Stainless steel soldering

Stainless steel soldering

Can stainless steel be solderable ?

Stainless steel is a base material that can be soldered.
Sn in the solder and Fe, Ni in the stainless steel join together to complete the bonding.
The difficulty of soldering is high due to the behavior of the oxide coating of stainless steel.

Phenomena occurring on the surface of stainless steel during soldering

Oxide coating of stainless steel has a function to prevent rust, but hinders soldering.
In soldering, the oxide film on the stainless steel surface is removed by flux, while a new oxide film grows due to heat and oxygen in the air. So we have to complete the soldering in a short time before the oxide film grows thick.

Actual work

We need sufficient heat capacity in a soldering iron or solder pot, in order to operate in a short time.
In case of soldering iron, set at 400 ℃, apply soldering point at the same time, supply sufficient amount of solder at a stroke and continue heating until spreading.
For soldering such as board materials, heat capacity is insufficient even if you use a soldering iron sold by a home center. In this case, please use gas burner or gas torch.
In case of solder pot, set to 250 ~ 300 ℃, apply flux to base metal, quickly dip in molten solder and hold until wet.

Solder for stainless steel

We have non-cleaning type flux cored solder wire for stainless steel, so please contact us.