LED DICE SOLDER KIT – HOW TO?

Soldering is a process in which we combine two or more metals in a solid compound. It’s mostly being done with a soldering iron and a mass which is called solder or   tinol.

Soldering iron is a device that use s heat to warm up connections that we want to solder. If we want to solder electronical components, we need a soldering iron which has the power between 15 and 40W. If you are using a solder station, temperature should be set at around 350°C. Start with lower temperatures, they can always be increased if needed.

WARNING: Temperature of the solder iron is relatively high and can cause burn trauma or fires.

Solder is a metal wire with low melting point. In electronics it’s  made of tin and lead in 60/40 ratio. This is more than enough to know when you are chosing your solder. However, when we develop our product we aspire to enviromental protection, in this case we manage to do that with solders without lead (lead-free). EU by  RoHS demands that all of electronical products, including soldering are lead-free. There are solders that are filled with rosin. He’s during the soldering process acting as flux and it makes soldering easier.

WARNING: Fumes that appear during soldering can be very harmfull  for your body. Be careful not to breathe them and alway ventilate the area you’re working in.

Soldering is easy! Now when we know the basics of solder and soldering iron follow these steps:

0. Tip of the soldering iron and metal connections that we plan to solder  we need to keep clean. Before every couple of connections clean the tip of the soldering iron and with a wet sponge or wire add a thin layer of solder.

1. Tip of a hot soldering iron lean on all the metal parts you want to solder. If we want to make the solder sucessful they need to be heated up above the melting point of the solder we are using. Depending on the soldering iron temperature it can take 2-3 seconds. If needed, and if it is possible, adjust the temperature of the soldering iron.

2. It is time to include the solder in this process. Solder is being leaned on the metal parts. This process doesn’t last long. Don’t worry if you put too much or too little solder, practice makes perfect!

3. Wait a couple of seconds so the solder spreads evenly on the connection.

4. Don’t move the components in the connection for couple of seconds till it firms up a bit. Don’t blow on to it to speed up the cooling process! Fast cooling can lead to cold solder joints.

Set LED cube – soldering set  is made of couple of LED diodes, push buttons, resistors, holders, batteries, microcontrollers and a PCB. You don’t have to follow the steps as they are below, but it is more logical to solder smaller components first.

Let’s start with the front side:

1. Resistor – R1

2. IC HOLDER – IC1

WARNING : do not solder IC because of possible damage, we will insert it in the holder after soldering

3. PUSH BUTTON – S1

4. LED DIODES – LED1, LED2, LED3, LED4, LED5, LED6, LED7

WARNING: shorter pin, cathode, on mark “-”

Back side:

5. BATTERY HOLDER

WARNING: do not solder the battery so we don’t cause damage, she will be inserted in the holder after soldering