Lab Safety: Soldering, Heat Gun, and Utility Knife Use in EECS 373, Lab Reports of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Download Lab Safety: Soldering, Heat Gun, and Utility Knife Use in EECS 373 and more Lab Reports Electrical and Electronics Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! 1 EECS 373 Lab Safety 1/13/07 There are a few lab tools that you may use to build your projects that require some safety awareness. Following the recommended procedures and use will minimize your risk of injury. If you are not comfortable using the tool, be sure to ask one of the staff and they will either perform the task for you our show the correct usage. You may not use any of the following tools until you receive training from the lab staff. You must sign the log acknowledging your training. Soldering Iron The lab has a soldering iron so that you may make electrical connections that cannot be achieved with proto-boards or crimp connections. The soldering iron is relatively safe, but is hot enough to cause burns and solder spattering can enter your eyes. Soldering Iron Safety Avoid contact with the tip of the soldering iron. It can reach 400 degrees C. Avoid contact with the object you are soldering. The heat will flow to the object rapidly. Use a clamp or pair of pliers to avoid contact. Wear safety glasses. The solder can spatter and enter your eyes. Wash your hands after soldering. The solder contains lead, which is a poisonous metal. How to Solder Preparing the soldering iron: • Place the soldering iron in its stand and plug in. The iron will take a few minutes to reach its operating temperature of about 400°C. 2 • Dampen the sponge in the stand. The best way to do this is to lift it out of the stand and hold it under a cold tap for a moment, then squeeze to remove excess water. It should be damp, not dripping wet. • Wait a few minutes for the soldering iron to warm up. You can check if it is ready by trying to melt a little solder on the tip. • Wipe the tip of the iron on the damp sponge. This will clean the tip. • Melt a little solder on the tip of the iron. This is called 'tinning' and it will help the heat to flow from the iron's tip to the joint. It only needs to be done when you plug in the iron, and occasionally while soldering if you need to wipe the tip clean on the sponge. You are now ready to start soldering: • Hold the soldering iron like a pen, near the base of the handle. Imagine you are going to write your name! Remember to never touch the hot element or tip. • Touch the soldering iron onto the joint to be made. Make sure it touches both the component lead and the track. Hold the tip there for a few seconds and... • Feed a little solder onto the joint. It should flow smoothly onto the lead and track to form a volcano shape as shown in the diagram. Apply the solder to the joint, not the iron. • Remove the solder, then the iron, while keeping the joint still. Allow the joint a few seconds to cool before you move the circuit board. • Inspect the joint closely. It should look shiny and have a 'volcano' shape. If not, you will need to reheat it and feed in a little more solder. This time ensure that both the lead and track are heated fully before applying solder. 5 Using the Utility Knife Wear safety glasses. The blade can break and shatter damaging your eyes. Wear one of the puncture proof gloves on the hand that will hold your work. Cut away from your body. Take the time to think about what you are doing first. Pay attention while you cut. Do not talk to your friends etc while working. Focus on your work. Work with plenty of light so you can see. Make sure you have a good grip on knife handle. Blades Make sure the blades are sharp before use. A dull blade can actually cause injury by creating uneven and or frustrated cutting. If the blade is dull, ask the staff to replace it. Do not remove the blade yourself; however, if you remove the blade inadvertently or break it off make sure you give it to the staff for safe disposal. Other Tools There are other tools such as screwdrivers, pliers and wire cutters. Please take care and use the tools in an appropriate manner. Personal Tools in the Lab. You may NOT bring tools into the lab without the instructor’s permission. This is particularly true of power tools. If you wish to work on some part of your project with your tools, you will have to take your work off UofM property. 6 Power Tools The lab has access to some power tools for cutting and drilling. If you need this sort of work on your project, ask one of the qualified staff to do the work for you. Emergency Finally, if there is an emergency do not hesitate to call campus safety. Campus safety can be reached by dialing 911 on a campus phone. Dialing 911 on your cell phone will not reach campus safety. In EECS, CAMPUS phones are located near the elevators and on the instructor’s desk. You must stay on the line and be available when campus safety arrives.