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Soldering tips stand up to lead-free processing

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Apr 6, 2006

Plato soldering tips are constructed from highly conductive premium grade copper to transmit heat to the work more quickly than other brands.

Being RoHS compliant and lead-free brings all sorts of new issues - such as the compatibility of hand soldering, both as part of the normal assembly process and during rework and repair.

Peter Swanson, MD at Intertronics, suggests: "First check that your soldering iron tips are themselves RoHS compliant".

"All Plato soldering tips manufactured since January 2004 are tinned with lead-free solder".

Swanson warns that the higher temperatures and high-tin-content solders common in lead-free soldering processes place additional strain on soldering iron tips.

He says: "Many of our customers report that the tip life of our competitors' product has been badly affected when going lead-free".

"The long life of a Plato soldering tip reduces tip changes, reducing the total number of tips used and reducing production time - and saves money".

"Some have reported five times the life of their previous tip".

It has been found that it can be even worse for desoldering tips, where there is extra abrasion during use.

Plato is the one of the largest manufacturers of soldering iron tips in the world, producing tips to fit the most popular soldering irons and soldering stations.

The long life and fast heat recovery of Plato soldering tips increases user effectiveness and reduces production times.

This is because Plato soldering tips are constructed from highly conductive premium grade copper to transmit heat to the work more quickly than other brands of soldering tips.

This quick heat recovery enables more joints to be soldered per minute, thus reducing manufacturing time and costs.

Intertronics supplies replacement soldering and desoldering tips for: Weller, Pace, Ersa, Hakko and Edsyn, and experience shows that using a high quality Plato soldering tip increases soldering speed and reduces the total cost of manufacture.

Evaluation samples are available on request.