Can someone help me solder?

[kramer5150]

Can someone please help me out? I'm down to the last step on this project. The final wire 2-3 more beads of solder and I'm home free... But I can't solder onto aluminum to make my electrical contact. I need to run a small bead of solder around the - contact rim of the driver to the pill.

Is it even possible to solder onto Al?
I am using a 100 watt weller iron, a little solder paste, and the same rat-shack solder I used for everything else. I have soldered probably ~30+ battery packs for my RC cars over the years, so I am familiar with soldering big heat absorbing objects. Or so I thought, this ones got me:thinking:

thanks:thumbsup:

 

[darkzero]

Nope, not gonna happen using a soldering iron & "standard" solder. Google "soldering aluminum". Here's one of the hits: http://www.aws.org/wj/2004/02/046/

When I didn't know any better I tried & tried & failed miserably. I can almost get it to "stick" but can easily break the joint. I never looked into how to do it correctly, I just use different methods when I need to make an electrical connection to aluminum.

Looks like you have room, better off drilling a hole, thread it, solder a wire to ground on the driver, & make the connection using a screw.

 

[Fallingwater]

Build a welder out of a microwave oven transformer, solder a wire to a metal tab, weld the tab on the aluminium.

 

[kosPap]

or press fit a copper ring then solder onto it...is the opening exacly 17mm? you need about a mm of clearence for your shim

 

[kramer5150]

OK thanks.... No dice huh... OK I can accept that. Part of the problem however is this driver inductor coil is just a hair taller than the pill allows, so in essence I need to bridge the solder UP as well as over. So, I don't think its going to work. No biggie, I have other plans for this batch of DC-DC driver boards.

I am going to use a lower profile DC-DC circuit, that will allow the contact surfaces to reside flush to each other.

thanks

 

[kosPap]

hmm that brings into mine a trick I did to fit a 16mm driver in a 17mm socket....

You know these driver modules that are all aluminum that only have a copper ring as driver socket...maybe use something liek this to raise the module lip.

Or you maybe consider adding copper sleeve INSIDE the module case (from a thin copper pipe/tube) running the whole length....