Diamond Series Tips are designed for maximum life, even when using corrosive lead free solders, and for maximum heat transfer putting highly productive soldering within reach easily.

Traditionally, soldering tips are manufactured by forming the desired shape of the tip out of copper, then plating the copper with a protective layer of pure iron. Next, a layer of nickel/chrome is selectively plated on the tips to prevent the entire tip from wetting with solder which defines the working area of the tip. The problem with traditional tips is that iron is a poor conductor of heat compared to copper and copper is not as durable as iron, so there is a fine balance that needs to be maintained. If too much iron is added, it will prevent the tip from working well, and if too little iron is added the tip will fail quickly.

PACE's new Diamond Series tips differ from traditionally made tips because we combine submicron sized particles of natural diamond with the iron plating solution that results in a composite, protective layer of iron and diamond particles. The diamond enriched matrix is harder than pure iron and will not wear down as quickly as the tip is abraded. Diamond tips can withstand the corrosive environment of lead free solders and high temperatures far better than soldering tips plated with iron alone. Because the diamond particles are an itegral part of the iron matrix and not a coating, they cannot wear off. Additionally, the resulting surface of the tip is not smooth but is micro-textured that eases wetting with solder and reduces the formation of oxidation. PACE's new Diamond Tips offer extended life, faster wetting and effortless cleaning.

In addition to the patented matrix, all Diamond Series tips feature an increased thermal mass and higher wattage heater to really deliver the heat better than before! These are ideal for high mass and/or high volume applications! PACE continues to lead the industry by continually developing technology to improve soldering performance. With the 48 available Diamond Series tips, it is now easier than ever to find the perfect, high performance tip for your application.

Diamond Series Tips, are available for the TD-100 & HTD-100 Soldering Irons.

Click Here to download the diamond tips PDF

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SensaTemp is a highly-responsive Heat Delivery System that continuously monitors the thermal demand of the work and responds immediately by driving in the required power for safe, rapid reflow of any joint.

At the heart of SensaTemp is a laser trimmed, platinum RTD sensor that is 5 times more accurate than standard thermocouples. This level of accuracy allows for safe, high productivity soldering at the lowest possible temperatures.

As a result, the amount of time spent on each joint is reduced, minimising the possibility of operator caused damage. What's more, SensaTemp allows you to change tips, heaters, and handpieces at will without ever having to calibrate! SensaTemp's unique Heat Management System acts as a thermal-dampener, minimising tip temperature overshoot and ensuring temperature stability. SensaTemp delivers consistent, repeatable results in light or heavy use soldering applications and provides the operator with the flexibility that is essential in today's demanding production environments. Regardless of your application, SensaTemp delivers unsurpassed thermal performance, productivity and "bottom line" cost savings.

Using PACE’s advanced electronics, the thermal demand from the solder joint is continuously monitored while supplying the precise amount of thermal energy required to reflow the solder joint. You can be sure the right amount of heat is always available with PACE’s Advanced Heating Control.

The key advantage of PACE’s Advanced Heating technology for production soldering is that it provides on-demand power to perfectly reflow joint after joint, even in the most demanding production soldering environments.

The direct power approach avoids the problem that competitive soldering irons often experience in demanding production soldering applications, where responsiveness of the iron suffers due to the larger thermal reservoir of a high mass heater and soldering performance can falter as the thermal reservoir becomes depleted.

This results in the system playing “catch-up”, which causes two conditions:

1.Inadequate heat delivery, negatively impacting operator productivity because the operator has to wait for the iron to catch up.

2. Inconsistent solder joint quality.

POWER MODULES BRING PROCESS CONTROL OUT IN THE OPEN

With PACE’s Advanced HeatWise™ Soldering systems (HW50, HW100 and HW200 Systems), you always know the Heat Level your operators are using with just a glance. You select the Heat Level you want with the appropriate Color-Coded Power Modules, which installs right into the PowerPort™ on the front of the station.

Competitive systems use the tip to determine operating levels and it is virtually impossible to tell which tip is installed in the handpiece! How do you really know your process is intact?

Level 6.5, 7 and 7.5 Power Modules come standard with HeatWise™ systems. If the Power Module is removed, the system immediately powers off preventing any noncompliant soldering from taking place. Changing Heat Levels takes just seconds without having to change tips.

By specifying which Power Module to use on a job, you’ve specified your process. Simply plug into the PowerPort™ and turn the system on. Gone are the days of dials, read-outs buttons, calibration tools, procedures, and certificates. Compliance with ISO 9000 and internal quality specifications has never been easier. A “Calibration Not Required” statement is available, by request, from PACE.

HeatWise™ systems feature Auto Set Back & Auto Off options to maximize tip and heater life and save energy. Simply touch the tip to the sponge or cycle the power and you’re soldering again in seconds!

Efficiency of thru-hole solder joints soldered per hour with same tip geometry and tip temperature.

PACE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY

All tips will wear out over time with use. PACE recommends the following practices to maximize tip life:

1. Always use the lowest possible temperatures while soldering. High temperatures cause tips to oxidize faster, which reduces heat transfer and damages the protective iron plating.

2. Avoid aggressive fluxes whenever possible. Aggressive fluxes erode tips faster, shortening their useful life.

3. Always use a properly sized tip for the work. Tips that are too small will wear out faster and tips that are too large will wear unevenly which, in turn, will change the tip geometry rendering it useless.

4. Always tin tips when not in use and after cleaning on a damp sponge. A coating of solder will prevent oxidation from forming which causes tips to lose their tinning or wet ting capability.

5. Always feed solder wire into the heated work, not the tip. Feeding solder directly into the tip will create pin-holes in the tip and will cause the flux in the solder wire to be burned off before it can activate and prepare the surfaces being soldered.

Should tips lose their tinning or wet ting capability, a tip cleaner such as PACE’s Tip Brite™ may be used to restore them.

It's a fact... hazardous fumes in the working environment result in increased absenteeism, employee turnover, worker's compensation claims and lost productivity. Medical research has confirmed an increased incidence of occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, allergic reactions, contact dermatitis and other health related effects associated with exposure to flux fumes. The substances in flux fumes are regulated by international health and safety agencies and many have been designated as "Occupational Sensitizers" which means that exposure should be eliminated or reduced to as low levels as possible. Where manual soldering is being performed or where solder-pots/fountains are utilized, hazardous fumes are produced and workers need to be protected from them.

Fact: Exposure to Solder Fumes Leads to Respiratory Illness

When rosin-based or rosin-containing fluxes are heated, a substance called colophony is produced which is one of the major causes of occupational asthma. In order to reduce exposure to colophony, rosin-based fluxes have been exchanged for no-clean or synthetic fluxes that contain no rosin or very low percentages. While this reduces or eliminates exposure to colophony, newchemical irritants may be introduced into the work place, many of which pose a more substantial threat to workers. Over 95% of the total fume produced from rosin-based fluxes is in the form of particulates.

Chemical exposure from flux fume varies widely and is dependent on the chemical composition of the flux. Non-rosin or low-rosin fluxes use chemically aggressive substances such as acids, solvents, or alcohols in place of rosin to improve the cleaning action of the flux. Exposure to these substances is also recognized as hazardous and when flux is heated, the resultant chemical by-products can be even more hazardous. Additionally, the use of cleaners, solvents or adhesives, which are common in electronic soldering applications, expose workers to chemical hazards.

The human body has been designed with defense mechanisms such as nasal passageways lined with mucus that will collect larger particles through a process known as impaction and ciliated breathing passageways to remove foreign substances from the main airways of the lungs. Flux fumes contain high levels of respirable particles (less than 3.5 microns in diameter: similar in size to cigarette smoke) that can pass by these natural defense mechanisms, and deposit themselves in the gas-exchange region of the lungs, thereby posing the greatest exposure hazard.

FACT: Material Safety Data Sheets for Fluxes Recommend the Use of Local Exhaust Ventalation Systems

The health effects caused by exposure to flux fumes are generally limited to forms of respiratory illness and contact dermatitis. However, since the componets of flux fume are often designated as "occupational sensitizers", chronic or prolonged exposure increases the severity of health effects. PACE Fume Extraction is a key element in protecting workers from being exposed to flux fume.

Picking the right solvent can be a daunting task. There are so many parameters to balance: power, compatibility, safety, toxicity, drying, aroma, price and more. This list is an attempt to simplify the selection process. For more details, check the solvent selection guide at www.MicroCare.com or download the guide.

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Upgrade Your Processes

Look at all the ways your boards have improved over the years. You've improved their performance, their design, the materials and the components. At most facilities, the only thing that hasn't changed is benchtop cleaning!

The Trigger Grip system instantly upgrades your benchtop cleaning program. It standardises benchtop cleaning into a convenient four-step process: wet, scrub, rinse and dry. It gives each technician better control of the solvent spray and the whole cleaning process.

So, if your techs are using "dip and brush" cleaning - and using about 75% of the electronics industry still is! - the Trigger Grip will help them clean better, faster and more safely, with less elbow grease.

Companies using old-style high-pressure aerosols find Micro Care slashes their benchtop cleaning costs by 50% or more, which means those companies save money while protecting their people and environment.

Important benefits from the Trigger Grip system

The bottom line

When it comes to reliable benchtop cleaning, control is everything. The Trigger Grip works because it instills that control through a disciplined cleaning process. This allows for superior benchtop cleaning and reduces reliance on operator skills or diligence.

Micro Care - Simply a Better Idea!

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Many of our valued customers have questions about how lead-free solder will affect their hand soldering processes. Across the board, lead-free solders have a higher melting point than lead containing Eutectic or 60/40 solder alloys. The effect of the higher melting temperatures results in a tighter process window and demands more control over the process. The items to consider when evaluating your hand soldering process and current equipment are:

1. Tip Temperature consistency
2. Tip Temperature maintainability
3. Thermal transfer efficiency from the tip to the work, and
4. Thermal recovery capability.

While many operators will immediately assume that they must turn up the temperature to compensate for the higher melting temperature, this is not true for PACE products. PACE’s soldering systems feature advanced electronics that monitor the thermal demand at the tip and respond immediately by driving the optimal amount of heat into the work at safe, low temperatures. In fact, PACE’s TD-100 soldering iron boasts one of the most efficient heat transfer capabilities and is clearly one of the most responsive irons on the market today. This means that the TD-100’s ability to recover from thermal loading and maintain its heat output is far superior to other conventional irons, eliminating the need for higher, unsafe temperatures when using lead-free solders. Quick and consistent heat transfer also ensures that flux is fully activated and burned off leaving the work site properly prepared for the formation of highly reliable solder joints.

PACE’s soldering systems continue to offer legendary thermal control as well as advanced features to maintain your process. Unique PACE features such as Power Modules and/or password protection ensure consistency and quality in your process. Economical tips and standard features such as “Setback” and “Auto-Off” maximize tip life to reduce operating costs and increase your bottom line.

Lead free soldering is inevitable and PACE is leading the way to meet the challenges our customers will face during the transition from lead containing to lead free soldering. PACE Incorporated is pleased to introduce environmentally friendly soldering tips that are designed for 100% compatibility with lead free solders. All of PACE’s soldering and component removal tips are now tinned with lead free solder (SN 96.5%, Ag 3%, Cu 0.7%). Because more aggressive fluxes are commonly required when using lead-free solders , we have also optimized the iron plating on our tips to maximize thermal transfer while providing for the longest life possible. Additionally, PACE is constantly researching methods to improve tip life and reduce manufacturing costs. Choosing PACE is building in future cost reductions into your process!

When reworking area array components with lead free solder, the greatest enhancement to existing equipment is the use of nitrogen for reflow. All PACE area array rework systems come standard with nitrogen capability!

There is more to the story of lead free than just the impact on hand soldering operations . The main driver behind the “lead free” initiatives is to protect our environment. PACE’s advanced tip manufacturing facility uses only environmentally friendly materials such as trivalent chrome as opposed to hexavalent chrome, which is a known carcinogen and environmental contaminant. Our state of the art treatment facility leaves our waste-water cleaner than our supply water! Also, to reduce the amount of lead that is deposited in landfills around the world, all of PACE’s products will be made with lead free electronics assemblies by July 2006. For more information on lead free soldering or PACE’s leading efforts in the industry, contact your local PACE representative or call PACE directly.