A wiring pencil (often sold under the trade names of Roadrunner or Verowire) is a tool for making electrical connections.
A small reel of insulated copper wire
is mounted at the top of the tool. The wire runs down the center of the wiring pencil and through a hardened tip, which is small enough to move between the pins of 0.1" pitch
DIL chip allowing connections to be wrapped and the wire to be led across the
circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...
to the next point it's needed.
The wire is coated with a polymer lacquer (commonly referred to as enamel, but not
glass based). Once wrapped the connections are
solder
Solder (; NA: ) is a fusible metal alloy used to create a permanent bond between metal workpieces. Solder is melted in order to wet the parts of the joint, where it adheres to and connects the pieces after cooling. Metals or alloys suitable ...
ed, the heat of this burning the lacquer away and completing the joint. Insulated wire is normally 38 SWG (0.15mm), ground connections are sometimes made with uninsulated wire which is slightly heavier (33 SWG, 0.25mm).
A well ventilated area and/or fume extraction are very important when carrying out this process due to the toxic fumes. Sometimes, where there are many wires, plastic comb-like structures are used for wire management.
See also
*
Wire wrap
Wire wrap is an electronic component assembly technique that was invented to wire telephone crossbar switches, and later adapted to construct electronic circuit boards. Electronic components mounted on an insulating board are interconnected by l ...
*
Solderable enamel wire
References
External links
*http://www.instructables.com/id/Mechanical-Prototyping-Pencil/
Electronics work tools
Wire
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