How To Clean Solder Off Circuit Board

How to Remove Solder from a Circuit Board Pigsty

There are several constructive methods for removing solder from a PCB pigsty. Excess solder filling a hole happens quite oft. Usually, the clog is residual solder that occurs when an existing electronic component is desoldered and removed.

PCB hole accidentally clogged during soldering

PCB pigsty accidentally clogged during soldering

Desoldering Seedling

My favorite desoldering tool is a desoldering bulb, which is also called a solder sucker.

Desoldering bulb

To remove excess solder from a hole:

The printed circuit board is held in a vise or PCB holder
The tip of the desoldering seedling is placed behind the hole and the seedling is squeezed
The tip of a heated soldering iron is pressed confronting the hole to melt the solder
Keeping the bulb against the hole, the seedling is released (unsqueezed) either with the soldering iron in place or merely every bit the atomic number 26 is beingness withdrawn. I've found both techniques helpful depending on the size of the hole and corporeality of remaining solder. In either case, the molten solder is drawn into the desoldering seedling.

Desoldering hole with soldering iron and desoldering bulb

Unfortunately, the vacuum action of the bulb besides removes the solder from the tip of the soldering iron. To prevent damage and to allow for maximum transfer of rut to the next clogged hole, regularly reapply a coating of fresh solder to the tip of the soldering fe. (This is called "tinning".)

Drill

Another effective technique is to use a small hand drill or a pin vise (McMaster-Carr #8455A31 or #8455A16) with a miniature drill chip.

Pin vise used as a hand drill

Pin vise used as a paw drill

For many PCB layout programs, the default hole size is 0.029 inches, which is a #69 drill (McMaster-Carr #2912A247). Of grade, you'll want to buy a variety of drills depending on the sizes of the holes that you need to unclog.

Be careful. Using an oversize drill will remove the through-hole plating that connects the trace from one layer of the board to another layer. The loss of electrical connectivity may prevent the excursion from working.

Select carbon, cobalt, or high-speed steel drill bits, not carbide. Carbide volition stay sharper longer, but is brittle. Therefore, carbide is only appropriate for industrial repeated drilling in a rigid setup, not a hand drill.

Drill removing excess solder from hole

Simply the tip of a drill has cutting blades. The sides of a drill are irksome channels for the material. So, reinsert the tip multiple times if necessary rather than spinning the sides of the drill in place.

I discover that sucking out the solder with a desoldering bulb and then drilling out any remaining solder is great combination.

Desoldering Braid

On the other side of the alley, at that place are people that swear by desoldering braid. It consists of tiny woven copper wires that wick upwardly side by side solder when heated.

Desoldering braid

The thought is that you identify fresh desoldering complect on elevation of the hole (or anywhere with excess solder), and so use heat to the braid using the tip of the soldering iron. When the braid is saturated with old solder, you only snip off the end.

Pencil Lead, Stainless Steel Needle, or Toothpick

Other people recommend pressing a thin rod into the solder-clogged hole while heating it from the other side with a soldering iron. The rod mechanically pushes out the molten solder.

Tip of mechanical pencil

To prevent the rod from condign soldered in the hole, people utilize materials that are difficult or impossible to solder. Examples include: carbon pencil atomic number 82, stainless steel, or woods (toothpick).

Exit the Solder in the Hole

There is i last approach that is practical if but one pigsty is chock-full per component -- exercise zip. After on, when yous want to solder a wire or component in the pigsty, simply heat the wire or component pb while pressing it into the hole. The solder volition melt.

If yous have a better approach than those mentioned above, please permit me know.

On the next folio, I evidence how to make your own desoldering tips out of Teflon. Specifically, I made a narrower tip for my desoldering seedling.