cadmium coating - i got fooled?

[whiz115]

it peeled off because it has a melting point of 321 deg C, and most solder melts between 350-400 deg C, so cadmium isn't something you would want for a coating on a soldering iron

true... that's one more good reason.

i can't believe i went to cadmium coat the soldering iron tip!..

but as i said earlier "for many years i had no reason to doubt the knowledge of a good friend of
mine who told me about the cadmium coated tips".

I guess it's going to become an electronics chat funny story.

 

[atferrari]

And a regrettable waste of time / money for both parts.

No spare iron around to keep going meantime?

 

[whiz115]

And a regrettable waste of time / money for both parts.

also true... mostly time

No spare iron around to keep going meantime?

there's only a 17 watt no brand soldering iron but you can't do much with it
takes 5-6 minutes to get warm and the temperature can't melt most old lead free
joints, only good thing with it it's compatible with Weller tips.

 

[atferrari]

My current iron is a garden variety one plugged to a triac control used for illumination.After finding the sweet spot I keep it there forever. Since my home is remarkably cold, in winter time I increase the setting just a little and works well.

Finished yesterday a small project after intensive soldering with good results.

 

[whiz115]

My current iron is a garden variety one plugged to a triac control used for illumination.After finding the sweet spot I keep it there forever. Since my home is remarkably cold, in winter time I increase the setting just a little and works well.

Finished yesterday a small project after intensive soldering with good results.

 

[whiz115]

i could do the same since all these years i've changed many soldering irons and 1-2 soldering
stations and i have a triac circuit from one of these stations but the problem with the spare soldering
iron it's the heating element...it's resistance is higher than it used to be so it delays alot and seems it
can't reach high enough temperatures.

i'll see what i can do to resolve the problem and i'll let you know since so many of you interested to help
with your opinion on this funny case

 

[whiz115]

still it's not clear what kind of coating is the working area of a tip... (other than iron) i can't find enough details
seems the outer layer is nickel to bond with the inner iron layer but does the working area (solder area) is
chrome plated?

 

[atferrari]

Pity is that EPE Forum not only closed but became impossible to read.
I posted there pictures of one iron that after some filing I did to the tip got consumed so to speak in few days of use. Material was certainly soft.

BTW, suggest you to buy a new one with temperature control plus two or three different spare tips and move on.

 

[whiz115]

Pity is that EPE Forum not only closed but became impossible to read.
I posted there pictures of one iron that after some filing I did to the tip got consumed so to speak in few days of use. Material was certainly soft.

BTW, suggest you to buy a new one with temperature control plus two or three different spare tips and move on.

it's ok!

a little earlier i found this useful article from hakko that answered all of my questions

https://kb.hakkousa.com/KnowledgebaseArticle10322.aspx#

so i went right away and corrected the problem! you can see in the photos
how the tip was before the cadmium coating and how it is now that we removed the cadmium
and we iron plated it.

thank you guys your opinions were also helpful!!

fact is...you cannot throw to the garbage a 17 euro tip just because of the coating at the edge
and i guess it costs so much because it's all in one heating element and temperature sensor,
i think it is called "direct heat type" it's not just a soldering bit like some Weller stations have.

 

[shortbus=]

Another reason not to use cadmium with heat is the possibility of cadmium poisoning. While I doubt there would be enough to cause poisoning from a iron tip, it did cause a lot of problems years ago, where camper used old refrigerator racks to cook on over a campfire.

"Decades ago, refrigerator shelving was (at least sometimes) cadmium plated and definitely could (and did) cause food contamination issues when used as a B-B-Q grill surface. " From;

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

I remember there used to be Cd-plated screws/bolts sold back in the ~70's.

I belive it was for both corrosion and galling prevention.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I belive it was for both corrosion and galling prevention.

Well, never heard of that! - luckily google has