Solder Station Helping Hand

For an elective at school we have gotten the commission to make something with at least 3 machines at the stadslab Rotterdam. We have to use a 3d printer and a lasercutter.

The object may be everything you can imagine and make if it at least has a electrical part in it, a joint technique and use the machines at the stadslab.

With some inspiration from instructables I have decided to make a solder station. I have chosen this object because I solder quite a lot and I hate it to inhale the disgusting smoke. That is why I want a good ventilating system in it and some bright light which makes sure that I can see the object I have to solder clearly.

This is the instructable I got my inspiration from. Mine will have some of the same futures but whit some things I would do differently when I would make one.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Ventilated-solderi...

MoSCoW Analyse:

M: must haves: The fan has to be strong enough to get the vapour into the chimney.

The solderstation has to be able to help holding the wires that have to be soldered.

The light should give a good view of the object on the solderstation.

The solderstation must be able to fit on your desk.

S: should haves: It has to have a ventilator cover so you can’t get hurt if misuse it.

It should have a power source to run on.

C: could haves: The solderstation could have a loop

It could also have a standard to put the soldering iron in.

W: won’t haves: it won’t have a filter in it because that is too expensive for a diy.

At first I made a sketch of how I want it to be. In my opinion there should be good ventilation so a fan is one thing to start with. I am using 12v fan from a computer and I will connect it to a small 12v battery.

For safety I made a grid for the fan so you can't get things inside the fan.

I made it in inventor and printed it with a 3d printer. The essence is that it is functional so you can print it at a high speed.

The only important thing is that the holes for the screws are in the right place.

After making the design I got some wooden plates. For the bottom plate I used a multiplex shelf. I used a chisel to make a hole in the plate for the battery.

For the hood I used triplex and a slat from 2 by 2. There are multiple options to make the hood. I choose to make it by hand. The tools you need for making the hood by hand are: a hammer, two clamps, a file, a couple of screws, about 20 nails, a drill with small drills, wood glue and sandpaper.

At first I made the back of the hood with two slats on it at the sides. I used nails and wood glue to get them together. After making the back I made the sides. The sides are small at the bottom and get bigger on the way to the top. I did this to make the hood as big as it can be at the top but is not in the way at the working station its self.

After nailing the sides to the slats which are attached to the back plate, I made a frame for the rest of the hood. You will have to make a frame so you can nail or screw the top plates on the hood.

In the plate at the top has to be a hole for the fan. I used a fan out of a computer and it works good. On the bevel of the sides I decided to make a board with the name of the product on it. I named it solderstation instead of solderingstation so it’s easier to find on instructables.

For covering the fan I made a little chimney. This is to protect the fan. The chimney is also made form triplex and four pieces of slats. The slats are to connect the sides to each other. After putting the top boards on the hood I glued the chimney on the top. It does not has much to hold, but I recommend to use wood glue and clamp the chimney on the top with clamps and let it dry for a little while.

And that is how the woodwork is done.

For some parts of the solderstation I used a 3d printer.

For making a helping hand I used a design from instructables. It works fine and does what it’s meant to do. The only thing you need to purchase are clips to hold the wires.

This is the design I used for printing the helping hand. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1177652

For covering the chimney I used the design that I showed on step 1. It is a fan cover made with inventor. This one I designed myself.

The only thing that is tricky while printing the cover is that it can warp while printing if the printing bed is not warm enough.

For getting the name ‘’solderstation’’ into the wood I used a lasercutter. The design was made in illustrator.

The other things I put in this solderstation is a LED strip to have a clear view at the object you want to solder. The fan and the LED strip are soldered together and are connected to a dry battery with clips.

When it is at your home you can also use a 12v battery charger to power the fan and the light.

This is the end product that came out of this project. The fan does it's job and you will not inhale the vapor from the soldering.

The led lights are clear and give a good view of what you are working on.

This is a list of machines and things you need to realize this project:

• Triplex plate(100cm by 50cm)
• Multiplex plate (40cm by 30cm)
• 3d printer with ABS as material
• slat of 1 meter (2cm by 2cm)
• lasercutter
• 10 little screws
• around 40 nails
• dry battery (12v)
• insulation tape
• wires(1 meter)
• led lights (strip)
• computer fan
• connectors(male)
• woodglue
• And the basic tools you need for carpenting(hammer, saw, drill, sandingpaper, chisel, clamp, etc.)