Soldering Station Using OLD PSU Case

by amorarun in Circuits > Soldering

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Soldering Station Using OLD PSU Case

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I have always wanted to make a soldering station so that I have all the necessary things such as a power switch, solder holder and the iron holder. Therefore I looked around for materials that I can use and saw this old computer psu case sitting in my storage for quite a long time.
So I decided to make the station out of it.
While I started to built I had a different idea on how I wanted it to be but overtime things didn't worked out the way I wanted it to be, so I changed it as I built.

Caution: Kindly take necessary precautions while working with electricity and power tool. Use proper protective gear.

Gather Materials

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Materials

1x PSU Case with the power connector and switch intact (will be using the original switch and connector)
1x AC switch
1x 2 pin socket
1x 5 pin socket
1x Fan Speed Controller (tried using it as temperature controller but didn't work)
2 meter of thick copper wire or coat hangar wire or bicycle spokes (whichever works)
Some wire
3x Bolt, nut and washer

Note: I didn't take the pictures of the materials separately. Therefore I have added it while I was making modifications.

Tools:

Chisel
Hammer
Drilling Machine
Wire Cutter/ stripper
Screw Driver
Flat and round files

Modify the Case

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Initially I want the soldering iron to be standing on the right hand side (see 1st picture for better understanding). Therefore I decided to make two holes one on the outer case and one on the inner case.
When the soldering iron is inserted through the outer case hole the tilting action of the unbalanced soldering iron will be hold in position by the hole in the inner case.

The outer case hole was easy to make as the vent holes were already there, I just removed 2 strips of metal so that the hole can be big.
In the inner case markings were made to make the hole.

To make the holes for the sockets and fan speed controller, I measured the outer dimensions of the socket and fan speed controller. Then cut on the vent side of the inner case as it will be easy to cut using chisel and hammer.
The tabs of metal were bent downwards such that it will act like a spring pushing the sockets and the fan speed controller vertically upwards and keep it place.

Adding Sockets and Fan-speed Controller

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This is all basic wiring. (If you need schematic diagram, let me know in the comment and I'll reply). The sockets where controlled by the switch on the case. The fan-speed controller is connected only to the 2-pin socket.

A piece of scrap aluminium was hot glued in between the fan-speed controller and the place where the soldering iron comes in as to avoid heat damage to the controller.

Note: After the soldering iron holder was kept outside the case, the scrap aluminium piece was removed.

Solder Holder

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Using 2 pliers the copper wire was bent into the shapes shown in figure 3. The shape for your solder spool may differ. This can be used as a guide to make one that suits your need.

Holes were drilled in the appropriate position on the outer case and were mounted on the outer cover using small bolt and nut.

Soldering Iron Holder Modification

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As the soldering iron was heating up too much and also was not easily accessible. I decided to make a separate holder for it.
I took off my old soldering iron holder for the copper wire and straightened it as much as possible before making a coil.
Using an old iron pipe, I made a small notch on one end of the pipe so that the wire will not rotate when turning the pipe.
The coil was made and was bolted to the outer case.
After knowing that the fan-speed controller cannot control the temperature (didn't even turn on the soldering iron), I replaced it with a switch for the 2 pin socket.
Now the original switch on the back side of the case controls the 3 pin socket and the switch on the front side controls the 2 pin socket.

Kindly vote if you liked it.