Soldering iron or soldering station
Soldering iron or a soldering station? - When the next project is coming up and the new microcontroller has no connectors, this question always arises. We help you to find the right product for your soldering work!
What do I need a soldering iron or soldering station for?
Connections between electrical components or cables are not always feasible with alligator clips, sometimes more stable connections are necessary. These connections are made with solder. For this you need a soldering iron.
The soldering iron is a tool whose tip generates such a high temperature that the solder is melted. The solder drips onto the area to be joined, thus connecting the electronic components. When the liquid solder cools, it becomes hard and the electronic components, or conductive cables, are firmly joined together.
What to look for when buying a soldering iron?
When it comes to choosing the right soldering iron or station, it's the hard facts that count, and you should pay attention to them when making a purchase:
- The power of the soldering iron in watts.
A higher wattage means more power. This also applies to soldering stations. Soldering stations with higher wattage also mean more power for longer working hours. A 60- to 100-watt output for electronic soldering stations is sufficient for most tasks.
- The heat-up time
A fast heat-up time is defined as soldering irons that heat up to 300 degrees in under 200 seconds. Of course, there are also models that reach their working temperature in less time. For hobbyists, however, slower heating times, from 200 seconds upwards, are perfectly adequate.
However, anyone who repeatedly starts the soldering iron for a short time in between will quickly become annoyed by a heating time of over 200 seconds.
- The maximum achievable working temperature
At 315 °C, the solder can be melted without further ado. This is sufficient for most projects. When taking solder that has been previously soldered and is now to be detached again, higher temperatures may be necessary. Berrybase soldering stations can easily dissolve even stubborn solder.
- The personal field of application
It makes a difference whether you want to solder in a large workshop or have limited space in your hobby room. But Berrybase has devices in the right size and with the right power for your personal needs and circumstances in the store.
- The price
With so many soldering products to choose from, from hot air soldering stations and digital soldering stations to soldering irons and accessories, it's not easy to keep track of everything. However, with Berrybase's pre-selected selection, of high quality soldering products and accessories, you can quickly find the right device with a good price-performance ratio from beginner to maker.
- There are different types of soldering irons
When buying the right soldering iron, there are a few things to consider, because a universal soldering iron, as the name suggests, can be used universally. A soldering needle, on the other hand, is the best choice for the ultra-fine range. A fine soldering iron is recommended if the tasks are not too specialized.
For the ambitious hobbyist, a soldering station is the right choice; it can easily handle regular work. Different soldering tips help to make the own soldering iron more flexible for all applications and offers further advantages compared to a simple soldering iron as explained below.
Which is better? The soldering iron or the soldering station?
It all depends on what you want to do with it. For simple soldering work, the simple and inexpensive entry-level soldering iron will do. It will always provide faithful service, as long as it is not too complicated.
If you run a workshop or are an ambitious hobby maker, the soldering station is recommended. It is more powerful and has more options for adjustment. Also, with soldering stations, the settings are finer and the handling is more practical. A digital soldering station makes selecting the temperature of the soldering iron even easier and safer.
Compared to a traditional soldering iron or soldering gun, this innovative soldering station is a great help. With this device, you can better control the temperature and precisely set it to high or lower temperatures to process special soldering material. Accurate temperatures can determine the quality of the solder joint when in doubt.
Also, with the built-in protection features of a soldering station, you can prevent electrical components from being damaged. In addition, some of the devices have features such as automatic sleep function, standby mode and automatic shutdown after a few minutes of inactivity.
Whether soldering iron or soldering station is also a question of price and future use of the device. With the right soldering needle on the right soldering gun, everything can be soldered from the smallest SMD component, cables, to coarse lines. Decide for yourself what suits you! We at Berrybase would not call ourselves a Maker Shop if we could not offer a variety of different products at unbeatable prices.
A hot air soldering station can also be the right solution for many projects, because it can liquefy the solder with an air flow of up to approx. 500 °C, without direct contact.
Just buy a soldering iron and try it out, the cheapest products already start at well under 10 euros. Quickly add a stranded wire or two to the shopping cart and you're ready to go. If the demand on the device grows over time, you can easily switch to a soldering station without having made big losses.
Tip: A desoldering pump can not hurt for the beginning, especially if a connection has become so nothing.
Which Maker projects can you realize with a soldering station? Basically, you can use a soldering station to realize any microcontroller project that requires permanent connections. It doesn't matter if you are just starting with prototyping for flashing LEDs or if you are already building the classic DIY amplifier yourself. A weather station with particularly stable connections for environmental influences, or are already active in robotics. As with all projects: Start small and try it out. Every material works differently and can be better connected with this or that flux. Berrybase wishes you success with the right products for your soldering needs.
