Alternative To Desoldering Wick

[Tabita Knezevic]

Solderwick is composed of copper threads braided together. Flux is normally added to help the solder flow from where it is not supposed to be (the jumper) to the wick. Hence, solder wick is sometimes called desolder braid. Yes, you really can solder anything, and solder wick is a large part of the process.

I completely agree, I thought that I would probably never use this, but since I heard so much I got a role. This stuff is amazing, I accidentally put a good glob of solder on the the connector and took the solder wick and with some heat on the glob from the soldering iron, it was gone. Saved by the wick.

For whatever it's worth, it may not be as cheap, but the TechSpray wick you sell is 100% made right here in the US. I live in Amarillo, TX and have walked through their wick production line. They have a long machine that braids it and draws it down. It's fluxed and put onto these huge spools with thousands of feet of wick on them. There is a lady who sits there and hand winds each of the small quantity spools. They even do their own labels.

As a hobbyist, at least sometimes I get to make a decision about where my parts and supplies are sourced or manufactured, so if that's important to anyone else, I wanted to point out the domestic alternative.

A brief note on the use if solder wick: It conducts heat. A lot of heat. It is generally a good idea to cut a piece an inch or two long and use that so you don't transfer heat all the way down the roll, and in the process melt part of the spool.As you may have guessed, grabbing it with you fingers during use will probably hurt a fair bit, so grab the wick with something like pliers or tweezers, or best of all, hemostats, which will hold your wick nice and steady so you just have to think about the work.

Just bought two of these on my last order. I've never found cheap desoldering braid that's worked even half as well as this stuff, and I am totally impressed. I will absolutely be ordering more when the need presents itself. This is perfect for my purposes, but that said, I'm definitely interested to see how much better the expensive stuff is - if at all

No, don't spread the wick apart - or it will no longer be a wick :)

Have you tried looking at youtube videos of how to use solder wick?

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If it still doesn't work after trying the techniques in the videos, I wonder if this solder wick doesn't have flux on it (the description is vague, it says flux is "normally" added).

I don't know. I usually buy my solder by the lb and solder wick in units of 100ft. I'm not doing production, but these are supplies that last forever with no expiration date. I'd rather buy a 10 year supply than a 1 year supply and there's usually a discount for the bulk amounts, imho. If you get the longer lengths, I'd be inclined to purchase them.

Sorry to bring bad news to the table ... when I was a kid learning to solder, my uncle gave me some crappy wick. The experience left me doubting whether this hobby was a good fit for me or not. This is just as bad. Seriously, if SparkFun is trying to enable a young generation of makers, and I believe they are, then please do not ever restock this item.

Hi, Some tricks to getting the most out of your wick is to spread out the braided mesh. The wider spread will allow the heat to pull the solder up and out of your joint and into the wick better. Also, cut off the tip, and only use the end. As you fill the end up with solder, cut that off, and start with some more fresh wick. It's actually not too bad of wick. We use this in our Tech Support work bench all the time.

This beats most if not all the cheap wicks ive tried over the years and i take it anywhere where i might have to solder SMD components.Its cheap, does its job nicely and comes with enough to last up to a year if you only solder now and then.

I am completely new to arduino. I have created a circuit using solderless breadboard. But obviously the connections are lose or not as good as a soldered solution. So I was wondering since I am new to circuits too, what is the easiest

Just solder directly component to component. You can arrange your component for minimal space and minimal wiring length. Can be very elegant (depends on your abilities) and doesn't require any board.

It's a perforated board on a shield, so you just plug it over your Arduino Uno. Great if you need easy access to lots of Arduino pins. Cons: little space for components. There are versions with a mini-breadboard instead of a perforated board.

Strip board (also known as the brand name Veroboard) is like matrix board but the holes are linked together in long strips, a little like a breadboard. These strips run the length of the board and you have to break the strips (there is a special tool you can use, but most people just use a small drill bit) into the pattern you require for your circuit.

Yes, both of these require soldering - so now is the time to get to grips with how to solder. There's plenty of tutorials and videos online to help you get to grips with it (though don't grip the hot end...). Don't be afraid of making a mess of your first attempts, soldering takes practice to get it right - and having the right tools helps.

Having a flux pen (electronic flux, not plumbing flux) will help get you out of some sticky situations with your soldering as well. The addition of flux makes the solder behave itself. Without extra flux it can me somewhat unruly. Also some desoldering braid and maybe a desoldering pump can be useful (I tend to use braid more than my pump these days).

One alternative that I like is the "breadboard-like" copper boards from Busboard Prototype Systems. Several of their models have layouts just like solderless breadboards, but are soldered, and so more durable and stable, while leveraging your breadboard design pin-for-pin:

I love these because like many folks, I prototype earliest versions on one or more breadboards and these have the same hole layout, even down to the parallel power and ground rails down the sides. Very convenient and available in several sizes and other configurations.

I have not had much luck with breadboards either. I see, on internet, that others seem to make even quite complex circuits. I can only assume it means I need to take more care to insert the components better and perhaps spend a bit more on a better quality product? I see the replies all give alternatives but no suggestions as to why Saad has problems and how to improve I would be interested to know too! At the moment, I also solder components to breadboards but it is a pain if I have to de-solder. I also use one of those childrens kits for experimenting with electronics together with a solderless bread board. It has transistors and capacitors etc and so I can connect it to IC or other particular components fitted to the [![enter image description here][1]][1]solderless breadboard. The photo is just to give an idea. I have also tried soldering small female sockets to breadboards and plug the various components into those for testing.

I have been experimenting more and reading some articles on internet. In fact, I found it better to make small jumper wires, rather than use tje ready made ones. The ready made ones tend to move and the contact is not so secure. It is nit so easy to make the small jumpers though and needs patience! I also made a small switch power supply board.. I found on "instructables" -DIY-Breadboard-Power-Supply/#CB1TV2QJ70QKF7IIt plugs into the bread board and I can select a required voltage

You can create a PCB using copper foil and a cutting plotter. The complexity of the circuits will be limited to the resolution and precision that you cutter can plot at but it's a great for prototypes or full projects.

After a BGA has been removed, residual Lead-Free solder remains behind on the pads which must be removed prior to the BGA replacement process. Commonly used manual solder removal processes involving soldering irons and desoldering braid (photo) present significant issues when trying to remove higher melt point Lead-Free solder including:

The Time/Temperature chart (photo), from the Rostock Study, depicts the removal of residual Lead-Free solder from the pads using desoldering braid. The area in red indicates the significant temperature variability associated with manual solder removal methods due to the lack of process control.

The Rostock Study compared the intermetallic phases on the pads after manual solder removal with braid to an alternate, semi-automated method. Magnified cross sections of the pads (photo) revealed that the thickness of the intermetallic phases after manual solder removal (3.7 m) was more than triple, compared to an alternative semi-automated solder removal method (1.2 m).

Excessive growth of intermetallic phases on the pads can impact the metallurgical composition of the solder joints when the replacement BGA is reflowed. In addition, the growth of intermetallic phases is inversely correlated to solder joint reliability. As a result, minimizing the growth of intermetallic phases should be a key objective of the entire BGA Rework Process.

There are other reasons you might need to desolder a joint. Desoldering and resoldering may also be required in order to replace a defective electronic component or if you are troubleshooting an electrical circuit.

A solder wick or braid is an alternative to desoldering pumps. Here the copper wick is placed over the joint and the solder is melted by means of soldering iron. The solder gradually flows into the wick and hence gets removed. The wick must be removed from the PCB before it cools down as otherwise it may damage the board.

Soldering is a great and effective way to join electrical components in a Circuit board or any other application. It can create reliable and strong joints. But, sometimes when you solder, it is done incorrectly or you need to install a different component. That is when desoldering takes place.

Desoldering is actually the opposite of soldering. You want to remove a component and desolder the joint by melting solder out of it. Desoldering is merely the process of melting the solder and then removing the joints or connections between two materials.

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