3 Tips to Follow While Soldering Electrical Wires

1. 3 Tips to Follow While Soldering Electrical Wires The soldering process is critical when splicing wires because it is what establishes a successful conductive electrical process even when the solder has cooled off. Moreover, it needs to be done in a way that can ensure the formation of an effective mechanical connection between wires. Consider the following tips to ensure the best results with soldering electrical wires: Prepare the wires – Only appropriate, high-quality wires must be used if you want the soldering process to be successful. To start preparing the wires, twist the filaments of every wire together, or pigtail them to make them behave like a single entity and maintain order. Some technicians apply solder resin to the filaments to aid the solder flow as the wires are tinned. However, you can skip that process if you are using a flux core solder. Tinning the wires involves melting some of the solder into the filaments using the soldering iron to make them easier to splice and connect. This is because it allows the heat to distribute quickly, and the wires will be able to heat much faster, so you do not have to spread the solder too much. As a result, you are not likely to melt through a wire shielding close to the splice. It reduces the probability of damaging nearby components when you need to solder to the circuit board, too. Just be sure that the solder is evenly distributed between filaments, but not too much to the point where it starts covering them entirely. Over-application will make the wires stiff, and they need to be pliable to get mechanically joined. Join the wires mechanically – Wrap the wires around each other prior to soldering, so it will be harder to pull them apart. The solder’s main function is to not to glue them together, but to conduct electricity. Wrap a wire around another, but leave ample metal exposed over the sheath to let the other wire wrap around it. The turns must sit next to one another, by not overlapping. Follow a proper soldering process – Re-apply soldering iron to solder and then, let them mix and melt to create a solid joint. You may need to add more solder to fill in the spaces and achieve a low-resistance, high-strength joint.