Myron Papiz asked:

>     Jerry -
>
>     I have been following the TechNet discussions regarding soldering iron
>     temperatures in which you had participated.

>     I wonder if you would take the time to outline for us your
>     perception of when and how the industry makes use of the Hakko and
>     Metcal soldering irons.  Is it usually the case that a given company
>     will standardize on one or the other, or is the choice application
>     driven?

OK, IMO, the decision is usually based on some arbitrary consideration.
More often, there is no thought involved, just circumstance. The decision
to "standardize" is probably a good one, taken with care.

My recommendation to you is to try samples of several brands in your
production environment. Compare them in use for several weeks. Let the
supervisors and operators have their opportunity to comment, and ask for
them in writing. Some of the comments could be bizarre, but it is important
to allow the operators to have a part in the decision.

Ask your distributor to quote spare parts and replacement tips, as these
drive the operating costs moreso than the purchase price of the new iron.
Calculate what these costs project to annually. For instance, a $300 solder
station may last 5 years, or $60 per year. If it needs 15 $4 tips per year,
tips cost $300 per station more. Add in a power cord and heater element
every two years, you have say a $750 lifetime cost, or $150 per year.

Be sure that you can estimate the normal service life of the tips, and try
to gage cost and durability of the cords, control circuit, and the handle
will be in use.

Offer a written report of what you found, and select one or two models
(hopefully with interchangeable tips, etc) that will be the "standard" for
your facility. Get someone at the VP or director level to approve this,
giving it "official" status.

After you decide, round up all the old irons you have, and retire them if
at all possible. Start with new irons on all stations, and stock enough
tips to support the operators for a month or two. Give the supervisors
necessary ordering information for all consumeables and spares, and don't
forget things like sponges that may be different for the "new" stations.
Your distributor might even be willing to take by your stock of tips, etc.
if they carry both brands.

At Interphase, we did this and decided on Metcal irons, basically in the
belief that we would have better performance, at perhaps a slightly higher
operating cost.

Don't take my word (or anyone else's) until you have tried the various
models and seen how much or little difference results soldering your own
work. Although I like Metcal irons, I can tell you that absolutely nothing
will substitute for operator skill, and that the most expensive iron in the
hands of an poor operator is worse than a simple iron for an operator who
knows the job well.

Since the type of work you need to do is also such a great variable, it
could be either critical or trivial that you use an iron with a tightly
controlled temperature or a large heating capacity.

There is still a lot of work being done where the iron is not so great an
issue. For some soldering work, a simple inductive heater with a magnetic
thermal switch will work fine.

The industry is moving toward irons that deliver more heat with tighter
range of control, and this is probably necessary to deal with a wide
latitude of soldering jobs, from tiny SMT leads directly on a pad to large
through-hold modules.

The result is  cost of the typical solder station has gone form the low
$100 range to $300-500. Tips used to be $1.50 and can now be $25.

My thought is to spend the money it takes to do the job right, but not to
waste any overhead costs on smoke and mirrors. You can't expect any solder
iron to work magic. Sometimes I see the exhibits at the trade shows, and am
reminded of the slicing/dicing Ginsu knife guy at the State Fair. The real
test is what will the decison cost you vs. the marginal improvments in shop
floor results.

This is not to say I think that false claims are being made, just to remind
you that that Ginsu knife may not be quite so attractive a year or so after
you get it home, so don't spend the money if you don't need to!


regards,

Jerry Cupples