3 Methods for Soldering Stainless Steel To A PCB

Don’t Ruin Your PCB; Pick The Right Soldering Method


We know that soldering a stainless component to a printed circuit board (PCB) is a challenge.  This is because the kind of aggressive flux you need to solder stainless steel has the mind of strong chemicals you don’t want on your PCB, chief among them Zinc Chloride.

Sure, our No. 71 stainless steel soldering flux is effective when soldering stainless steel, but you wouldn’t want this flux anywhere near a PCB.  Sure, No.71 is a water-soluble flux, so technically you can wash away the harmful residues.  Or so you think.  Flux residues have a way of wandering off where you don’t want them, and the wrong kind of flux residue will destroy a PCB.

(Stainless Steel might look “clean” to our eyes, but it actually develops a noncorrosive layer of iron oxide on its surface. This layer of oxides serves as a barrier, preventing solder from bonding to the surface of the Stainless Steel without the use of flux.)

Fortunately, we’ve worked on a number of ways for safely soldering a stainless steel component to a PCB.  We’ve written about some of these before, but sometimes words just don’t cut it.

So, for the viewing audience, we’ve added a new video to the Superior Flux YouTube Channel, creatively entitled “Three Methods for Soldering Stainless Steel to a PCB.”

  • Method 1 - Solder wire 304 stainless steel with Superior No. 1261

  • Method 2 - Stainless steel with AFCW wire

  • Method 3 - Stainless steel with AL2627-103-65 Solder Paste

Here’s a rundown of the three methods shown in the video:

Method 1 is the Liquid Flux Method and shows how to solder a stainless steel component directly to a PCB using Superior Flux No.1261 with 304 stainless steel wire. The main benefit of this method is its ease of application.

Method 2 is the Cored Solder Wire Method using a solder iron to preheat the stainless steel component and introduce a cored solder wire, our proprietary AFCW solder wire, to the fluxed area of the stainless steel component. This allows you to directly apply solder to a spot more easily.

Method 3 is the Solder Paste Method shows how to use Superior Flux solder paste AL2627-103-65 Solder Paste and a solder iron to attach the stainless steel component to the PCB. The solder paste combines both the solder and flux which allows for a very precise application.

All three methods easy to learn and products are available directly from Superior Flux Mfg. Co. or one of our friendly distributors. Feel free to contact us at +1 440-349-3000 or by email: info@superiorflux.com with your questions or to place an order.

We have many other useful demonstration videos posted on Superior Flux’s YouTube channel. Our goal is simply to help our customers to use soldering, brazing and welding flux to solve your metal joining challenges: Superior Flux YouTube Channel

Products Featured:

1
1

304 Wire

Interested in Purchasing?

•Purchase from a distributor: Click the link to find a distributor

•Purchase directly from Superior Flux: Please call or email Superior Flux to place your order info@superiorflux.com

Please include in your email the product name, quantity and size you would like to purchase