The need for tighter process control is beginning to find its way into more and more sections of industry. Operations that used to only be concerned with having a soldering tool that would stand up to a tough application and generate enough heat must now deal with this added requirement. Industrial soldering irons are designed to operate at maximum output. For example, our Heavy-Duty soldering iron's heat is generated by wire wound elements that are made with a specific amount of resistive alloy wire in order to generate the required maximum heat or output. Operators usually pick a specific wattage iron for a specific application. Our Industrial Solder Pots offer the user the ability to vary final output by incorporating a high temperature Bi-Metal Thermostat. However the temperature tolerance of this method of control does not always meet the required standards. So the question becomes, how do you make your quality department happy by adhering to tight process controls but still use the industrial strength tool required to get the job done. The answer is a Voltage Regulating Device.
Our Solution - Voltage Controllers (Model V3700) & (Model EC-6)
There are two ways to affect the temperature of a soldering tool; a change in the heating element's resistance or a change in the supply voltage to the tool itself. Industrial strength tools are purchased specifically because of their specialized heating element design which offers unmatched performance but unfortunately prohibits altering its resistivity. Therefore we are left with regulating the supply voltage to these devices to affect the temperature. American Beauty's Voltage Controller allows the user to control the temperature of their soldering tool. The attainable tolerance level with this temperature control method will be based on the tolerance or stability of the line voltage that is supplying current to the voltage controller. If there is too much variation in your line voltage you may want to use a line conditioner to better regulate this current and achieve a tighter tolerance. This method of temperature control using a regulated supply voltage is fine for operating the device from its normal maximum available temperature down to a lower temperature, but it is important to understand that applying a higher than recommended voltage in order to achieve a higher than normal operating temperature will almost definitely cause the elements in these devices to prematurely fail.
These controllers are also ideal for "dialing down" your soldering iron over periods of extended non-use (ie. lunch). You extend the life of your soldering iron and reduce your power consumption while eliminating the lost time inherit with the initial heat-up period experienced when an iron is first turned on.
We hope that you have found the information contained in this handout helpful and as always if you have any questions regarding the issues presented here or would like to discuss the matter in greater detail, please feel free to give our technical support staff a call.