This is partly because of the nature of heat itself. Heat is essentially a change in energy within an object. The heating unit warms the bit by passing energy into it. In the process, the bit's molecules begin to move faster and faster. As the bit cools off, it transfers heat into the air around it, and its molecules slow down again.
The amount of time required for the bit to cool off is also related to its emissivity. Emissivity is a measure of how efficiently a substance can transfer heat into its surroundings.
The materials used in soldering-iron bits, such as copper, chrome and nickel, have a relatively low emissivity. In other words, they're not very efficient at releasing warmth into the air around them and cooling themselves off in the process.
A Cold Heat tool is different. Instead of plugging it in, waiting for it to heat up and waiting for it to cool off again, you just turn it on, touch the solder and go.
To a casual observer, this is the incredible thing about Cold Heat. But tools that do the same thing have been around for quite a while. They're called resistance soldering tools , and you can even get plans for making your own online. A resistance tool uses two probes that can look like rods, pliers or tweezers.
These probes pass a current through the solder. The probes and the solder heat up very quickly because of their resistance to the current passing through them.
Removing the solder breaks the circuit, and the tips cool off quickly. The Cold Heat tool might look like magic -- some prominent explanations for how it works even feature magic -- but electrical resistance should get all the credit.
The tool uses the same principles as a resistance soldering tool, but in a significantly less expensive package. We'll look at this in more detail next. Hardened solder and the connection it makes are collectively called a joint.
Stained-glass artists often refer to it as a bead. Resistance is central to traditional soldering irons and to the Cold Heat iron. Electricity moves more easily through substances with lots of free electrons, like copper, than it does through substances with fewer free electrons, like carbon.
In other words, substances like carbon have greater resistance. Moving current through substances with high resistance can create heat and sometimes light.
This is the same principle that makes light bulbs work -- a light bulb has a resistive filament that gets hot and bright when current flows through it. The heart of a Cold Heat tool is a broken circuit that travels from a few AA batteries to a tip that has two halves.
The tip can look like one solid piece, but a dark insulating material keeps the two halves electrically isolated from one another.
When you turn the Cold Heat tool on, the switch closes a circuit that also includes a small light. This light lets you know that the tool is on. But a parallel circuit -- the one leading to the tip -- is still broken.
This circuit remains broken until you put something conductive, like solder, in contact with both halves of the tip. The solder completes the circuit, also allowing current to pass through a second light. Because of electrical resistance, both the solder and the tip heat up very quickly, and the solder melts.
Dry skin doesn't conduct enough electricity to effectively complete the circuit, so the tip stays cool when you touch it. Most solders are alloys of tin and lead. Since lead carries certain health risks, lots of companies and organizations have researched and developed lead-free solders.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology has compiled a database of lead-free solder properties here. We've established that the Cold Heat tool has pretty simple circuitry. The circuit that includes the power switch also includes a small light. A parallel circuit stays broken until both halves of the tip come into contact with a conductive material. A small light on this circuit lights up when it's complete, also.
The Cold Heat tool also has some electronic components beyond basic wiring. A small circuit board is at the end opposite the tip. This circuit board has two diodes , several resistors and a pin integrated circuit.
When both halves of the tip come into contact with solder, the chip routes power from the batteries through that branch of the circuit. So, when you turn the Cold Heat tool on, current flows from the negative pole of the batteries through a wire that leads to a small light. From there, it flows to the circuit board and then to the positive battery terminal. As long as solder isn't in contact with both halves of the tool's tip, that's the end of the process.
Once you apply solder, the chip routes lots of power through the portion of the circuit that includes the tip. The electricity moves:. The tip is as important to the tool's abilities as the circuitry.
We'll examine the tip, including what it's made of, next. The original marketing materials for the Cold Heat tool described its tip as a patented composite material known as Athalite. We suspect it's made from graphite a form of carbon or a substance primarily composed of graphite.
Here's why:. If the tip is really made from a patented compound, another company owns the patent for it. Hyperion Innovations, maker of the Cold Heat tool and owner of the patents describing it, does not own a separate patent for a compound material. Please see battery. Slide the battery compartment cover located on the.
Insert or replace batteries according to the polarity. Replace the battery compartment cover prior to use. Pro Soldering Tool. The Pro Tool's patented technology. Previous Page. Next Page. Related Manuals for Coldheat Pro No related manuals.
If this does not help, or if your tool in any way does not function properly, please visit coldheat. Light-handed operation will prolong the life of your tip. Print page 1 Print document 2 pages. Rename the bookmark. Delete bookmark? Cancel Delete. Delete from my manuals? Sign In OR. Don't have an account?
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