Here's how to use it:
- 1. Unwind a few inches of braid from the coil.
- 2. If your solder wick does not have flux on it, it would be a good idea to add flux to the section you are going to use to make for a clean removal.
- 3. Place the braid over the joint you want to rework.
What is solder wick?
How does braiding work?
What to do when you remove solder?
Does solder wick need flux?
Who is Ashley Awalt?
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About this website
What does solder braid do?
Desoldering braid or “wick” is a pre-fluxed copper braid that is used to remove solder, which allows components to be replaced and excess solder (e.g. bridging) to be removed.
How do you solder copper braids?
4:356:22Tips & Tricks For Using Desoldering Braid - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt's best to apply the braid. Then drag the soldering tip over the braid tip 8 when solder isMoreIt's best to apply the braid. Then drag the soldering tip over the braid tip 8 when solder is removed lift up the iron. And braid at the same time always lift up the braid.
How do you make a solder braid?
0:020:37Mike's Quick Tips - #12 - Free Desoldering Wick - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSimply strip the end back and gather up the wires of it heat your connection and the solder willMoreSimply strip the end back and gather up the wires of it heat your connection and the solder will wick itself up into the wire and your component will come free I never buy solder wicks anymore.
Why is it important to use solder wick properly?
Solder wick is especially useful if you need to remove solder from a circuit board or components. If you're new to soldering, you should have solder wick ready in case you need to correct any mistakes you make.
Is it better to solder or twist wires?
Twisting wires (I am assuming 120/240v electrical wiring) and taping over them is NOT an approved method of connecting wires together. Don't do it. Soldering is an acceptable way to make an electrical connections. However, it must be done to code and few people know how to do it.
What is copper braid used for?
Braided copper strip is in demand in the electrical industry because it is tough and can be handled easily. It is used for a wide variety of applications such as bonding straps, grounding, for protective coverings, and for cable shielding. Copper wire braid is often made from tinned copper.
Do I need flux to Desolder?
You will need to add your own flux as you desolder. Unfluxed wick has a part number that starts with 1830 through 1833.
What can I use to absorb solder?
0:362:18How to Remove Solder - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd place our iron on top of the wick so that the wick is heated. As you can see the solder flowsMoreAnd place our iron on top of the wick so that the wick is heated. As you can see the solder flows into the wick. This removes the solder from one of the pads.
Are you supposed to cut off the solder wick before or after you use it?
Yes, you have to cut off the solder wick after using it. Once the soldering wick becomes fully saturated with solder, you have to cut that portion of the wire. Then, you can use the solder wick again.
Do you trim the wick before burning?
In general, you should trim candle wicks to about 1/4 inch before lighting them. Doing this before each use helps ensure that your candles burn safely and brightly.
What happens if I dont trim my wick?
Leaving a wick long means that you'll have a larger flame, which will melt more wax and give the candle more fuel. This larger amount of fuel can lead to incomplete combustion, which in turn creates more soot, making your candle container black and dirty.
Do you need flux with solder wick?
Solder wick is available with or without flux, and with multiple types of flux. Flux helps clean the surface(s) being heated which inevitably helps the solder flow. It is recommended to add flux to solder wick that isn't already coated with it or solder wick that may already have it but it is aged.
How do you solder copper tube?
3:455:05How to Solder Copper Pipe The CORRECT Way | GOT2LEARNYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo keep on heating it up while testing your solder. Every now and then to see if it gets sucked inMoreSo keep on heating it up while testing your solder. Every now and then to see if it gets sucked in eventually. Your joint will be hot enough to accept your solder.
How do you solder copper pieces?
3:024:00How to Solder Copper Sheet Metal - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipDown place the iron tip at the top of the seam and place a solder between the tip and the sheetMoreDown place the iron tip at the top of the seam and place a solder between the tip and the sheet metal let the solder from the tinning flow before you begin to move the iron down the seam.
How do you join two pieces of copper together?
Joining two copper pipes without welding requires you solder a sweat fitting, or coupling, to connect the two pipes. This is done using heat, flux and solder. Soldering uses a flame as welding does, but the difference between the two methods is that soldering does not require heating the pipe until the metal melts.
Can copper wire be soldered?
Soldering copper is a fairly easy task for the homeowner to complete, providing that they follow a few simple instructions. Begin by laying out all the items containing copper wire that you wish to solder; plug in your soldering iron to let it heat up and put on all the necessary safety gear.
How To Use Soder-Wick | Chemtronics
How To Desolder BGA Pads. Step one: Choose the widest wick available. Step two: Choose a tip with a broad surface area. A knife tip works well for this, but you can also use any tip with a broad surface area. Step three: Lay the braid all the way across the solder to be removed. Step Four: place the tip on one end of the braid. Move the tip slowly along the braid to melt and wick solder as you ...
What is a solder wick?
A solder wick, or in other words a desoldering braid, is a braided piece of copper wire. Solder wick comes in different length, widths, and flux types.
What to put on soldering iron tip before work?
Before starting the work, put a bit of a fresh solder on the soldering iron tip. It would help to conduct heat more efficiently to the desoldering braid.
How to get solder out of braid?
Place heated solder iron tip on it. At that moment the solder will start melting and being pulled up into the desoldering braid or being absorbed by it.
What is soldering wick used for?
Soldering wick could be used, mostly, for small repairs, removal of the excess solder in the tight joints. For instance, if I need to remove through-hole components from the circuit board, I prefer to use a solder wick or desoldering braid.
How to clean solder from solder board?
There are several ways to clean unwanted solder from the soldering board: desoldering pump, heat gun, compressed air, and more. However, the most popular and easy is a solder-wick – an old and reliable brand designed more than 40 years ago, and it meets industrial and outer space specifications.
What is the advantage of solder wick?
The obvious advantage of using solder wick is a quicker wicking, which means significant reduction of solder removal/repair time. Having said that, risks reduction of damaging the board by the heat is also a bonus.
When desoldering, where should the soldering iron tip be?
And the most important: when desoldering, move the soldering iron tip over the braid, not the board or pad.
How to use flux in soldering braid?
If your soldering braid does not contain flux, then you can apply it by dipping the section of the braid you will use into the flux. Here's how to use it: 1. Unwind a few inches of braid from the coil. 2.
How to remove solder from a pump?
1. Heat up the solder you want to remove with a soldering iron (some desoldering pumps also come with attached irons). 2. Press down on the plunger (If your pump has a bulb, just squeeze the bulb). 3. Once the solder is molten, place the tip of the desoldering pump against the solder that you want to remove. 4.
How to desolder a component?
One of the nicest ways to desolder a component involves using a desoldering pump. A desoldering pump is essentially a small, high pressure vacuum. After heating up the solder, you can use the desoldering pump to suck the solder up and out of the way. Here are the basic steps for using a hand-powered desoldering pump:
What is solder wick?
Desoldering braid, or solder wick, is a nice desoldering method used to essentially soak up unwanted solder. It comes in a coil of braided together strands of wire. Because copper conducts heat well, and solder is attracted to heat, by heating up the braid you can draw the solder off your part and into the braid.
How to get solder out of holes?
Tip (edit): If you need to get excess solder out of holes, try sticking something like a safety pin or needle through to clear out the through-holes. Using the tip of the soldering iron will remove the copper plating from the PCB.
What to do if you have a soldering iron?
If all you have is a soldering iron, then your only option is to heat up the solder and fiddle with it until you can get the components out. Here's what you can do:
How to remove solder without a soldering iron?
Using a heat gun is another way to remove solder without the use of a soldering iron. Basically, it heats up the solder enough to be able to remove the components. Using a hot air station is a slightly more professional and expensive way of doing this, as it is basically a heat gun specifically meant for desoldering.
How to remove solder from wick?
Step one: Choose the widest wick available . Step two: Choose a tip with a broad surface area. A knife tip works well for this, but you can also use any tip with a broad surface area. Step three: Lay the braid all the way across the solder to be removed . Step Four: place the tip on one end of the braid.
How to solder a braid?
Step Two: Place the tip at an angle that maximizes heat transfer through the braid to the solder. Use a clean tip that you have just tinned with fresh solder to maximize heat transfer.
How to use a sodering wick?
Steps to using sodering wick: Step one: Choose the appropriate size of wick and soldering tip for the solder to be removed. Choose a width of wick that is similar in size to the glob of solder to be removed. Using wick with a significantly different width will make the solder removal more difficult.
Why use wick on circuit boards?
It is commonly used to aid in removing faulty components, to correct solder bridging, or for any other reason that solder needs to be removed. Wick is used by everyone from massive printed circuit board factories all the way to beginning hobbyists.
How to make wick work faster?
Tip: Adding a little extra flux to the joint before applying heat can make the job even easier and faster. This will also help to make an older spool of wick work like new.
What is the part number of an unfluxed wick?
You will need to add your own flux as you desolder in order. Unfluxed wick has a part number that starts with 75- in the Soder-Wick line.
What to do if playback doesn't begin?
If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.
How to desolder a circuit board?
Step 1: Heat. Go get some desoldering braid and unwind a few inches from the packaging. Place the exposed desoldering braid over the solder joint on the circuit board that you want to desolder. Press down on top of the desoldering braid with your soldering iron until you see and/or feel the solder beneath the braid start to liquify and flow.
Why is desoldering important?
Desoldering helps you undo all of those terrible soul-crushing soldering mistakes. Desoldering becomes an important skill to possess, because you will need to be able to do it to remove the servo controller boards.
How to remove solder from braid?
As soon as the solder starts to liquify, count to two and then remove the soldering iron and lift away the braid by gripping its container (and not the exposed metal braid). The metal is hot, so be careful!
Why was this written for Simple Bots?
This was originally written for Simple Bots, just so people had the basic overview to desolder a servo controller board. I was keeping it short and to the point.
Should you cover solder suckers?
You should cover solder suckers too Randy :) They often clean the hole out more cleanly than braid will. Cheaper than miles of braid too.
Can you use flux braid with solder braid?
Solder braid works much better with flux. Some come pre-impregnated, but if not , it's simple to dip.
Desoldering Braids with Flux Core
These braids have a flux core for lead-free and electrical solder applications. Place a braid and a hot iron tip over unwanted solder and the braid absorbs the molten solder. Product regulations restrict sales to the listed jurisdictions/areas.
Desoldering Braids without Flux Core
Without a flux core, these braids allows you to choose the flux that works best for your application. Place a braid and a hot iron tip over unwanted solder and the braid absorbs the molten solder.
What is solder wick?
For small projects solder wick or desoldering braid is here to save the day. What it is: Braided pieces of copper wire, typically anywhere from 18-42 AWG. This is ideal to use when you need to get as much solder off as possible for a bridged joint, or removing a component.
How does braiding work?
The braid heats up and encourages the solder to “wick” into it. When it starts to work, you will actually be able to see the solder being pulled up into the solder wick. This also works well for small joints that are close together as you can cut the end of the wick at an angle so you have a small, precise point to work with.
What to do when you remove solder?
When you are done removing all the unwanted solder, cut the used portion off and it’s ready to be used again. Now, this isn’t ideal if there is a large amount of solder that needs to be removed. In that scenario it would be easier to start with a desoldering station or pump, then tidy it up with the solder wick.
Does solder wick need flux?
Solder wick is available with or without flux, and with multiple types of flux. Flux helps clean the surface (s) being heated which inevitably helps the solder flow. It is recommended to add flux to solder wick that isn’t already coated with it or solder wick that may already have it but it is aged. For more information on flux and the different types, please refer to the blog found here.
Who is Ashley Awalt?
Ashley Awalt is a Technical Content Developer that has been with Digi-Key Electronics since 2011. She earned her Associate of Applied Science degree in Electronics Technology & Automated Systems from Northland Community & Technical College through the Digi-Key scholarship program.
What Is A Solder Wick?
How Does Solder Wick Work?
- Solder wick helps to transfer the heat through the copper braid to the solder joint. In other words, the copper braids heat up and help the solder to get or to “wick” into it.
Tips and Tricks
- Below are some tips and tricks that will help you to improve your skills when you need to do some desoldering work or remove some excess solder from the circuit board. 1. As solder wick can be bought with or without flux, make sure to match flux typeto your cleaning process. Flux gives a fastest action and helps the surfaces to be heated and solder to flow. In case you are going to u…
Conclusion
- In summary, I would like to say that desoldering technique is the one you should learn. Believe me, if you haven’t used a solder wick yet, there comes a day when you would need to clean a joint from excess solder or make a small repair or do some other desoldering. Of course, solder wick cannot be used for every job you are doing, but it’s a handy thing to use for quick fixings!