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I am looking to upgrade my iron for SMT components and recon it's probably worth skipping the middle ground and getting myself a Metcal (as almost everyone I have asked has mentioned that they are close to as good as they get).

I was looking on Farnell and found one at a reasonable price but it seems it has no temperature control. Is this something I need or would this iron still be an excellent investment?

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3 Answers

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The temperature control is in the tip cartridge. This is one of the biggest advantages of a system like this, you never need to calibrate it. If the temp is "off" you throw out the tip cartridge and get a new one. The temperature regulation is also extremely good.

You can buy tips for different temperatures, for the MX-500 (What i use) there are 4 different temperature control ranges. For the part you linked there are 3 temp ranges:

"F = FR4 / Fiber Glass for most standard applications. Two other series also available, just replace F with either T or C. T = Temperature Sensitive, C = Ceramic"

When you order tips use F/T/C in the tip part number to get the correct temp range.

I don't know about the tips for the part you listed but the MX-500 tips the 4 temperature grades are 575F,675F,775F,905F.

Judging by the name of the temperature grades for the iron you linked either the 575 or 675 is the one thats not available.

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up vote 1 down vote

You might be better off buying a second-hand STSS power unit (they often come up on Ebay) with the later MX-500 handpiece and cartridges. That's what I did. It works out a lot cheaper and you get a better system.

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There are a number of power units on ebay. Where can I find out which ones are compatible with later handpieces and cartridges? – Kevin Vermeer Feb 3 '11 at 2:39
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You don't need it, as Metcal has enough power and responsiveness to dump the right amount of power into the joint without overshooting. The primary reason for needing temp control on conventional irons is to overcome the thermal resitance between the heater and the tip surface.

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Would this be suitable for lead-based and lead-free solders then? With my cheap £30 soldering iron, they need very different temperatures. – Mr. Hedgehog Nov 13 '10 at 14:42
while there is better feedback in a metcal style iron they aren't magic, the iron doesn't know what temperature the joint needs to be to do whatever it is your doing. You select soldering temperature by choosing among the various tip series. – Mark Nov 13 '10 at 16:07
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You don't need different temps. LF needs a higher temp, but that higher temp is also fine for leaded, because Metcal's can't overshoot. People who have used conventional irons have become used to different temps due to inadequacies of the thermal coupling. Once you have good coupling, you just don't need to change the temp for LF or leaded - the only time you may want to is if using exotic stuff like indium low-temp solders on laser diode chips, and how many people ever do that..? – mikeselectricstuff Nov 13 '10 at 17:13
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always use the lowest temp tip that does the job. There is zero reason to impart more heat to a component than absolutely necessary. The specific selling point of a metcal type iron, and why they are so loved is that their thermal coupling allows using a lower temp than would be required for other irons. This reduces the chances of component damage. Start with the lowest temp tip and only move up if you need to. There are tons of applications that may require a hotter tip, its certainly not limited to exotic components. – Mark Nov 13 '10 at 17:55
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@Mark - I disagree. Using a hotter tip generally lets you create a good joint much faster, resulting in less component heating. – Connor Wolf Nov 14 '10 at 6:59
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