The distinction between soldering and brazing is based on the melting temperature of the filler alloy. A temperature of 450 °C is usually used as a practical delineating point between soldering and brazing . Soft soldering can be done with a heated iron whereas the other methods require a higher temperature torch or furnace to melt the filler metal.
Different equipment is usually required since a soldering iron cannot achieve high enough temperatures for hard soldering or brazing. Brazing filler metal is stronger than silver solder, which is stronger than lead-based soft solder. Brazing solders are formulated primarily for strength, silver solder is used by jewelers to protect the precious metal and by machinists and refrigeration technicians for its tensile strength but lower melting temperature than brazing, and the primary benefit of soft solder is the low temperature used (to prevent heat damage to electronic components and insulation).
Since the joint is produced using a metal with a lower melting temperature than the workpiece, the joint will weaken as the ambient temperature approaches the melting point of the filler metal. For that reason, the higher temperature processes produce joints which are effective at higher temperatures. Brazed connections can be as strong or nearly as strong as the parts they connect, even at elevated temperatures.
"Hard soldering" or "silver soldering" is used to join precious and semi-precious metals such as gold, silver, brass, and copper. The solder is usually referred to as easy, medium, or hard. This refers to its melting temperature, not the strength of the joint. Extra-easy solder contains 56% silver and has a melting point of 1,145 °F (618 °C). Extra-hard solder has 80% silver and melts at 1,370 °F (740 °C). If multiple joints are needed, then the jeweler will start with hard or extra-hard solder and switch to lower-temperature solders for later joints.
Silver solder is absorbed by the surrounding metal, resulting in a joint that is actually stronger than the metal being joined. The metal being joined must be perfectly flush, as silver solder cannot normally be used as a filler and any gaps will remain.
Another difference between brazing and soldering is how the solder is applied. In brazing, one generally uses rods that are touched to the joint while being heated. With silver soldering, small pieces of solder wire are placed onto the metal prior to heating. A flux, often made of boric acid and denatured alcohol, is used to keep the metal and solder clean and to prevent the solder from moving before it melts.
When silver solder melts, it tends to flow towards the area of greatest heat. Jewelers can somewhat control the direction the solder moves by leading it with a torch; it will even run straight up along a seam.
Induction soldering uses induction heating by high-frequency AC current in a surrounding copper coil. This induces currents in the part being soldered, which generates heat because of the higher resistance of a joint versus its surrounding metal (resistive heating). These copper coils can be shaped to fit the joint more precisely. A filler metal (solder) is placed between the facing surfaces, and this solder melts at a fairly low temperature. Fluxes are commonly used in induction soldering. This technique is particularly suited to continuously soldering, in which case these coils wrap around a cylinder or a pipe that needs to be soldered.
Some metals are easier to solder than others. Copper, silver, and gold are easy. Iron, mild steel and nickel are next in difficulty. Because of their thin, strong oxide films, stainless steel and aluminium are even more difficult to solder. Titanium, magnesium, cast irons, some high-carbon steels, ceramics, and graphite can be soldered but it involves a process similar to joining carbides: they are first plated with a suitable metallic element that induces interfacial bonding.
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