When performing soldering work, it is often necessary to remove the solder in the places of soldering contacts, and one of the solutions to this problem may be the use of a copper braid, which is thin copper wires woven into a kind of “pigtail” and well, like a sponge, which absorb solder. The principle of operation of such fixtures based on the property of copper to be well wetted by solders. Of course, you can use the flux-treated braid removed from the old cable, but it’s rather inconvenient to use it, because it is constantly unwound, and you also have to hold it with tweezers, so it’s a much more interesting solution to purchase a braid from Ali in a special applicator with a metal “nose”, equipped with a mechanism that fixes the coil in one position (pulling the braid occurs with clicks) and, if necessary, allowing you to remove the excess braid inside the housing by rotating specially pens. It should also be noted that there is a marking on the applicator body with the length and width of the braid in it.
To clean the board from excess solder it is enough to press the braid with the tip of a hot soldering iron to the place that needs to be cleaned and after soaking, move the “pigtail” and the soldering iron at the same time. An important point is the fact that the braid sufficiently cools both the board itself and the soldering iron tip, as a result of which the tin is poorly absorbed, and in addition there is an additional negative effect on the radioelectronic components, therefore it is not recommended to use small size tips and soldering irons with power below 30W.
You can order braids of the following width and length from the seller:
• 1.5mm (2m);
• 2mm (2m);
• 2.5mm (2m);
• 3mm (1.5m);
• 3.5mm (1.5m).
The dimensions of the applicator body, as well as its “insides” are shown in the pictures below.
It is worth noting that for the most high-quality absorption of tin with a braid, it is recommended to soak it with flux.
Such a braid will be a great addition to the desoldering pump, working with such an applicator is a pleasure, and nothing prevents subsequently disassembling its body and putting a reel with a higher quality braid there (up to 4 mm wide). In general, the price is more than justified, if only because of the availability of a very convenient applicator.
Cost: ~ 230