Skip to main content

A generic seven inch tablet by the Dutch company Xi-Electronics.

2 Questions View all

Can superglue be used instead of soldering, and would it be safe?

Can superglue be used instead of soldering, and would it be safe?

Is superglue a good conductor or is there any alternitive to soldering that can be used to fix a usb charger port connecter thats snapped off the board. would it be safe!

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Score 9
3 Comments

I might sound like an idiot after reading some of these reviews but im going to ask this question because i honestly have no idea but solder works as a good conductor correct?

My question is do you still need a conductor to get connection eg:when replacing a jack on headphones that requires soldering wires to metal jack.I would of thought wire would conduct to jack anyhow??

by

YES, you can use superglue as a way to solder new components, such as soldering wires to the batteries, for example if you hold the contacts between the wires and the terminals together by some scissors or needles and you poured glue on them, it will still make the wire conduct to the terminal, and also protect the wire and the terminal from detaching each other. As for soldering snapped USB off of a circuit board, you could uses the needles to hold them in place, then pour a slick glue on it, and it will be SOLDERED with carefulness.

by

Add a comment

14 Answers

Chosen Solution

As others have said super glue is not conductive. You can buy conductive adhesive which is used when normal soldering is not practical. It can come in numerous styles (in a syringe, tube, or other type container). It is an option when a normal solder job can't be done. It is not as good as solder for many reasons but it can be very useful if soldering can not be done normally.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 10

9 Comments:

Do I need a conduction agent to stabilize the port the ribbon from the touchpad fits into on the mobo of gas range.

by

I've used SILVER EPOXY recently and LOVED IT. It can do many more things than solder. We can't really say one is better. There are situations where silver Epoxy is required.

Silver epoxy is epoxy with loads of silver filings in it. Epoxy is a legendary material. Silver is a legendary conductor of electricity. I's a great combo. It's most often used in surface mount situations.

I used it to create new wire connections to VVT Actuators that lost all wires to a hungry rat that ate the wires down to the plastic nub. It's completely impossible with solder. Silver Epoxy saved me over $4,000 in repairs. It's situated on the engine and takes the heat in stride. Nearby solder melted and caused me trouble. I was worried about the current flow so I got the highest silver containing product, (902?) Let's compare.

It's resistivity is measured at 15.0 ohm-km, compared to Copper's 17.2, Copper isn't quite as good, From here on epoxy has solder beat in so many ways, I don't have room to list them.

by

No it might not be correct, for example if you want to solder a wire to the battery, you need to hold the battery in place, then you hold the wires to the terminal, and carefully check the continuity, and pour a slick of glue on it, and it will be SOLDERED if taken with care.

Edit: I had soldered a wire to the lithium battery using this method.

Epoxy might not be better than using super glue for soldering.

by

@jackdhunpah

Your method may work as long as both the wire and the terminal are clean and shiny bright metal i.e. no oxidization so virtually no electrical resistance.

Otherwise it may be compared to a dry solder joint which will come back to bite you sometime in the future.

by

@jayeff But the soldering with the superglue might be stronger than with soler paste because you can glue the wires together. And it will be permanent until you pry it out. However, it won't bite me off in the future.

by

Show 4 more comments

Add a comment

IDK but it worked for me! I used it to solder a broken wire on my headphone and it worked!

Was this answer helpful?

Score 5

1 Comment:

I used it to connect five wires you'll start and run wires on my 600 double r let the super glue sit pull on the wires and it was strong as !&&* stronger than solder for electrical tape around it the bike is working just fine crazy glue is a lot cheaper than solder you're right man it works

by

Add a comment

There are always alternatives, some better than others. Of course soldering is the best practical option. While intimidating to those that have never done it before, it is easy. Most are intimidated from trying at some point and it not working, likely at all. But they watch videos and see others doing it and can't tell what they did wrong. Secrets are in the little details. A good condition soldering iron head, clean everything. Body oils will prevent solder from sticking. Flux is not optional. And all Flux is not created equal, and each type has a purpose. You can not just make it work with what you have. If you have plumbing Flux and silver plumbing solder, you will fail or damage your device. Silver soldering is more in. Actuality brazing. One must take a bit of time, relax and understand the details. If it doesn't flow and stick you're doing something incorrectly and you need to stop and learn a bit more, and adjust something. Don't just keep trying, you'll make things worse and harder or you'll destroy your gadget. Proper solder, Flux, clean everything, easy job.

That being said, there are other options. As said, glues are going to break. There needs to either be enough flex or rigidity to survive normal function. A usb port gets pulled, pushed, levered in every angle. They break with metallic solder connections. Super glue is only super under certain circumstances. If desperate and want some sort of possible way for a quick easy fix that will not last but will get you through a day and not make a mess of things permanently, liquid electric tape mixed with graphite or some extremely fine mesh copper or silver powder could do the job. It will not last forever. Maybe not even a day. But it buys you time. Or maybe you do it every night to charge a phone. Do what ya gotta do. Note, the more graphite or powder you add, the more conductive it will be. Also the more brittle it will be. This will give a bit of flex, and no rigidity. But it will peel right off when ready for a real repair.

There are other options not readily available to most. 3d printer metallic ink could work. There are ways to make your own. Biggest issue is most require heat to sinter properly. Heat and gadgets are generally a bad combo. There are chemical depositing methods that offer weak adhesion.

All and all, soldering is actually the easiest most straight forwards, practical solution. Even without a solder iron, there are ways if careful and ingenuitive. If it just is not working for you because you can't get the solder on the iron or to transfer you likely need to clean. Something or have a Flux or heat issue. Solder flows to heat. Cold items will not take solder. One option that can make it a touch easier to begin with is to make your own solder paste. File a piece of lead free solder till you have a small pile and mix a fraction of that in Flux paste. Just enough to make it stick together and to items. Then you can apple it to where you need, all of which got cleaned and not touched by skin, and you could use a heat gun if careful about it. If there is any pressure or force on any other wire or component in the heat it will disconnect tho. Too much heat kills components and melts plastic. If you like your gadget, and want to keep it, do it right or find help or bring it to a shop. If you can't afford to, can you afford to risk your item being permanently toasted?

Was this answer helpful?

Score 5
Add a comment

Hilanderbob, it really is not. There are no substitutes to soldering. There is no tensile strength with superglue and any time you will use the port it will crack etc. the port will most certainly fail within a couple of days, but that time you will lose the traces and solder pads for sure.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 4

4 Comments:

I got a power supply port that is mostly plastic that came loose. I'm thinking to superglue it in place (just a touch ) CAREFULLY and soldering connections. I feel the glue will make it less prone for this happen again, an additional anchor if you will.

by

Hi @ David Cerrelli,

Just be careful that the superglue doesn't melt the plastic, or that it even sticks. It can happen with certain types of plastic and superglue.

If possible check on another non important area of the port to ensure that it has no detrimental effects.

by

However, a careful maneuver with the port will fix the issue, First, you solder the supporting pins, then you apply pressure to the solder pads gently, then you put a slick of glue on it carefully(for example: that port has 5 pins, then you apply strength for that 2 pins, next 3 pins) and it won't break. Just make sure that you solder them carefully, or the traces will be ripped.

by

@davidcerrelli make sure the superglue won't invade to the other parts containing the solder pads, or it can't be soldered forever.

by

Add a comment

NO...it is not a conductor (it doesn't transfer electric current)> 2nd solder has a much better bond for these applications then superglue.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1
Add a comment

no it's definitely not as because it will damage the solder points

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1
Add a comment

Hail no. Now go give yourself a smack in the face for even considering it.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1

6 Comments:

Where does the face smacking come from? I believe that the OP asked a valid and common question. I do not see any reason to ridicule anybody on here

by

Because to clear the superglue out of solder connections during repair it not only complicates the repair, but it creates harmful toxic fumes that I have to breathe: From Wikipedia: "The fumes from CA are a vaporized form of the cyanoacrylate monomer that irritate sensitive membranes in the eyes, nose, and throat." Superglue in electronics has become a personal bane because of this.

Superglue, duct tape, and other temporary fix style solutions generally end up doing more harm than good, when quality lasting solutions are almost always available with a little research---but yes, I recognize that is just a matter of opinion.

For a charge port--grab a RadioShack soldering iron and some flux. Heat it up and get that port soldered back on. This one is definitely DIYable and easy to get a robust lasting solution.

by

"quality lasting solutions are almost always available with a little research" that what the OP did by coming here. He/she did not come here for a "smack in the face"

by

My dad used to use superglue to fix everything. Even his teeth.

Before he had dentures.

This is the same answer that I have given him. You can't use superglue to fix teeth, and you can't use superglue to make electrical connections. I think the OP knows this, and I don't see this as a serious question, but I am often wrong!

by

Are the super glue fumes really anymore toxic than the lead in the solder that you would be heating up? There's a polite way to tell someone no when they ask.

by

Show 1 more comment

Add a comment

Might work if you mix in a little graphite with the glue to provide conductivity.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1

2 Comments:

No, the super glue will dry quicker as soon as the graphite makes contact with the superglue

by

I mixed Graphite from a #2 pencil with crazy glue to temporarily repair a knock sensor on an engine and I can say it does indeed work. You sir, have my appreciation. Granted, the wires were twisted together before I superglued them, but they were so fine and few, that I needed the super glue to keep them from unraveling. No telling how long it will last, but it does indeed work, with no Engine Code.

WARNING: The Graphite from the #2 pencil and crazy glue create some kind of chemical reaction and will instantly stick to your skin. Do NOT mix these two elements without gloves on, or have handy warm water/soap/and especially Goo Gone. If I didn't have those things handy, it would have been really detrimental to my fingertips. Depending on the position of your hands and fingers, after it gets stuck, the skin may start tearing once your muscles don't like being in that position any longer! And it bonds so fast, were talking milliseconds. You've been warned.

by

Add a comment

was considering it myself since it’s not exactly going to be moving much. I’ve had iffy luck melting solder on smart phone batteries without melting the plastic as well. So I’m thinking supergluing the wire down to the contacts on the battery but soldering the wires to the pcb. (it was a battery pack until the battery turned into a pillow. I removed that and was trying a smart phone battery )ie Wire is conductive the contact is. Question is, does super glue (melting is gonna happen either way) stop the connection.. I probably wouldn’t totally think about it if I had my rosin/flux nearby. Which I don’t. and solder will never stick to battery contacts without rosin/flux… At this rate I’ll just wait till that pen shows up again..

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1
Add a comment

TLDR: No. Read below comment by me.

You’re looking for epoxy, clamps, metal to metal, on clean, possibly slightly rough surface. I did that for a customer once and told her to just leave the lid open. She didn’t listen, but it held for six months so she was happy and it saved her $500.

Stop. Listen. Research. Plan. Execute.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1

1 Comment:

Or, order the screws. You have enough of them (one) to do that along with the machine’s service manual.

In my example, the hinge was sheared, and stripped out.

by

Add a comment

Hi @gmoney8 ,

The wires will conduct when just connected to the metal in a jack but you need to keep it in place in the jack and not move as obviously this can create problems

OK you say, glue will do this but glue provides a high resistance connection which is not what you want for direct electrical connections. You want as much of the power i.e. voltage being applied to get where it is needed and not some of it being lost in the form of heat by poor i.e. high resistance, electrical connections

Ohm’s Law describes the relationship between voltage, current and resistance.

Solder being a metal if applied correctly provides an extremely low, virtually zero resistance connection between the wire and jack terminal.

Solder is usually a tin/lead alloy although there is lead free solder and even silver solder but these require higher temperatures when being applied.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 1
Add a comment

I had a question about krazy glue because my laptops hinges that connect the screen broke. And I don't have any screws to substitute the ones that got lost. Will the glue work to hold the metal hinges to where the screws go?

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0

1 Comment:

Does the male port the touchpad ribbon fits into conduct electricity from any point other than at the connection, where and when the prongs are engaged?

by

Add a comment

lots of blah blah blah, embed the circuit board in liquid acrylic, test it once hardened, nothing going to move

but solder is preferred….

google circuits in acrylic

Update (12/11/2021)

maybe better to say resin……

https://hackaday.com/2012/04/13/free-for...

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0
Add a comment

I thought I would take the time to make this post, since I ultimately came away with a positive experience, after visiting this page and reading through all of the comments. It may or may not be applicable to your project, depending on the nature or requirements of your "solder", but I used the crazy glue as I would normally use solder to keep about 8 thin metal wires in place for a car sensor. Ideally, I would have liked to have a copper to copper transition, but all I had was an old USB cable, and they are so cheaply made, that most of the inside was insulation and cladding, but there were about (8) thin wires in total, if I took both positive (red) and ground (black) and combined them as one.

Once the sensors female housing was "de-pinned" and the metal post inside the housing removed. I was able to open and close the clasp with the (8) finely thin wires in place. Since they were so thin, I knew I had to bond it to the metal to have any success. I am away from home, so I had no access to my soldering iron. That is when I thought of crazy glue and found this page.

Am thankful for the comment mentioning the Graphite in the crazy glue mix, because I had that ingredient as well. Quick search on Google, revealed that #2 pencils are best. Now, there is metal to metal contact from end to end, with crazy glue holding everything in place, so whether or not the Graphite or Crazy Glue aids in conductivity, there is no way through my anecdotal experiment to say its all because of one ingredient or the other. All I can say is that I succeeded in what I was trying to accomplish.

I was able to repair the broken connection between the wiring harness and the sensor (engine bay photo, orange dash shows where the connection is broken).

I protected the "soldered wire" with a foil sleeve and afterwards a rubber sleeve (not pictured), and the knock sensor has worked fine for several days while the OEM replacement comes in the mail. I may just leave it as is just to see how long this fix will last.

Hope this can help someone.

Also, please read my above WARNING, that I replied to the Graphite comment. The crazy glue and graphite make a chemical reaction and will bond to your fingers. Be careful! I was able to remain unscathed due to having Goo Gone a few feet away, but You've been warned!

Block Image

Block Image

Block Image

Block Image

Block Image

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0
Add a comment

Add your answer

Hilanderbob will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 18

Past 7 Days: 156

Past 30 Days: 704

All Time: 164,716