For this learning module, you will need:
When thinking on soldering, first thing that comes to mind is electronics, of course. Funny enough, there's evidence of soldering techniques being used over 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia where soldering and brazing were used in the beginning of metal-working history to make jewellery items, cooking ware and tools.
In the present day, when talking about soldering, we refer to the process of melting solder, which is a low melting point metal alloy, to join metals. Still widely used in jewellery, plumbing, musical instruments manufacturing and when working with sheet metal.
Electronic soldering connects electrical wiring to devices, and electronic components to printed circuit boards. Electronic connections may be hand-soldered with a soldering iron. Automated methods such as wave soldering or use of ovens can make many joints on a complex circuit board in one operation, vastly reducing production cost of electronic devices.
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In this tutorial we will be using the Dicekits board provided by Bluesat UNSW. This board simulates a digital dice which you can roll by placing your thumb on the metal pad to complete the circuit. The board itself is known as a printed circuit board (PCB) and they are custom made for a specific application, but they take time to design. If you want a general purpose board for a quick circuit then a prototyping board (such as a stripboard, sometimes called a veroboard) is what you need. These prototyping boards are cheap to buy but can be hard to work with once your circuit gets large. The skills introduced in this module are applicable to both PCBs and prototyping boards.
The following modules will take you through the soldering process of several electronic components, using as example the UNSW Bluesat Dice Kit! Scroll to the botom of this page if you wish to book a session in one of the Soldering Workshops held in the UNSW Makerspace Network!
Module 1: Soldering DIP Package Integrated Circuits (chips)
Module 2 - Soldering DIP Package chips #2
Module 3 - Transistors
Module 4 - Soldering LEDs
Module 5 - Soldering Resistors
Module 6 - Soldering Button Batteries connections
Bluesat UNSW is Australia’s premiere student society for space engineering. We run projects (such as our flagship Cubesat project), organise industry networking events an provide an environment where space engineering enthusiasts can gather and have fun. Check out our Facebook and website.
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If you want to learn how to do Soldering in the UNSW Makerspace Network, you can attend to one of the Electronic Soldering Workshops organised by Bluesat Society and the Makerspace Network. Follow this link to the General Electronics Badge to make sure you meet the requisites and to book your seat in the next available session!
Check the equipment available in the Makerspace Network to inspect your soldering jobs. Getting up to 50x digital zoom you will make sure that all you contacts are in the right place! Ask the Makerspace staff about the Tagarno FHD ZIP Digital Microscope.
