I have an Antex HP80 soldering iron and the supplied tip has diameter 7mm and tip 5mm. I use it to solder wires onto MCPCBs but the tip is too wide, making it hard to work with. Are there any narrower or pointier tips that are compatible with this soldering iron?
Well, it looks like you need 7mm diameter tips and here’s some that are 6.5mm, might be worth a shot…
Thanks for the recommendation, unfortunately that tip is too short. The supplied tip goes 6 cm into the iron, so the bottom part has to be at least 6 cm long.
That’s an 80W soldering iron—much too big for doing small detailed work.
But you could file the tip down to a 1mm wide flat in order to get better access. The tips are soft and easy to cut and shape with a file.
A small 10 to 20W iron with a pointy tip would probably work well for flashlight mods.
An MCPCB on an integrated shelf sucks a lot of heat, I got the 80W because the solder barely melts with a 40W iron.
Thanks, I’ll try filing it down if there aren’t any commercially available.
Okay then maybe file it to ~4mm wide blade to allow access but still carry the needed heat for the MCPCB.
Good luck and hope it works out for you.
I’d get a smaller temp controlled iron as well. One of the Hakko style clones that has a million options for extra tips. Only break out that big one if a ton of heat is needed.
I suggest to get proper soldering iron for that kind of work.
Mike
You might have a look at these topics for some good iron recommendations:
How many watts is enough for soldering wires onto an MCPCB on an integrated shelf? I have a 40W that could barely melt the solder, don’t know if that one didn’t work or if 40W wasn’t enough.
The surfaces must be clean and free of oxide, so flux is good to get rid of the oxide.
It also helps to pre-tin the 2 parts separately; flux the part, apply the iron until hot, then insert the solder wire briefly to pre-tin the part.
Do you wet the tip with solder before starting the joint?
Wet solder on the tip helps to get the heat transferred to the 2 parts to be joined.
The iron should contact both parts with the bulk of the wet tip toward the larger component that requires more heat. The idea is to heat both parts somewhat evenly and then insert the solder wire into the junction once they are both at temperature. Withdraw the solder then lift the iron.
With this technique the solder will flow into both parts evenly and leave the proper meniscus to the joint.
If you’re able, it might also help to slightly lift the mcpcb up off the shelf, just enough to break contact, using a toothpick or whatever will fit in there and not also serve as a heat sink like the shelf does.