Advice Please: "Solder-Proof" Material

I need to create a special wire holder that will allow me to hold down
and solder multiple leads to a PCB, and I just wanted to get opinions
on what would be the best material to use for this.

Am I correct in assuming that molten solder will not stick to cured
ceramics(or perhaps a heat resistance glass)?

If so, I'll just need to find a way to grind/form the part/s I'll need.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

Hi, Darren. Make it easy on yourself, ceramic/glass is too much work,
although it would probably work well. One negative, though, is that
thermal shock might cause fracturing.

Any metal that doesn't "wet" will work fine as a clip to hold down
wires. Aluminum is easily machined, but it's also very good at
absorbing heat, and may act like a heat sink. Steel is another good
choice, as it doesn't absorb heat as readily. I've used both.

If you'd like to make it out of wire, piano wire is a good choice.
Sometimes the springiness is a big plus in fixturing, and it won't wet,
either.

Good luck
Chris

 

Thanks, but this must be a solid material.(I'm soldering rows of leads
to fingerboards).

And since it will have to lay over the insulated part of the leads, it
obviously cannot have a high heat conductivity.

And lastly, the material hs to be at about 1/8" thick, in which I'll
need to be able to cut rows of grooves that are .156" in width.

Basically, the grooves would have to be wide enough to hold the wire,
and deep enough to keep the molten solder in place. This would enable
me to quickly go down the line soldering each lead down to the PCB.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

--I worked on a wave soldering machine once; the part carriers,
which had to remain solder-free were made from titanium.

 

Teflon (PTFE) might work here. Good at high temperatures, but a bit of a
bitch to machine.

Available in sheet, rod, tube, in many sizes. Talk to an engineering
plastics company.

 

The other cool material is Corian, the stuff they make kitchen
countertops out of. It's very heat resistant and a dream to machine,
as nice as delrin. And home improvement places give away 3" square
chunks as color samples! Find a place that does the counters and buy
some scraps or dumpster dive, maybe.

John

 

You might want to do a Google search for "hot bar" soldering. This is a
process used for soldering flat flexible cable to PC boards using a heating
element that solders all the wires at once.

 

If Teflon is too soft then consider Torlon. Machines very well,
fairly high temperature, much lower thermal conductivity than metal.
Just made a soldering fixture out of it yesterday. Quite expensive in
sheet form, but rods aren't too bad.

There's also a glass-filled Teflon that's less mushy.

All are available from McMaster-Carr
http://www.mcmaster.com/
which will take charge-card orders from individuals.
They also have machinable ceramics.

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California
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