FullSolderComic En

7/31/2019 FullSolderComic En

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So l d e r i n g i s e a s y

h e r e' s ho w t o do it

by : M i t c h A l t m a n

( so l d e r i ng w i s do m )

A n d i e N o r dg r e n

( Co m i c s a d a pt at i o n )

J e f f K e y z e r

( L ay o u t a n d e d i t i ng )

Distribute widely! Download this comic book and share it with your friends!

http://mightyohm.com/soldercomic



So l d e r i n g i s a r e a l ly u s e f u l s k i l l.

I t i s a l so w ay e a sy !

RE a lly, it is! Y o u ’ l l s e e .

So l d e r i n g i s al so lot s o f f u n !

If you know how to solder, you can make just about anything with electronics, which is just too cool!

There are many ways to make good solder connections. I’m going to explain how I do it.

Let's get started!

T h i s i s a so l d e r i n g i ro n .

I t s t i p g et s h ot e n o u g h t o m e lt

so l d e r, w h i c h i s m et a l.

T h at ' s a bo u t 200 d eg r e e s C e l s i u s !

Safety tip #1 (of 3): If you touch the tip, you will let go very quickly!

This is solder. It is made of metal, Usually tin and lead.

t h e e l e m e n t s S n a n d P b

I t i s a c t u a

l l y h o l l o

w

a n d f i l l e d

w i t h r o s i

n

( s i m i l a r t o t h e

s t u f f u s e d

t o

m a k e b o w

s f o r v i o l i n s

s t i c k y ).

When the solder heats

up, the rosin melts almost immediately

The Metal follows shortly thereafter

The ROSIN flows around what you want to solder, cleans the metal, and helps make a good solder connection.

We use the soldering iron to melt the solder and make electrical connections.

The best solder for electronics has rosin core and is 60% tin, 40% lead.

a l so k no w n

a s f l u x

There are other types, for instance lead-free solder, but it has toxic chemicals in its core, and it is not quite as easy to use as solder with lead. It also corrodes soldering iron tips quickly. If you can only get lead-free solder where you live, it’s OK, but please don’t breathe in the nasty smoke.

Safety tip #2 (of 3):

Lead is poisonous. It getson your skin when you hold the solder, so wash your hands after soldering!

I f yo u do n’t w as h yo ur h and s a f ter so ld er in g, the lea d may g et i n y o ur bod y , w h er e it g et s st or e d i n y ou r b r ain

f o r y ou r e n ti r e l i fe . i f e n ou g h c o lle c ts t he r e t h en y ou go in s an e , an d y o u los e a l l o f y o u r fr ien d s. So - wa s h yo u r h a nds af t er sold e rin g, a n d k eep you r f r ien d s!

2



E l ect ro n i c c i rc u i t s a r e m a d e u p

o f e l ect ro n i c p a rt s co n n ect e d t o

g et h e r.

F o r a c i r c u i t t o w o r k c o r r e c t ly , w e n e e d t o c o n n e c t t o g e t h e r e v e r y t h i n g t h at s h o u l d c o n n e c t t o g e t h e r , a n d n o t c o n n e c t a n y t h i n g t h at s h o u l d n o t b e c o n n e c t e d t o g e t h e r .

There are many ways to connect electronic partstogether, but perhaps the easiest way is with a

Printed Circuit Board PCB or just

" T H E B o a r d "

The PCB makes it easy because

it has pads for each part.

If you look carefully at the PCB, you will see lines connecting pads together with other pads – these lines are called traces.

All of the parts have wires sticking out of them:

leads ( p

r o n o

u n c e d

“ l e e

d z ” )

All of these wires, regardless of what they look like, are called

Most pads have a hole in the middle – this is where the lead pokes through and makes a connection to the circuit!

since they lead to the parts.

If you put all of the leads from the parts intothe correct pads for the parts

and if you put all of the parts in the correct orientation

and if you make all good solder connections

then the circuit will just work! This is because the board connects everything that

should be connected, and nothing that should not be connected.

s o m e p a r t s c a n g o i n t h e w r o n g w a y !

L et ’ s m a k e o u r f

i r st

s o l d e r c o n n e c

t i o n !

3



We’ll start with a resistor.

Resistors have two leads and (unlike some parts, such as diodes, which have a “plus” side and a “minus” side) can be placed in their pads in either direction.

PCBs usually have markings to show where each part

goes (and if the orientation matters, the PCB usually has some way to show you this).

Since the word “resistor” starts with the letter “ R ”, the PCB usually marks places where resistors go with an “R”, followed by the resistor’s number, such as “R3”

So, to solder in the resistor, you start by finding the correct value of resistance from the project’s

documentation.

Then bend the two leads of the resistor down the width of the part, like this:

Then place the two leads through the two pads on the PCB for this resistor.

For most PCBs, all of the parts are placed through the padson the printed side of the PCB (which we’ll call the top of the board), and we’ll solder all of the pads on the bottom of the board.

You push the resistor’s leads through the pads until the part rests flat on the PCB

(sometimes you may need to wiggle and tug gently on the leads from the bottom of the PCB to do this).

Then you turn the PCB over so we can solder the two pads.

As you turn the PCB over, you will need to hold the resistor

with your finger so it doesn’t fall out of the board.

then you bend the leads of the resistor outwards at about 45 degrees so the part

won’t fall out while we solder it in place.

Got it? Great!

As I said earlier, soldering ironsget hot enough to melt metal.That means that the tips get hot

enough to oxidize quickly, which

basically means that they get dirty just sitting in the air!

The oxides are an insulator for

heat, so we want to clean them off the tip before

each solder connection so the

heat flows nicely and we

can make good solder connections.

This is why we have a wet sponge:

to clean the oxides off the tip. Just scrape the tip across the sponge gently, then rotate the iron and scrape gently

across the sponge again.

This should make the tip silvery and somewhat shiny – ready

to solder. Remember to clean the tip like this before each connection you make – the tips oxidize quickly!

If the tip is nice and silvery and shiny, you can make good connections.

Time to actually solder! Hold the soldering iron in your dominant hand, like you would hold a pencil.

Hold the solder in your other hand.

4



Touch the cleaned tip to both the pad and the lead of the part you want to solder.

Keep it there for about 1 second, so everything heats up nicely.

Then add about 1mm to 3mm of solder under the tip.

Don’t add it above the tip, since that melts the solder only onto the tip, where it doesn’t do any good.

we want the solder to flow nicely all around both the pad and the lead to make a goodconnection.

The solder won’t melt until it actually touches the hot soldering iron tip, but once it touches the tip, that’s when it melts, and you can then add your 1mm to 3mm of solder.

Then, pull the solder away.

But – and this is VERY important –

keep the soldering iron tip on the pad and lead for about 1 more second since it takes time for the solder to flow around the pad and the lead, and it will only flow when it is hot.

Then pull the soldering iron away, and take a look at your perfect solder connection!

See how easy it is!

Please note that the solder cools down and hardens quickly all on its own. It only takes about a second. And then you are ready for your next solder connection.

That smoke that you saw when the tin/lead solder melts is the rosin vaporizing.

it contains some chemicalsthat are not good for you, so try not to breathe it!

you can blow gently on the connection asyou solder to keep the smoke away from your lungs.

Now put that soldering iron back in its stand while we’re not using it.

The stand keeps the hot iron safely on the table. Most people say that it’s not fun to have it land in your lap!

5



Let’s take a look at what makes a good solder connection.

You can tell a good solder connection

because the solder totally covers the pad and surroundsthe lead.

A l s o,

t h e

s o l d e r

m a k e s

a

s m a l l

b u m p.

If you can see any of the hole or pad

then you didn’t add enough solder and so there may not be aconnection where we need one.

If this is the case, no problem – just repeat the procedure (clean the tip, touch the tip for 1 second on the pad and lead,

add 1mm to 3mm of solder, pull the solder away, keep the tip on the pad and lead for 1 more second, and pull the tip away),

and it should then be totally fine.

the solder is flat alongthe board

or if

If there is too much solder, that means that you added so much solder that there is a solder blob on a pad that is big

enough to also touch another pad,creating a connection where there

should not be one. This can happen.

If it does, no problem! just clean the tip, hold the tip to the solder blob between the pads for 1 second

then bang the board against your work table to fling the excess molten solder to the table

y o u m ay w a n t t o w e a r s a f e t y g l a s s e s !

The connections should then be fine

(though you may need to lightly scrape any excess solder from the PCB, which you can usually do with your fingernail)

I n b e t w e e

n t o o m u c h

a n d

t o o l i t t l e

s o l d e r i s a

l o t o f l e e

w a y.

T h i s i s o n e

r e a s o n w

h y

s o l d e r i n g

i s e a s y.

Bot h

goo d ! goo d t oo !

Some people like to solder parts to their pads after adding a bunch of parts to the board.

I prefer to add and solder only one part to the board at a time. I find this easier since there aren’t so many leads that can get in the way of my soldering iron.

Also, if I add more than one part to the board I sometimes miss soldering a pad, since it isn’t so easy (as you might think it would be) to see which connections are soldered.

6



After soldering all of the leads of the part

you are soldering, it is time to cut off the excess leads. This must be done to ensure that the excess

leads do not bend over and short to another lead or pad.

if this happens, then there will be aconnection where we do not want one.

To cut the lead, we’ll use a

small wire cutter.One side has flat cutting

edges, and the other side has a deep groove.

Place the flat edge down, parallel to the

PCB, just at the top of the little bump of solder. squeeze the handles, and the cutting edges snap shut.

which turns the excess lead into a

projectile that hitsyou right in your eye!

Safety tip #3 (of 3): ALWAYS hold the lead you are cutting with one hand while

you cut with your other hand.

If you always do this, you will always be safe.

y o u m ay a l s o w a n t

t o w e a r s a f e t y g l a s s e s !

If the excess lead is too short to hold onto (but long enough to potentially short out to something on your PCB),

then position the wire cutter, hold your fingers over the lead,

t h i s w i l l k e e p t h e e x c e s s l e a d f r o m h i t t i n g a n y o n e i n t h e e y e ( o r s h o r t i n g o u t s o m e w h e r e o n y o u r p r o j e c t )

and then squeeze.

Leads that are already very short, such as IC sockets, do not need to be cut – they have leads that are too short to bend over and make shorts.

If you make a mistake, it is totally OK. All mistakes are fixable (though some are easier than others).

And making mistakes is how we learn to become better at everything we do.

While soldering is easy, unsolderingtakes lots of practice. And if you

make a mistake, you get to have some practice!

7



As you solder more, you will pick up

many tips and tricks that will make soldering even easier.

But you are now totally ready to solder just about anything!

If you like soldering, and want to solder well, you’ll want to buy some good tools.

But you do not need to spend a lot of money to get them.

You can buy a decent soldering iron (in the shape of a long, fat

pencil) for about US$15

You’ll need a

soldering iron stand that fits a

wet sponge, which will cost you

about US$6

If you really want to get fancy, or if you think you will

be soldering lots, or soldering a bunch of small

thingsyou can buy a decent soldering station, complete

with a stand and sponge for about US$60

Then you’ll need an

OK wire cutter, for another US$6

Buy a pound roll (or a 500g

roll) of decent solder

for about US$35 and you’ll be set for years of satisfying soldering

i f y o u c a n

g e t i t, I

r e c o m m e

n d

6 0 / 4 0 t i n /

l e a d w i t

h

r o s i n c o r

e

( a s I m e n t i

o n e d b e f

o r e,

l e a d - f r e

e s o l d e r w i l l

w o r k

f i n e, b u

t i t i s n o t a s e a s

y t o

w o r k w i t

h ).

You really don’t need more But you might also want long nose pliers (about US$6) and wire strippers

(about US$10). (And safety glasses can be bought for as little as US$2.)

T h i s c

o m i c i

s p a r t

o f

a b o o

k a b o

u t

H o w t o M a k e

C o o l T h i n g s

w i t h M i c r o -

c o n

t r o l l e r s

( F o r P e o p

l e W h

o

K n o w

N o t h i n

g )

b y M i t c h A l t m a n

a n d J e f f K e y z e r,

t o b e

p u b l i

s h e d

b y

N o S t a r c h P r e s s. Narration by Mitch Altman

http://cornfieldelectronics.com

COmics adaptation by Andie Nordgren http://log.andie.se

Edited by Jeff Keyzer http://mightyohm.com

Translate it, use it, spread it, color it, teach with it! http://mightyohm.com/soldercomic

Distribute widely!

Enjoy!

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