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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tech Tip Of The Day: Questions About Tinning

What is tinning and why is it important to the process of soldering?

 
Q: I was reading the site recently and decided I wanted to start repairing and making some of my own cables.

However, I came upon a term which I’m sure is such common knowledge that I’m sure my question really shows my ignorance.

What is “tinning”?

I know it’s part of the soldering process, but I’m kind of hoping you could explain why it’s important, etc.

Thanks!

A: Thanks for the question!

While it is common knowledge, there’s no reason for you to know what tinning is unless you’ve soldered before.

To answer your question, tinning is the process of pre-applying a layer of solder to a wire before it is actually soldered onto another wire, component or circuit board.

The idea is to apply solder to the bare strands of speaker wire, consolidating them into one easier-to-manage unit.

For example, if you’re soldering an XLR connector, it’s a good (most would say required) idea to tin leads of your wires and connections before making the final connection.

This make the final step of the connection simpler, and also keeps errant pieces of wire under control within the tinned piece of the conductor.

As always, we welcome input from the PSW community and would love to know your thoughts on soldering. Feel free to let us know in the comments below.

 
For more tech tips go to Sweetwater.com

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