• ChaoticNeutralCzech
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      6 months ago

      What it looks like: You shat all over the board.
      What it smells like: Nasty chemicals but only when hot.
      What it does: it helps distribute heat, and causes the solder to be less viscuous and stick to metals readily.
      What it feels like to start using it: Wow, it’s like I just gained one year of soldering experience!
      What it feels like to remove it from the board after soldering: Aargh… I swear, one more board and I go buy an ultrasonic cleaner. (Some brands are easier but I usually need to employ a spudger, brush, then alcohol annd Q-tip)

      Note that some solder comes with a core that contains flux or some similar substance of that effect.

    • @[email protected]
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      196 months ago

      Cleans and keeps the solder points clean. Prevents oxygen from reaching the solder joint

      • @[email protected]
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        116 months ago

        This is the best answer. It removes oxides which allows the solder to flow and bond with the metal.

    • @morhp
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      56 months ago
      1. It removes the oxide layer from existing surfaces so the solder sticks and flows better
      2. It increases surface tension of the liquid solder so you get a nice round shape and no whiskers and less bridges
      3. It helps distribute the heat a bit. It works a little bit like thermal paste, especially when the contact area between the tip and the pad/component is very small.

      Generally, flux is your friend and soldering without flux is terrible.

    • @[email protected]
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      46 months ago

      It makes the tin non sticky. Heat up a blob of solder for a minute or so to evaporate the flux and then try working with it.

      • @[email protected]
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        66 months ago

        It may seem like it melts easier since the parts have better thermal contact. But the melting point is intrinsic to the metal alloy