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How to Use Desoldering Wire

Soldering can be described as a reliable way for joining copper pipes

during plumbing works as well as for assembling electrical components

inside a printed circuit board. This creates reliable and strong joints.

However, what will happen when you solder a wrong pipe or component?

What if the soldered pipe or component has no use and you want it to

serve a different purpose? This is simple; all you need to do is to take out

the component by desoldering this solder joint or melting the solder.

Whenever you are Desoldering, you must choose the appropriate tool and

method for removing these components. By this, re-using the

components will be possible.

Otherwise, these components will become damaged during the whole

process and using them again will be impossible.

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Table of Contents

What are Desoldering Wires?

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How to Use Desoldering Wire

A desoldering wire, which is also called desolder wick, is made up of

copper threads which are braided together. Normally, flux is added to aid

the flowing of the solder from the jumper, where it isn’t meant to be, into

the wick. Therefore solder wick is at times referred to as desolder braid.

You can solder virtually everything, and the desoldering wire forms a huge

part of the entire process.

This method of soldering wick is useful for taking out any unwanted solder

after the soldering process. The making of the soldering wick is made

through the intertwining and braiding together of the copper coils.

Therefore, it is termed desoldering braid.

Furthermore, soldering wick is manufactured using copper wires because

they are great heat conductors. As this solder gets attracted to heat, these

copper coils suck the solder up from the surface of the metal.

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There are soldering wicks that come with flux. This allows solder to be

removed from its surface. Also, when the solder wick doesn’t have a flux,

you may dip the wick’s end part into some of the flux so as to enhance the

solder removal speed. Three types of desoldering wires are possible to

serve different uses. These include:

 No-clean: These are low-residue halogen-free flux coated braids

that are spooled on the ESD safe ribbons.

 Unfluxed: The copper braid left untreated and spooled on the ESD

safe ribbons

 Regular: This is the rosin flux having treated copper braids

Things to Do To Desolder

Below are some of the things you must do to desolder

 Intertwine few inches of the copper wire and then create a braid

 Then apply some of the flux on this copper braid through the

dipping of the end in flux

 Place some of this solder wick on those joints you wish to desolder

 Keep the hot soldering iron at the solder wick’s tick as well as the

desired pin

 Wait for some seconds till this solder melts and the melted solder is

sucked by the solder wick

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 Take this solder wick and then take that part of the wick, which has

been covered using solder

 Then, repeat this process until this unwanted solder has been

removed.

When handling this solder wick, make sure that it isn’t touched with your

bands because of its extreme hotness. Just use some pliers to hold as well

as position it.

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What are the Safety Tips to Take Note of During Desoldering?

Similar to soldering, there are some safety precautions that you must

adhere to strictly during desoldering. If you fail to do this, you could have

serious injuries.

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Work with these safety tips in order to have a safe a great desoldering

experience

 User well-ventilated areas during desoldering

 Avoid touching the element or tip of the soldering iron

 After use, ensure the soldering iron is placed on its stand

 When handling the components, use pliers during desoldering

 The solder must not be touched with your hands

 Make use of gloves, masks, and safety glasses

 Don’t put on loose-fitting clothes

 Have a fire extinguisher and first aid kit ready

When Should a Desoldering Wire be Used?

While the desoldering pump or solder sucker functions like the vacuum

cleaner, the desoldering wick functions more like mops. The ability of the

latter for absorbing solder ensures it is very useful in applications whereby

solder splatter cannot be accepted.

This makes this desoldering wick better when cleaning off solder from

the SMT pads as well as removing the solder bridge found on the BGA

pads and fine-pitch SMT which are usually seen on modern PCBs that have

been populated with the SMD components. Though the best way to

desolder the SMD components are by making use of the hot air rework

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stations as well as special desoldering tweezers the desoldering wire or

wick is also utilized for this task.

Also, the desoldering pump is clearly useless for all SMD reworks. This is

due to the fact that the PCB’s conductive pads are just too flat to allow the

sucking out of the solder effectively. It is similar to drinking of soup from

your dinner plate using a straw.

Removing Solder Using Desoldering Wire

Using the desoldering wire wrongly might tear patters from the PCB as

well as damage some discrete components. To prevent problems like

these, ensure these [preventive measures highlighted below are taken.

 Apply flux to whatever joints you want to desolder

 Place your desoldering wire on the joints and place this soldering

wire on a wire

 This soldering iron will melt the solder. This is pulled in the

desoldering wire. Immediately this solder has been taken out, lift

this wire and then iron the board off.

Tips for Proper Removal

Though using it seems easy, utilizing wrong techniques might lead to

thermal damages to the printed circuit board and its components.

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Extending the soldering iron contact to the component or board might

lead to thermal damage. Also, if this desoldering wick doesn’t remove the

solder, try the steps highlighted below.

 Apply a little solder onto the joint

 Also, apply some solder to the soldering iron tip

 Apply little quantity of solder at the desoldering wire tip. This aids

easy removal

 Cut the wire’s soldered tip at a 45 degree angle. This ensures that

solder present at its tip isn’t cut off

When you apply some solder to the joint, the tip of the desoldering wire,

this helps to cut surface tension as well as permit the easy absorption of

the joint’s solder by the wires.

During the process of desoldering, if you need to cut the desoldering wire,

cut it at an angle of 45 degrees with the solder still present, this also helps

in trimming the wire whenever it is saturated with the solder and will not

be able to absorb again.

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Choosing the Right Desoldering Wire and Tip

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Below are some things to consider when choosing the right desoldering

wire and tip

Braid Width

You can find desoldering wick in different widths starting from 0.8 mm

and can go above 5 mm. A general rule says that the width of the braid

must be slightly larger or equal to the size of the pad. Braids that are

smaller won’t wick off solder from the whole pad, whereas the oversized

ones would affect the nearby pads that you didn’t plan to solder

Size of Soldering Tip

This same logic is applicable to the tip of the soldering iron. It has to match

the width of the braid. When it is too small, the heating becomes slower.

This causes the dwell time as well as the risk of damages to the

components. Also, the oversized tips may knock the neighboring

components off.

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Flux Composition

Finally, the composition of the flux utilized for the desoldering wick is

important as well. If the workflow is relying on no-clean solder due to the

fact that you want to do skip cleaning, then you have to make use of a

desoldering wick which has no-clean flux infused with it. Also, if you want

to clean the post rework of your PCB assembly, desoldering wick that has

been imbued with a rosin flux ill have the fastest wicking action.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Desoldering Wire

Advantages

 Simple, cheap, and easy method

 Great method for taking out solder from the flat surfaces

 Desoldered components can be reused

 Supplied on pre-cut or spool strands

 Soldering wick comes in different sizes; this depends on the

quantity of solder that you wish to remove

 The soldering wick’s size can be modified. This depends on the

quantity of solder that you wish to remove

Disadvantages

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 The soldering wick cannot be reused. The portion that is covered in

solder must be cut

 As this soldering wick become very hot, positioning it against its

joint could be difficult

 With this method, removing solder out of pinholes could be difficult

Conclusion

In summary, the process of desoldering is utilized in melting the solder as

well as removing the materials that have been soldered. By making use of

the right methods and tools, you can take out the components without

causing any damage and then reuse them.

Related Posts:

1. Top 5 Best Desoldering Gun to Buy in 2023

2. What is Wire Bonding?

3. Why is Wire Connector Manufacturing Important?

4. Top 7 Wire and Cable Manufacturers in the World

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