Lou, I've always used 700°F as my starting point. Yes you are correct, there are many different working temperatures. These are determined by the alloy of the solder and the size of the joint being soldered. Typically a smaller tip and a lower temperature can be used for small joints. For larger joints, like ground planes, a much larger tip and higher temperature are used and sometimes even a higher wattage iron to have enough heat to make the solder joint quickly. There is less damage to the board when using a high wattage iron for a short period of time rather than a low wattage iron for a long period of time. Not to mention that the faster the joint is soldered the more labor time is saved which directly improves our profits. Not definitive, but a starting point. Happy New Year, Phil Nutting Manufacturing Engineer Kaiser Systems, Inc. High Voltage Power Supplies That Work(tm) 126 Sohier Road Beverly, MA 01915 ph: 978-922-9300 fx: 978-922-8374 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Lou Hart [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 1:19 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Soldering iron temperature TechNetters, believing that the only dumb question is the one you don't ask, let me inquire - How do you choose temperature for a hand soldering iron? (I'm not referring to the Metcal ones with those special tips.) I am working with our production people to prepare work instructions. For hand soldering, some people say 700 F, some 750 F. My suspicion is there may not be one temperature to use all the time. Any comments would be much appreciated. Lou Hart Quality Assurance Manager Compunetix 412-858-6184 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------