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AT 209 – Lab 04: Introduction to Soldering

📘 Overview

This lab focused on:

Practicing basic soldering techniques

Using lab tools safely and correctly

Performing lap joints and through-hole soldering

Understanding soldering safety, cleaning, tinning, and solder wick usage

Soldering is used in electronics to create both strong mechanical and electrical connections using a lead-tin alloy and rosin flux. I followed instructor demos to complete both types of joints and reflected on challenges, safety, and techniques throughout.

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🔒 Soldering Safety Rules

✅ Wear safety glasses

✅ Wear pants & closed-toed shoes

✅ (Optional) Wear a mask

✅ No eating/touching face during lab

✅ Wash hands after lab

✅ Use RO water only (avoids calcium buildup on iron tip)

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🧰 Tools & Equipment

Soldering station (base + iron)

Sponge (dampened with RO water)

Solder & rosin core

Wire cutters & strippers

Helping hands with clips

Resistors

PCB

Solder wick

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🧪 Task 1: Lap Joints

Steps:

Cut wires in half and strip ~¼” from each end

Separate strands

Set up soldering station (iron at level 4, RO sponge damp)

Clean tip before each use (wet sponge then metal sponge)

Tinning: apply a thin coat of solder to each wire

Lap Joint: use iron and solder to join both wires together

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What a good lap joint looks like:

Smooth, shiny connection

Solder is evenly distributed

Wires are fully covered but insulation isn’t burned

No movement while cooling

📝 Notes:

Clean tip constantly

Don’t overload solder

Use helping hands to keep wires stable

Apply solder to iron and let it flow to wires naturally

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