Hi all,
I was browsing through the tutorials and google images of wires soldered onto pcb for custom arcade stick usages. Anyways, I noticed some of them had this clear-like paste on top.
Is that just hot glue applied to the solder after it has been soldered onto the usb to hold it in place? Or is it hot glue you actually use to solder wires onto pcbs?
Just wanna clarify this.
Glue is added AFTER you solder the wires. They hold them the solder and wires better in place. I don’t have a glue gun so I just put eletrical tape over them.
o ok thx man
It’s worth noting that a well-soldered joint is actually a very physically strong attachment. I can hold the whole PCB up by a wire soldered onto it and swing it around a little without any problems. If it’s popping off easily, there’s a good chance the connection is weak/intermittent, not to mention that it will probably pop off again. Bare some fresh wire, scrape off the PCB’s contact point, clean your soldering iron’s tip, and try again.
Many builders do not use hot glue. It’s really an optional thing. I only ever use it when I feel like the wire is being put under a notable amount of stress just above a joint, to ease the chances of the wire strands themselves splitting and shorting.
Unless you can find some miraculous glue that peels off easily all together at once in a perfect little lump, avoid using glue over a joint you think you will ever desolder or resolder ever again. Otherwise, you’re sentencing yourself to a future nightmare.
Hope that helps!