If you want to pick up the lingo of the soldering community and impress your colleagues by throwing in a couple to technical terms then this Soldering Terminology Guide is just for you.
The following is a simple list of common terms and what they mean:
Alloy | A uniform mixture of two or more materials. One of the materials must be a metal. |
Cold Joint | A dull, poorly soldered joint that does not provide good conductivity. |
Eutectic Point | The lowest temperature at which a substance will melt. |
Flux | A substance which facilitates soldering, brazing, and welding by chemically cleaning the metals to be joined. |
Fume Extractor | A device designed to remove harmful fumes caused by solder and flux from the soldering workstation by filtering the air. |
Halide | A highly reactive, highly corrosive compound that attacks dirt and bacteria. Chlorine and flouride are common halides. |
Icicles | Jagged extensions or spikes protruding from a soldered joint. Icicles can be caused by an iron that is too cool. |
Lead-Based Solder | Solder that contains more than 0.2% lead. Lead-based solder has been the standard soldering alloy for the past several decades. |
Lead-Free Soldering | Soldering with metal alloys that contain only trace amounts of lead, or no lead at all. |
ORH1 | A specific flux classification. Composition is organic (OR) with high activity (H) and the presence of a halide (1). |
Oxidation | A material’s chemical reaction with oxygen. Oxidation causes rust and tarnish to form on metal surfaces and also prevents solder from properly bonding to surfaces. |
Pb-Free Solder | Solder that contains less than 0.2% lead. Pb is the atomic symbol for lead. |
Pre-Tinned | Tinned by the manufacturer before the tip has ever been used. |
SAC | Tin (Sn), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu). This is one of the most commonly used lead-free alloys. |
SnCu | Tin (Sn) and copper (Cu). This is one of the most commonly used lead-free alloys. |
Surface Tension | An effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes that layer to behave as an elastic sheet. This effect allows insects (such as the water strider) to walk on water, and causes capillary action. |
Thermal Profile | The range of temperatures involved in a heating process. |
Toxic | Poisonous or harmful. Many substances can be harmless with small amounts of exposure and toxic with large amounts of exposure. |
Water Table | The water table is found underground. Rock and soil are saturated with water that can feed or seep into wells or other water sources used by people for drinking. |
Wettability | The ability of a liquid to spread out over a surface. |
Wetting | The behaviour of a liquid when the liquid contacts a solid surface. Liquids with poor wetting ability tend to form droplets, while liquids with good wetting ability tend to spread out evenly over the solid surface area. |
Whiskers | A crystalline metallurgical phenomenon whereby metal grows tiny, filiform hairs. The effect is primarily seen on elemental metals but also occurs with alloys. |
Wicking | Capillary action that draws a liquid up and away from a surface. |