One of the simplest assumptions about welding systems is that "higher power equals better performance". It makes sense. The higher the wattage, the more "power" is needed to generate the heat required for a successful solder joint, isn't that true?
There is a correlation between overall performance and three factors:
Heating technology (resistive heating and induction heating)
Distance between heating element and tip (cartridge and tip)
Power rating of the welding system (wattage of the unit)
1. Induction heating is better than resistance heating
During our experiments, we found that heating technology is the primary factor in determining system performance. Test results clearly show that induction heating systems outperform resistive heating systems, even higher power systems.
This is due to how each technique works. In a resistive system, heat is generated by a heating coil and then conducted to the tip. This two-piece design has greater thermal resistance and is less efficient than induction heating.
The heating element is built directly into the tip of the induction system. There is no need to transfer heat between separate parts, providing better thermal performance because direct heat is applied to the joint.
In addition, the advantage of an induction heating system is that the heat energy travels along the metal surface. This is much more efficient than heating the entire heating element and tip in a resistive system.
2. The shorter distance between heater and soldering iron tip, the better performance
The second most important factor is the distance between the heater and the tip of the soldering iron. The shorter, the better.
The most obvious example in the test was two soldering iron systems going head-to-head, a soldering station and a soldering iron.
Soldering stations are superior to soldering irons because they have built-in heaters. Soldering iron tips are less expensive than soldering stations, but add an element to the system that physically separates the heater from the soldering iron tip. This reduces thermal efficiency and ultimately performance.
An exception to this rule seems to be when having a soldering iron tip would beat a 200 watt aixunt3a with a soldering station. This is more of an indication of the superiority of induction heating, rather than an anomaly in the rules of the "soldering station digital beating prompt".
3. Power rating isn't everything
The third factor is system power. In some cases, the wattage of the system is not as important as whether the heat is generated by inductive or resistive technology. For example, an induction heated 96 watt aixunt3b outperforms a 200 watt aixunt3a resistive system.
When comparing soldering systems, most users are focus on power. But as we've seen, power consumption is not the most necessary important factor in evaluating performance and maximizing throughput. If we focus on the basic metrics of hand soldering (time to temperature, dwell time, and recovery time), we confirm that the heating technique and tip/box configuration are more important.
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