Abstract: A technique for producing soldering iron tips entails cutting clad wire into a plurality of segments, each segment comprising a core of material (such as copper) and an outer protective layer (such as stainless steel, Ni, Cr, or alloy thereof). Each clad wire segment is then shaped into a soldering iron tip by a cold or hot heading process, or other metal forming process. In the finished tip, the protective outer layer is disposed behind the working area of the tip, and serves to reduce the corrosion of the tip, and to improve the electrical conductivity between the tip and the soldering iron handle. A heater element can be formed at one end of the soldering iron tip from the same clad wire segment used to produce the tip itself, thereby ensuring good thermal transfer properties between the heater element and the tip. The invention also pertains to a technique for forming a protective outer layer on the working area of the tip.

Abstract: A tweezer-like heater structure includes a pair of arms that can be pivoted towards one another and a pair of legs having ferromagnetic temperature self regulating Curie point heaters at the ends of the legs, the legs being removably connectable to electrical connectors located in the arms whereby current is supplied to coils that energize the heaters. Heaters of different temperatures are provided by choosing heaters with ferromagnetic materials having different Curie temperatures. The structure is used as a soldering iron by inserting a heater with a proper shape in one arm and short circuitry the connector in the other arm.