Soldering Iron Tips | RS
Recently searched

    Soldering Iron Tips

    Soldering iron tips transfer heat from a soldering iron into solder so that it melts and can flow into the joint between two components or workpieces. They’re also sometimes referred to as ‘bits’.

    To protect your soldering iron tips, you should tin your tip before and after soldering to create a protective layer between the air and the soldering iron tip. Tinning prevents oxidisation and allows for a more efficient heat transfer.

    Optimal operating temperature

    Putting your soldering tips through excessive temperatures will shorten their lifespan. The temperature of the tip will decrease as the soldering iron is used more. There is the temptation to increase the idle temperature to compensate for this temperature drop – but don’t as this will shorten the life of the soldering iron tip. If you aren’t actively using your soldering iron think about turning it off or setting it to a low ‘idle’ temperature to maximise tip life.

    How do you clean a soldering iron?

    To keep your tip in perfect condition you should aim to clean before, during and after use. Before you solder, ensure that you have cleaned the surfaces which are to be soldered with an alcohol wipe.

    To clean your tips, use either brass wool (less abrasive) or stainless steel wool (more abrasive). Try to avoid using a sponge as doing so rapidly cycles the tip through a hot and cold cycle. Doing this repeatedly will cause metal fatigue and tip failure. Once you have cleaned the tip ensure that you cover the tip with fresh solder so as to present oxidisation.

    Using flux

    When metals come into contact with oxygen an oxide layer is formed on the surface of the metal. This oxidisation prevents solder from wetting the joint correctly and impacts the quality of the solder joint. Flux dissolves this oxidisation layer.

    Reactivating your soldering iron tips

    If a soldering iron tip becomes oxidised it will appear darker in colour and you may not be able to tin it. If your tip is oxidised you can use a tip activator to remove the oxidisation as it will break down the oxide layer. Once cleaned and refreshed tin the tip again to protect it from oxidisation.

    Soldering iron tip shapes

    Most soldering irons have interchangeable tips that have slightly different shapes to allow for different tasks or precision levels. For example, conical tips are used for fine electronics work. Other common tip shapes include:

    • bevel (aka hoof)
    • chisel
    • concave
    • pyramid
    • bent

    1076 Products showing for Soldering Iron Tips

    Thermaltronics
    -
    Straight Chisel
    MFR-PS1100, MFR-PS2200, SP200, TMT-2000PS
    1.5 mm
    S
    30°
    Metcal
    PTTC
    Chisel
    MX-PTZ
    1.3 x 16.5 mm
    PTTC-7
    -
    Weller
    RTM 030 K MS
    Knife
    WMRP-MS, WXMP-MS
    2.2 mm
    RT Micro tip
    -
    Weller
    -
    Straight Chisel
    PES50; PES51 & EC1201 Series Soldering Pencils
    3.22 mm
    ET
    -
    Weller
    PT F7
    Bevel
    TCP 12, TCP 24, TCP 42, TCPS W 61, W 101, W201
    1.19 mm
    PT
    -
    Metcal
    PTC
    Blade
    CV-500 Systems, CV-5200, CV-H4-PTZ Tweezer Hand Pieces, MX-500, MX-5000, MX-5200, MX-PTZ
    6.35 x 12.7 mm
    7BL
    22°
    Ersa
    -
    Conical
    i-Tool
    0.4 mm
    Serie 102
    -
    Weller
    RTU 100 K MS
    Blade
    WXUP MS
    10 x 1.5 x 27 mm
    RT
    -
    Weller
    RTPS 002 C MS
    Conical
    WXMPS MS Smart Soldering Iron, WXsmart Soldering Station
    0.2 mm
    RTPS
    -
    Weller
    RTP 001 C NW MS
    Conical
    WXPP MS
    0.1 x 17.9 mm
    RT
    -
    Ersa
    -
    Chisel
    ERSA 150S
    5.3 mm
    Serie 152
    -
    Hakko
    T32-D16
    Chisel
    FX-8806
    1.6 mm
    T32
    -
    Weller
    RTM 002 C MS
    Conical
    WDM, WMRP, WR3M, WT2M, WX1, WX2, WXD2, WXMP, WXR3
    0.2 mm
    RT Micro tip
    -
    Thermaltronics
    -
    Straight Knife
    MX-500, MX-5000, MX5200, TMT-9000S-1, TMT-9000S-2
    4.83 mm
    M
    45°
    Thermaltronics
    -
    Conical Sharp
    MX-500, MX-5000, MX5200, TMT-9000S-1, TMT-9000S-2
    1 mm
    M
    -
    Antex
    -
    Hot Air Tip
    Gascat 60
    -
    -
    -
    Weller
    -
    Screwdriver
    WP 80, WSP 80, WXP 80
    0.4 x 0.15 mm
    LT 1SC
    -
    Weller
    WLTCH4IR30
    Chisel
    WLIR30
    4 mm
    WLT Consumer
    -
    Thermaltronics
    -
    Straight Chisel
    MX-500, MX-5000, MX5200, TMT-9000S-1, TMT-9000S-2
    1.5 mm
    M
    30°
    Weller
    T0054451699
    Chisel
    WXP 80/ WP 80/ WSP 80 Soldering Iron
    1.6 mm
    LT
    -
    Results per page