For PIEK, the go-to educational centre for the electronic interconnect industry,continual cooperation with customers and other stakeholders is the basis of the corporate philosophy.

This also goes for Weller, the expert in anything related to manual soldering. Weller is a subsidiary of the Apex Tools Group, which has over 7,000 employees spread over more than 30 countries. Both Weller and PIEK are active worldwide and have been cooperating for many years.

What is the long-standing cooperation like and how do both partners benefit? We asked Ms Anke Schneewolf, Sr. Manager Global Marketing Communication for Weller, and we also discussed the latest soldering equipment.

Ms Schneewolf explains that the cooperation between Weller and PIEK already dates back many years. PIEK has given IPC training courses at Weller’s facilities ever since. Joint talks revealed that they shared the same target groups. Initially, Weller was a family business, just as PIEK still is to this day. Weller has been active for more than 75 years and PIEK for almost 60 years. These days Weller is part of a bigger corporation. Both companies attach great value to quality criteria and consider trust and open communication crucial to good cooperation. This all means that there are plenty of similarities and that both partners are complementary and share the benefits equally.

A few years ago the cooperation was extended. Since then PIEK has been using Weller soldering stations in various soldering courses. This allows participants to enhance their knowledge with the help of the most advanced soldering stations.

Ms Schneewolf also made it clear why the latest Weller soldering station, called WXsmart, is in a league of its own. The soldering platform was launched in 2022 and is an intuitive soldering station that covers the entire spectrum of manual soldering.

Managing the entire soldering process from the soldering tip to the station was never as easy and productive as with the all-in-one WXsmart soldering platform. The Wxsmart offers maximum connectivity and traceability retaining the highest quality. It is the first manual soldering station with cyber protection to prevent costly downtime. The all-in-one soldering station is suitable for any soldering task or challenge, irrespective of whether it is a tiny soldering job, a standard thing or a heavy application. The station always gets the job done.

With the Wxair rework module, which can be placed underneath, the soldering station can be extended to become a fully fledged rework station. The station has 300W, two soldering channels, one air channel and a vacuum channel. A total of 16 tools can be hooked up to the Wxsmart. As there is no need for an extra station, the investment costs are relatively manageable.

The WXsmart has another few technical marvels up its sleeve. A rapid warm-up phase and stable temperatures guarantee efficient output Every single soldering point has an individual serial number for unique identification. The integrated data storage ensures complete traceability of its calibration history. The latter is vital these days, as everything is about traceability. Despite the high temperatures Weller’s patented intelligent soldering points or cartridges can be quickly replaced without any extra tools being needed. Apart from this, by providing ‘swiping’ functions, the touchscreen offers simple and intuitive navigation, and the
soldering station is completely ESD safe.

Another advantage is its weight of eight kilos, making the soldering station mobile. Mobility is an important aspect for PIEK, because certification courses are not just done at PIEK’s training centres but also at customers’ premises in the form of on-site courses. The latter entails that PIEK’s instructors take the soldering stations to the various training sites. Without exception, PIEK’s trainers as well as the participants in the courses are enthusiastic about the soldering stations.

More information about Weller can be found on https://www.weller-tools.com/WXsmart.

PIEK sincerely thanks Ms Schneewolf for the interview and looks forward to continuing the fine cooperation.