Turning on the soldering workstation

There are two pairs of soldering stations, each supplied from one socket marked “soldering”.

Turn on the socket, this will let you use the soldering irons and automatically turn on the fume extraction.

If the fume extraction doesn’t turn on, stop work and ask a technician.

First position the fume extraction above where you are working. It should be close enough to pull all the fumes away from you, but not so close that it starts to suck up small components!

The soldering station consists of two components – the soldering iron itself, and the controller.

Make sure the soldering iron handle is in a safe location before starting.

Turn on the soldering iron using the power switch on the front of the controller.

Set the temperature of the soldering iron to around 300 degrees Celsius. This is more than hot enough for most soldering tasks, and works well with the lead-free solder we use.

You can usually press the “2” preset on the front of the soldering iron, or use the up and down arrows to adjust the temperature manually.

Wait a moment for the soldering iron to come up to temperature.

The soldering iron is now hot. The top, metal part is at whatever temperature you requested. Do not touch this part.

The plastic part of the handle is safe to touch but it may get warm as you are using it. This is normal.

Once at temperature, clean the tip using the brass wool. Use a gentle stabbing motion, wiping the tip against the brass.

The brass wool is preferred to using the sponge. If you do use the sponge, make sure you wet it thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water before you use it. Don’t wipe the soldering iron on a dry sponge!

The tip should be shiny and clean all over. To test it, melt a little bit of solder onto the tip and clean it off again with the brass wool.

If the tip is dull, or the shiny section is very small, ask a technician for advice.

Place the soldering iron back into the holder ready for use.