Cartridge Overview; About Metcal Cartridges; Choosing The Correct Tip Geometry - Metcal MX-5210 Betriebsanleitung

5. CARTRIDGE OVERVIEW

a. About Metcal Cartridges
The soldering and rework cartridges are constructed with a tip, heater, coil, connector and shaft. This
assembly is designed for precision and long life provided that the proper tip care procedures are
followed. (See Section 8)
Selecting a cartridge depends on the following variables

Need for access

Type of solder

Size and mass of load

Componenet type
The correct choice of cartridge will result in an optimized soldering process. Here are some of the
considerations for selecting the soldering or rework cartridge.
b. Choosing the Correct Tip Geometry
Metcal cartridges come in a wide variety of tip geometries and temperature ranges (for a complete up
to date listing, visit our website (www.okinternational.com) for more information). These tip
geometries cover a broad range of tasks from delicate precision work to heavy ground plane
soldering.
1. Pick a tip that maximizes contact area between the solder joint and tip. Maximizing contact
area gives the most efficient heat transfer, producing high quality solder joints quickly.
2. Pick a tip that allows good access to the solder joint. Shorter tip lengths allowquicker response.
Longer or angled tips may be needed for soldering densely populated boards.
3. Pick the lowest temperature tip cartridge that will accomplish the task. This minimizes the
potential for thermal damage. The temperature series is marked on the shaft of the Heater Tip.
(See page 8 for more Information)
Correct
Solder/Rework Thru-hole
Correct
Desolder Thru-hole
Too Large
Too Small
Too Large
Too Small
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