A soldering station contains heating technology enabling the high heating temperatures required for the soldering process. The soldering iron attached only requires an electrical power source for heating and the application of solder wire to the area where an electrical join is needed between workpieces. You can find out more in our soldering stations guide.
For soldering on large objects, sophisticated soldering stations are required. These stations are temperature-controlled and include temperature sensors and regulating components to maintain the temperature of the tip at a steady level. They automatically draw more power when the object they are applying solder to is a large one. Some of these stations include a visual display of the temperature at the irons tip.
Soldering iron kits are ideal for soldering together transistor leads, wires or pads on printed circuit boards (PCBs). Soldering stations are frequently used for production work in Electronics Assembly, for conducting repairs and completing installations. Less common, applications include plastic welding (which melts plastic workpieces together at a join rather than using separate solder material) and decorating wood with burned in designs (pyrography).