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Disappointment with the Ersa i-con Pico soldering station (more DIY editing)

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wraper:

--- Quote from: watchmaker on December 29, 2023, 12:19:16 pm ---Your post presumes you know the long term outcome.  Data?

In the meantime, her results beat your presumption.  Charlotte will learn if the results hold up over time and if necessary buy a new iron.

So what?

--- End quote ---
I know from soldering irons with bare copper tip that were way more common in the past. After some time it becomes nearly impossible to pull the tip out. As of the spare I-CON pico heater, it costs about EUR 50 https://www.ersa-shop.com/ersa-ersatzheizk%C3%B6rper-f%C3%BCr-l%C3%B6tkolben-itool-pico-p-8765.html . Also from the looks of it on the pictures, it should be possible to take it apart by pushing the plastic hooks inside.
What I find the most problematic, is going straight to destroying the perfectly good tip rather than recognizing the root cause of the issue.

watchmaker:
So she CHOSE to make a modification rather than spend money outright.  I do not understand what appears to be criticism for that choice.

As far as results, it works.  As far as your prognostication, time will tell.  In the mean time, she can solder.

I strongly doubt she needs me to defend her, and that your concern is going to cause her sleepless nights.  Let us let this go.

Have a good New Year (can it be worse than the last?)

wraper:
 :palm:  Do not forget she has at least one other tip to be destroyed to fit in the same way. Those two tips cost like 30-40% of the new heater. Also did you not see I wrote heater should be possible to be taken apart? Also it could be thread issue I've seen some reports of that could be fixed by some filing. But OP did not provide any photos of the heater.

CharlotteSwiss:

--- Quote from: tautech on December 29, 2023, 09:56:04 am ---On a generic pencil sourced without tips the tip retaining barrel was too short for the retaining nut to engage with the thread on the pencil for some tips.
I also found some tips would not seat as far onto the element but now with different length barrels I can mix and match to have them fit correctly.
There is also some small variance in element diameter yet all the tips I have fit on the elements I need keep them free from time to time to ensure none become permanent fixtures.   :scared:

--- End quote ---

If I didn't want to scrap the heating element (it costs a lot), either I modified the tips as I did, or I could have shortened the element by 2 mm. I opted to work on the tips.


--- Quote from: Martin72 on December 29, 2023, 10:21:28 am ---Partly the same here with the i-Con(normal).
However, a slightly stronger turn when screwing onto the heating element was enough.
However, I occasionally have the problem that the connection comes loose slightly after it has warmed up and you have to tighten it again.
I'll get a Weller when I get the chance and then that will be a thing of the past. ;)

--- End quote ---

I understand what you mean, but I assure you that it was almost impossible to screw the tip (maybe I only screwed a couple of tips, but only a couple of turns). I was risking ruining the thread of the element. Now after the modification, they screw in perfectly (with no play, I only dug in just enough). >I agree that I don't think the next station will be there yet...).


--- Quote from: wraper on December 29, 2023, 11:09:19 am ---I suggest pulling the heater out to check if it's straight.



--- End quote ---

Thank you. Look in the first image, after the edit. It's perfectly aligned. As you said it wasn't aligned before, simply because the nut barely reached and it was difficult to initialize the thread.
By now I have modified all my tips. I tried them, they weld well now. The temperature sensing test was good. I agree that I shouldn't have drilled, but it was the only solution I could think of...
I don't remember exactly, but in my opinion, even from the first uses, the tips screwed on badly and poorly
The other day my head went crazy and I played with the drill and phrase maker, I'm impulsive!


--- Quote from: inse on December 29, 2023, 11:34:12 am ---Usually the tips are galvanized all over to prevent oxidation.
When you drill into the tip, the surface is damaged and copper oxide will form over time.
Copper oxide will be less thermal conductive than pure copper and the tip also might stick (burn, I don’t know the English phrase) to the heater.


--- End quote ---

This was one of the problems I had asked myself. Will the tip have an INTERNAL treatment? The inside is now copper.


--- Quote from: watchmaker on December 29, 2023, 11:54:13 am ---The best response to criticism is success.  You got your intended result and as I was taught in Neuchatel, there are lots of ways to get the job done as long as the result is correct.

And to be clear to avoid unwarranted criticism, in Switzerland, the result in watchmaking means "fit, finish and function".  The piece under restoration does not care if the part is a factory replacement.  What matters is the final fit and finish, and if the timepiece functions as originally intended.  If you cannot tell it from original, the job is a good result.

In electronics, this would mean even the solder joints from a replaced transistor are undetectable while the unit meets all factory specs.  How many can meet that standard?

You did not want to buy a new iron.  You wanted to increase the utility of what you had (why make a new tool when the back of a tweezer will do).

You thought the process through and used good mechanical technique, as witnessed by the result.

So you may have missed the alignment issue. Not sure that would have changed the scenario other than spending money on parts; which you chose to avoid. 

But the claim you ruined things is overstated.  You proved your results and minimized expense.  It is a tool, NOT an important historical artifact or work of art.   

Good on ya!!



--- End quote ---

I definitely wanted to try a solution, I never give up, not even to the obvious. If I couldn't screw the tips anymore what should I do? Change the heating element (a lot of money) and I would have solved the problem? Maybe yes.
The only mistake was being impulsive. From the time I thought about solving the problem to the time I picked up the drill, 10 minutes must have passed. No information on the matter.
Let's say that perhaps I could have 'filed' the heating element by 2 mm, still saving my tips for the future.


--- Quote from: wraper on December 29, 2023, 12:54:06 pm --- :palm:  Do not forget she has at least one other tip to be destroyed to fit in the same way. Those two tips cost like 30-40% of the new heater. Also did you not see I wrote heater should be possible to be taken apart? Also it could be thread issue I've seen some reports of that could be fixed by some filing. But OP did not provide any photos of the heater.

--- End quote ---

The fillet had no problems, on both sides. But if I insert the tip with its holder, and it already touches the bottom of the element, it is obvious that the threaded parts cannot be screwed.
Then ok, my modification (about 6 tips or more) could have negative implications in the future.
It is as if the heating element had become longer at its end, by 2 mm. I don't see any other reason.  :-//

CharlotteSwiss:
I 'stole' the wraper image: I'm almost sure that the height indicated in red, in my element, was 2 mm higher than that designed by the manufacturer! If someone had the same soldering station as me and measures this amount, I could check.
Of course, in the cold mind I should have worked on element (or asked here on the forum first). but that's how I am, every now and then my electrons accelerate...  :-//

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