Electric soldering iron
Soldador eléctrico de estaño
- Date
- c. 1894-1921 · confidence low
- Place
- Berlin, Germany
- Credited to
- Ernst Sachs (Ersa); earlier US precedents
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A soldering iron with a copper tip heated by an electrical resistance, held at a constant temperature without the flame of the fire-heated iron. In Germany it was popularised by Ersa, founded by Ernst Sachs, from 1921.
There are electric soldering irons patented from the late 19th century, above all in the United States (around 1894); the 1921 date is that of Ersa's serial production in Berlin. The priority is not well documented.
What it led to
- soft soldering of circuits and cables in electronics
- radios, telephones and hand-assembled computers
- temperature-controlled soldering stations