Let us go back in time and see how soldering developed and came into existence

Metals had no use till the time the technology came into being. The whole line of items such as jewellery, equipments, weapons and tools could not be produced till the time man found out how to fix or join together two different pieces of metal. While the question of who invented soldering still remains a mystery, but there is a very well known fact that in ancient times about 5000 years ago, the goldsmiths in Egypt knew the art of sticking together pieces of metals. There was no other way that they left a beautiful collection of handicrafts at that time. There was certainly some use of solder bars, wires etc. to come up with such creations.

Then, another leap came around 4000 years ago, when man first discovered that tin can be effectively used for soldering. From this point, the art of soldering has only seen the upswing. This was discovered and it went on to spread the knowledge in Mediterranean and to Romans, Spaniards, Tunesians and the list goes on and on. This passing on led to further great improvements and developments in the technology. Like it is said, the more the merrier.

While no single culture or time can be declared as more beneficial than the other, but there are some instances that shows the level of contribution that different cultures had made to this technology. For instance, people saw Romans who went on to make water pipes that were nearly 400 km long made with lead metal. This was coupled with some great artwork of goldsmiths and armourers.

  

At present, we can see that soldering has developed into a separate stream of engineering in the electronics field. The skill of soldering has reached an altogether different level - technology has given various tools such as solder sticks, solder bars, wires, fluxes etc. The electronic industry has done wonders for the world today and this would not have been possible without the art of soldering that has been passed on since centuries. This is why people do not underestimate the power of soldering.

All you need to know about soldering and its applications

The whole world is made up with numerous big things constructed by engineers. It consists of huge buildings, machinery, automotives, electronics and so on. Every process is elaborate and is made up of a lot of activities. Joining of two metals is a very common activity here and this is known as soldering. It is very common to see joining of same or different metals while manufacturing and building activities. Soldering has been used interchangeably with welding but this is completely incorrect. The two processes are different as welding involves melting of pieces while soldering does not.

In the past, solder sticks and solder bars were made up of lead but with increasing pressure of environmental concerns, these are now being replaced with lead-free alloys for use in electronics and plumbing activities. There are many soldering products that you may have heard of but may not know their exact usage and features. Some of the common types of products are given below:

·         Solder sticks are most commonly used for electronics and these easily dissolve the metals gold and silver. These are also highly resistant to water and moisture

·         Solder wires also come with different levels of thickness as per the requirements of hand soldering. These are used as lead free which is a bit difficult for hand soldering than lead wires but these are environmentally friendly

·         Solder bars are thicker than wires and are preferred for use by the plumbers

Besides the above mentioned products, solder flux is also very famous. In the electronics industry, rosin flux were used that were found to be hazardous and now water soluble flux is used that can be removed by detergent very easily. These solders are extensively used and it is used for joining two or more glasses. The glass and ceramics are also joined with glass solders. The filler materials are found in different alloys for applications in different industries. With changing time and needs, the materials will keep changing and you will see many new and advanced techniques in the coming times.