two 20 AWG wires soldered together
Though Hole PCB
Next, it was time to solder a resistor onto a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). With the solder iron still on and cleaned and supplies grabbed, a PCB and a resistor, I was ready to complete this. First, I identified the top of the PCB board and then inserted both legs of the resistor into the PCB, and bent the legs slightly to hold it in place.
Following the same steps for the lap joint, I fed a small amount of solder into the solder pad/component leg and then held the solder iron in place so that the solder would flow through and ‘volcano’.
I continued to practice these steps until I was satisfied with my work and got the instructor's sign-off.
Figure 5. Solder showing the volcano through the PCB
Figure 6. Back of solder on the PCB board
Once both of these objectives were completed, I returned all components, tools, and equipment to their proper location and also cleaned up my station.
Reflection and Self-Assessment
Before this lab, I had completed one solder before and had some information about what soldering is and how to do it. However, following this lab, I am more confident in my abilities to replicate what I did in the steps above.
Three things I learned
Two things that made me curious/confused
What is an important thing I learned in this lab?
I think the most important thing I can take away from the soldering lab is learning how to solder a resistor onto a PCB. PCBs are a fundamental component in UAS and are used to ensure consistent power and flow. In the UAS industry, I will use this skill often.
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