Author Topic: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...  (Read 14376 times)

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Offline Back2VoltsTopic starter

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Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« on: January 27, 2017, 10:48:19 pm »
... had a cool down mode where it turned off heating and kept temperature display ramping down to know when it is safe to switch tip?   May be a three position power switch with ON-COOL-OFF.

As a hack, I wonder if it would be possible to use a cheap infrared sensor in the iron stand to determine temperature with some degree of accuracy.   If so, an MCU could

1)  Measure/display tip temperature

2)  Detect iron going off base to turn on smoke fan

3)  Detect iron going on base to turn off fan after some delay 

Wouldn't you guys like something like that ?
 

Offline mc172

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2017, 10:49:45 pm »
What's wrong with just turning it off and doing something else for five minutes? Go and make a cup of tea...
 
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Offline Back2VoltsTopic starter

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2017, 10:54:08 pm »
What's wrong with just turning it off and doing something else for five minutes? Go and make a cup of tea...

and wouldn't it be great if the MCU also made the cup of tea ?   ;D

 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2017, 11:05:49 pm »
For #1, there's something called set-back features.

The simplest form is just a timer, but there are also some that detect when the iron goes into the stand (stand connects to the power unit for example, though there are other designs too). And it will do whatever you set the station to do when the iron reaches the stand (i.e. drop the temp, and if left in there, will turn the iron off after a specified period of time).
 

Offline mc172

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2017, 11:12:02 pm »
and wouldn't it be great if the MCU also made the cup of tea ?   ;D

Well, no - it'd probably do something stupid like put the milk in first.
 

Online tszaboo

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2017, 11:16:44 pm »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.
 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2017, 11:57:14 pm »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

Wait, you DON'T turn the station off to replace tips?

What so you touch a 700Fo+ soldering iron like it's no big deal?
I forget who I am sometimes, but then I remember that it's probably not worth remembering.
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Online 2N3055

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2017, 12:04:18 am »
I always change them hot... On Weler, you dont have to touch hot parts.... Unscrew tip holder... drop hot tip in a metallic box where I keep tips, drop new one in tip holder, screw it on handle.. 10 sec .. keep on soldering..... (it is WSP80 series)..
 

Offline Cerebus

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2017, 12:05:02 am »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

Wait, you DON'T turn the station off to replace tips?

What so you touch a 700Fo+ soldering iron like it's no big deal?

The Metcal irons come with a pad attached to the cord that is specifically designed for grabbing the removable tips with. It helps with the Metcal that it will turn itself off the second the tip goes open loop and it's designed so that all the heating is concentrated into the very tip and the shaft surrounding it is not actively heated the way that the shafts of conventional irons are.
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 

Online tszaboo

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2017, 12:30:06 am »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

Wait, you DON'T turn the station off to replace tips?

What so you touch a 700Fo+ soldering iron like it's no big deal?
Yeah, I have very thick skin.
No, I dont touch the tip or the iron part. Pliers and stuff. Also I dont touch it, becuase the grease from the finger will burn the next time you turn it on.
 

Online gamalot

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2017, 12:30:25 am »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

I do the same thing, I use JBC station.

Offline artag

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2017, 12:32:23 am »
Metcal do suggest you turn it off. But no wait necessary, as you say the connector end of the tip is cold.
 

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2017, 12:33:13 am »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

I do the same thing, I use JBC station.

This is how it works.


Offline Hensingler

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2017, 01:24:54 am »
11 seconds of JBC tip changing

 

Offline mmagin

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2017, 01:38:07 am »
I flip my Metcal off to change tips, because it's one of the old ones that doesn't have proper protection against open-circuit operation, but then immediately pull the hot tip with a pliers and put the new one in, power it back up, done. :)
 

Offline Brumby

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2017, 03:33:30 am »
and wouldn't it be great if the MCU also made the cup of tea ?   ;D

Well, no - it'd probably do something stupid like put the milk in first.

No.. no.. no.. no......

Milk and tea leaves should never come into contact with each other.
 

Offline ZeTeX

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2017, 08:20:32 pm »
Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations where not overpriced like shit?
some german guy on YouTube ordered a JBC handle + JBC tip for a total of like 100+$ and made for like 10$ DIY soldering station that fits the JBC.
yet JBC iron with the station cost like 2000$. nah, the whole magic is in the tips and tips cost like less then 50$. the iron itself is no more then a simple holder for the tips and the base unit is just a fancy amplifier that amplify the thermocouple voltage inside the tips, and a switching element that controls heating element.
 

Offline mmagin

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2017, 08:55:16 pm »
uhh, a lot of them are much less than half that.  http://www.jbctools.com/cataleg.php?id=1

And if you want to spend less, buy a Hakko or buy used.

This feels like complaining that new, quality brand 6.5 digit DMMs cost too much.

P.S. I probably spent $100 on my used Hakko and another $100 on new tips and the newer stand that puts the tip to "sleep" when not in use.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2017, 08:57:26 pm by mmagin »
 

Offline ZeTeX

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2017, 09:09:02 pm »
uhh, a lot of them are much less than half that.  http://www.jbctools.com/cataleg.php?id=1

And if you want to spend less, buy a Hakko or buy used.

This feels like complaining that new, quality brand 6.5 digit DMMs cost too much.

P.S. I probably spent $100 on my used Hakko and another $100 on new tips and the newer stand that puts the tip to "sleep" when not in use.
I have a Weller WES51. its great.

525$ where what does the work is 50$ and the base unit 100$ max is still kinda a lot. 400$-350$ is more like it IMO..
Quality brand 6.5digit DMMs have much much more then a whats inside soldering stations, they are much more complicated and you cant make a DIY 6.5digits DMM that compares to the original one for much cheaper, But you can make DIY JBC iron that is not far then the original one, expect much cheaper.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2017, 09:10:36 pm by ZeTeX »
 

Offline mmagin

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2017, 11:29:22 pm »
uhh, a lot of them are much less than half that.  http://www.jbctools.com/cataleg.php?id=1

And if you want to spend less, buy a Hakko or buy used.

This feels like complaining that new, quality brand 6.5 digit DMMs cost too much.

P.S. I probably spent $100 on my used Hakko and another $100 on new tips and the newer stand that puts the tip to "sleep" when not in use.
I have a Weller WES51. its great.

525$ where what does the work is 50$ and the base unit 100$ max is still kinda a lot. 400$-350$ is more like it IMO..
Quality brand 6.5digit DMMs have much much more then a whats inside soldering stations, they are much more complicated and you cant make a DIY 6.5digits DMM that compares to the original one for much cheaper, But you can make DIY JBC iron that is not far then the original one, expect much cheaper.

Sure, but there's a lot of durability and longevity in the expensive soldering stations.  Quality mechanical stuff hasn't really gone down in price over the years quite like semiconductor devices have.  Plus long-term product support (e.g. not obsoleting tip formats quickly).
 

Offline mc172

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #20 on: January 29, 2017, 01:51:42 am »
I don't get what the fuss is all about. I've been using my £30 whatever clone (something similar to this) for about five years now. No problems until you try to change the tip. Just make do with the tip you've had fitted for the past few months or years and you'll be fine. Most of the time you don't really need to change it, anyway.

Also, this whole gimmick of being "off" whilst in the holder. Does it really matter? The thing is dissipating a few Watts at most, who even cares?

At work I'm blessed with ERSA, Weller and Metcal soldering irons/stations. To me, they're all the same, although I like having a dial that I can turn to adjust the temperature as opposed to using one button to perform nine functions.
 

Offline nctnico

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #21 on: January 29, 2017, 02:14:00 am »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.
Wait, you DON'T turn the station off to replace tips?

What so you touch a 700Fo+ soldering iron like it's no big deal?
For the better brands you can get special tools/pliers to replace the tips while they are hot. Ofcourse you are not going to wait for a soldering iron to cool down. A good soldering iron allows for changing tips quickly when hot because for many soldering jobs you'll need to change tips. Ersa for example has these pliers:

The flat bit at the end is used to hook/unhook the spring which holds the tip in place and the round openings fit around the various tips.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2017, 02:17:50 am by nctnico »
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Online gamalot

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #22 on: January 29, 2017, 04:37:20 am »
Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations where not overpriced like shit?
some german guy on YouTube ordered a JBC handle + JBC tip for a total of like 100+$ and made for like 10$ DIY soldering station that fits the JBC.
yet JBC iron with the station cost like 2000$. nah, the whole magic is in the tips and tips cost like less then 50$. the iron itself is no more then a simple holder for the tips and the base unit is just a fancy amplifier that amplify the thermocouple voltage inside the tips, and a switching element that controls heating element.

It is not that expensive, I've spend about 600AUD on my JBC station (included handpiece and 2 tips).

Offline eugenenine

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #23 on: January 29, 2017, 06:32:50 pm »
I dont turn off the station to replace tips. So far it works with weller and metcal stations.

Wait, you DON'T turn the station off to replace tips?

What so you touch a 700Fo+ soldering iron like it's no big deal?
Hands of steel :p
 

Offline eugenenine

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Re: Wouldn't it be great if soldering stations...
« Reply #24 on: January 29, 2017, 06:35:46 pm »
I don't get what the fuss is all about. I've been using my £30 whatever clone (something similar to this) for about five years now. No problems until you try to change the tip. Just make do with the tip you've had fitted for the past few months or years and you'll be fine. Most of the time you don't really need to change it, anyway.

Also, this whole gimmick of being "off" whilst in the holder. Does it really matter? The thing is dissipating a few Watts at most, who even cares?

At work I'm blessed with ERSA, Weller and Metcal soldering irons/stations. To me, they're all the same, although I like having a dial that I can turn to adjust the temperature as opposed to using one button to perform nine functions.
Leaving the iron on burns away the tips.  I have to start with a new tip after my kids use my iron and they leave it sit on for long periods of time and the coating on the tips burns off.
 


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