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Old 01-02-2011, 05:21 PM   #4152 (permalink)
harlequin2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan View Post
Hi Guys
I have my Christmas present (controller kit) and I am plucking up the courage to start work
(the boss says I have some other work to do first)

As part of the preparation is it a good idea to tin the copper buss bars?

I thought that I had read it somewhere - on the Australian site?
But I can't find the reference

Should I tin?
Yes!
Its a good idea to solder the bus bars to the board as well instead of relying on just the bolt pressure.
I did it by using the big burner on our gas cooktop (when my wife wasn't home!). I coated the pcb area with flux, tinned it with a big old plumbers iron and kept it handy, then heated the bus bars (one at a time) on the gas burner until they were hot enough to melt solder. I then tinned the bus bar and while it was still really hot, squashed it down onto the pcb - I stuck a couple of bolts through the board holes first to ensure the alignment was correct. I then held a fair bit of pressure on the bus bar to keep it flat while it cooled.
The bus bar acted like a big soldering iron and melted the tinning on the pcb, so you just keep it squashed until the solder sets.
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