How to make a pulse soldering iron with your own hands - Metals, equipment, instructions
First of all, you need to pay attention to a very important point - a pulse soldering iron cannot be used for soldering low-voltage microcircuits that have a MOS structure, as well as elements that are afraid of static, since they can fail.
Differences from a regular soldering iron
The main differences between a pulse soldering iron and a regular one are as follows:
- the secondary winding of the transformer acts as a heating element (in fact, this is the reason that limits the use of this type of soldering iron when soldering certain types of electronic equipment);
- rapid heating of the tip to operating temperature;
- low power consumption;
- ability to control power (for some models).
Making a homemade pulse-type electric soldering iron
There are two motivational reasons for making a pulse soldering iron with your own hands:
- low quality of Chinese products flooding our market;
- high cost of soldering irons from such well-known brands as: Blp, Ersa, HS, Intertool, Multisprint, etc.
Making a homemade pulse-type soldering iron is not as difficult as it might seem. As an example, let's look at three options, starting with the simplest.
Instructions for making a simple pulse-type soldering iron.
The figure below shows a circuit of a pulse soldering iron made from a low-power transformer. A power source is connected to the primary winding, a soldering iron tip and an operation indicator lamp are connected to the secondary winding. Simplicity of execution ensures high reliability; such a soldering iron is not afraid of voltage surges.
Scheme of a simple soldering iron
Many domestic soldering iron models have this implementation, for example: Zubr, Sigma and Svetozar.
As you can see, everything is very simple, we only need to slightly change a regular power transformer, which can be removed from old electrical equipment. First of all, it is necessary to disassemble the transformer and remove the winding.
Try to do this carefully, since the primary winding wire will be useful to us later.
Photo of a disassembled transformer
Reduce the size of the coil (to fit the secondary winding)
Photo of a transformer with a reduced coil
Using a special machine or manually, we wind the primary winding; it should contain 1300 turns (you can use wound wire). We make the secondary winding from one turn of a copper busbar (in our case, 7x3 mm).
One turn of copper busbar
Heat shrink or fiberglass can be used to insulate the secondary winding.
Photo of the secondary winding insulated with fiberglass
After the transformer is assembled, you can begin making the handle. It can be made from any dielectric (in our case, wood was used). The shape is also unimportant, the main thing is that it is comfortable.
: DIY pulse soldering iron.
We make a sting from copper wire with a diameter of 2-3 mm and attach it to the ends of the copper bus.
Photo of the attached tip
As a result, we get a pulse soldering iron, the reliability of which is not inferior to products from Epsy, Toolex, Topex, ZD and other well-known manufacturers, however, our model does not have a power regulator.
Image of the finished soldering iron
We list the main materials that we needed to make a soldering iron:
- power transformer;
- copper busbar;
- copper wire for the tip;
- handle material.
As you can see, you can use almost improvised materials; therefore, assembling a pulse-type soldering iron will cost much less than buying ready-made NG, PK-SC, Rexant or RT models, not to mention professional Weller and Stern tools.
However, this implementation has a serious drawback - high power consumption. Therefore, we will consider more elegant solutions to cope with this problem, in particular, making a pulsed soldering iron based on an adapter for halogen lamps or from an energy-saving lamp.
The standard adapter needs to be slightly modified, namely, to add one winding, in the diagram below it is designated 4.
Diagram of a typical adapter
The winding can be made from one or two turns of braid taken from a standard television cable. Since it will be problematic to wind it without disassembling the transformer, we unsolder it.
Photo of a partially disassembled transformer
After adding the winding, the transformer is installed in place, and its ends are soldered to the tip.
Installation in the case
In our case, we used the body and tip from a broken soldering iron from an unknown Chinese manufacturer. As a result, we get a soldering iron with low power consumption. The only drawback of this soldering iron is that you cannot adjust the power, but considering the cost, it is a good alternative to Sting, Sturm and other soldering irons of famous brands.
Soldering iron based on an energy-saving lamp
The device, which is an energy-saving lamp, is an almost ready-made switching power supply, and on its basis it will not be difficult to make a soldering iron. To do this, you will need to make minor changes to the circuit.
Diagram showing parts to be removed
As an example, the diagram of a 25W energy-saving lamp produced under the Vitoone brand is given.
When all the elements marked in red have been removed, it is necessary to connect points A and A` with a jumper (these are exactly the places to which the lamp bulb is connected). After this, you need to wind an additional winding onto the transformer; this process is practically no different from remaking the adapter.
In some lamp models, the dimensions of the transformer will not allow you to wind the additional winding; in this case, you can get out of this difficult situation by using an additional transformer; the connection points of its primary winding are marked with red lines.
Diagram indicating the connection location of an additional transformer
Note that such a soldering iron will be small-sized and lightweight.
So that you can be convinced that making a soldering iron is cheaper than purchasing it, we will give an overview of the cost in various cities of Russia and the CIS.
Price overview
When compiling the table, we considered retail prices for the relatively inexpensive Weller 8100 UC soldering iron; the cost of models from unknown Chinese manufacturers was not taken into account, as was the delivery price.
| City | Cost, USD | City | Cost, USD |
| Dnepropetrovsk | from 24.8 | St. Petersburg | from 24 |
| Donetsk | from 24.8 | Minsk | from 26 |
| Krasnodar | from 25.4 | Moscow | from 24 |
As can be seen from the table, the price of this electric pulse soldering iron in different cities of Russia and the CIS countries does not vary much; this result is explained by the large number of stores selling online.
Source: https://spb-metalloobrabotka.com/kak-sdelat-impulsnyy-payalnik-svoimi-rukami/
DIY pulse soldering iron
A soldering iron is one of the main tools used by electronics technicians in their work. In the process of repairing electronic circuits, the actual soldering takes relatively short periods of time.
In this case, the soldering iron remains turned on and radiates heat uselessly for a long time. In such cases, a simple pulse soldering iron that saves electricity can be very convenient.
Distinctive qualities
A pulse soldering iron has some differences from traditional devices used for soldering:
- operation in pulse mode, only when the button is pressed;
- quick warming up to operating temperature, the time of which does not exceed a few seconds;
- The tip of a pulse soldering iron is a conductor heated by the current flowing through it.
A conventional electric soldering iron is a device with significant inertia. Its tip is made of copper rod.
Heating is carried out by contact method, by heat transfer from a nichrome spiral heated by electric current.
Heating of such a device can last several minutes, which naturally causes inconvenience. For this reason, such soldering irons are not turned off.
Pulse soldering irons are made in the form of pistols with a power button located in the trigger area. At the end of the “barrel” there is a loop of copper wire, which plays the role of a pulse soldering iron tip.
For the convenience of soldering, a backlight is usually located near the tip, which turns on when the power button is pressed.
The role of backlight in older models of pulsed soldering irons was played by a low-voltage incandescent light bulb; modern models use LEDs.
Two types of power supplies
Inside the case there is a device power supply that provides filament current and backlight power. There are two types of power supply designs.
The first type is a transformer soldering iron. The design of such a block is very simple. Inside its case there is a conventional step-down transformer, designed to operate from a 220 volt network.
The transformer has two secondary windings. One of them powers the backlight lamp or LED. The second is a power one; the tip's filament current flows through it.
The power winding contains 1-2 turns made of a copper busbar or thick wire.
At the end of the “barrel” of the gun, this winding is securely connected to a wire loop that serves as a soldering iron tip.
The gun trigger makes a pulse connection of the primary winding of the transformer to the network. In this case, the secondary power winding, operating in short circuit mode, quickly heats up the working part.
The second type of pulse soldering devices contains a high-frequency converter.
This scheme is certainly more complicated than the previous one, but due to the use of a high-frequency transformer, it can significantly reduce the weight and dimensions of the product.
Manufacturing according to a transformer circuit
As noted above, the electrical circuit of the transformer device is very simple.
The main tasks that need to be solved when making a pulse soldering iron from a transformer are to find a suitable transformer, a pistol grip with a button, and put it all together.
As for the transformer, any power of 50-100 watts will do.
If you don’t have anything like that at hand, you can purchase or remove from an old lamp a transformer, which is used in Chinese chandeliers to power 12-volt halogen lamps.
The secondary winding must be carefully removed without damaging the primary. Instead, one turn is wound with a tire of sufficient cross-section.
Here it is important to select a conductor that will pass through the window of the transformer magnetic circuit.
The tire must reach the end of the “trunk”, where it must be connected to a copper loop - a sting.
The transformer can be located either in the handle or on the “barrel” line.
If possible, the transformer should be located as close to the tip as possible, since a significant current will flow through the secondary winding, and it is better to make this turn short.
Circuit with high frequency converter
To make a homemade pulse soldering iron of the second type, you need to assemble a frequency converter circuit.
This task presents a certain complexity, requires some qualifications, and most likely the game would not be worth the candle if not for one circumstance.
A suitable ready-made converter is available in the electronic ballast, which can be extracted from an energy-saving lamp or fluorescent lamp.
Reworking the internal circuitry of the electronic ballast is minimal. It is necessary to short-circuit the conductors that power the gas-discharge lamp.
After this, all that remains is to supplement the pulse transformer of the device with a secondary winding of one turn of thick wire.
It's simple, but not quite.
There is only one way out.
You need to find a larger ferrite ring and wind the primary winding around it, not forgetting to lay varnished cloth insulation between the layers. Through the hole remaining in the middle of the ring you need to pass one turn of wire, which will serve as a secondary winding.
The layout principle is the same as in the previous design.
The transformer (and therefore the entire converter board) should be located as close as possible to the wire tip.
The button, as in the previous case, must turn on the supply of mains voltage, in this circuit - to the converter board.
Advantages and disadvantages
A few words about the advantages and disadvantages of these designs. So, we have the following positive qualities:
- The pulse soldering iron gun is comfortable to hold in your hand, the power button is located under the index finger;
- quick heating of the soldering iron allows you to keep it turned off, turning it on only when necessary, which saves energy;
- The available backlight creates additional convenience when soldering.
There are some disadvantages that appear in the operation of pulse devices. One of them is associated with the intense operating conditions of the tips of such soldering irons. The fact is that the heating rate depends on the cross-sectional area of the tip loop.
If you take a wire with a large cross-section, the heating time, and the amount of current required, increases. Thinner wire heats up faster, but also burns faster.
Unlike a conventional soldering iron, the tip of a pulsed device lasts much less. For this reason, designs should allow for easy replacement of this element.
Source: https://steelfactoryrus.com/impulsnyy-payalnik-svoimi-rukami/
A useful tool is a pulse soldering iron:
In our article we will talk about what a pulse soldering iron is. This tool is often used to install or dismantle elements of electronic and electrical products. A pulse soldering iron can be purchased at a store, but you can also make it yourself.
How does it work
It will be useful for those who use this tool to know how it works. Inside, the pulse soldering iron has a heating element made of copper wire. Low-frequency electrical radiation passes through it, due to which heating occurs. This soldering iron is called pulsed because electric current is supplied to the heater in pulses, that is, periodically. Therefore, heating occurs only during soldering.
Little energy is wasted, which means that using this tool helps save energy. It consumes only 75W and can run continuously for 15-20 minutes. In addition, the pulse soldering iron is compact and lightweight. However, he was not always like this. The design transformation took place thanks to modern materials and technologies.
The advantages of a pulse soldering iron include the ability to solder both small and massive parts.
You can do it yourself
The design of this tool is simple. Therefore, it will not be difficult for craftsmen to assemble a pulse soldering iron with their own hands. Inside it there is a step-down transformer, which is its main part. In order to independently assemble the tool, the master must have before his eyes a diagram of a pulse soldering iron and the necessary parts.
Among them are a resistor, a housing, LEDs, and electronic protection devices. If this is your first time assembling a homemade pulse soldering iron, you need to know that the device should not overheat. Therefore, when assembling it, a special device with adjustable voltage is used. And heating of the tip itself is provided by a resistor with a power of 0.5 W.
Such a resistor is made independently.
The Edge of Mastery
If you have a pulse soldering iron circuit, it’s not difficult to make it yourself. This tool is turned on and off using a button located on its body. For the convenience of working with a soldering iron, a low-power light bulb is mounted in it.
Its tip is made of copper wire, the thickness of which will be 1 mm. The time it takes for the tool to warm up and the temperature of the tip will depend on the cross-section. The transformer core must be assembled from iron (W-shaped). For example, Sh-26, Sh-20.
Next, the primary winding is made with SED wire 0.22-0.25 in the amount of 1500 turns. The same wire is used to wind the light bulb (25 turns). And then the power winding of the core is made of copper wire, making 5-6 turns. The copper wire must have a cross-section of 25x0.3 mm. The core is tightened from above with studs and nuts.
They must be insulated with fiberglass and textolite washers. Conductive busbars are similarly insulated.
Manufacturing process
A pulse soldering iron does not have to be assembled from new parts. It can be assembled using a transformer from old electrical equipment or even an energy-saving lamp.
The used transformer must first be removed from the old winding, being careful not to damage the wire of the primary winding, which can also be used in the future. The size of the coil can be adjusted to accommodate both the first and second windings.
In order to wind the primary winding, you can use a special machine, but some do it by hand. After the secondary winding is made of copper wire, it can be insulated.
Additional details
It is necessary to attach a handle, for example, a wooden one, to the assembled transformer, the main thing is that the material from which it is made is a dielectric. We must not forget about the button with which the soldering iron will turn on and off.
Moreover, heating should occur only when the button is pressed. This is very convenient, as it saves energy and prevents the soldering iron from overheating. A copper wire tip is also made and attached.
It is best if its diameter is 1-3 mm.
Making the tip
The copper wire is attached to the soldering iron using bolts or collet joints. It is necessary to decide how thick the tip is needed depending on the size of the part that will need to be soldered. Don't forget that the thinner the wire, the faster it will heat up. On the one hand, this is good, as it will allow you to quickly complete the work, but on the other hand, high temperature will lead to rapid burnout of the wire.
The most suitable heating time is 4-8 seconds. In this case, the tip wears less. But this effect can be achieved only by increasing the cross-section of the wire. But this method also has disadvantages. An increase in cross-section leads to the fact that the soldering iron begins to consume more electricity, which means it can overheat or even ignite.
To avoid undesirable consequences, you need to try the soldering iron in action, and then eliminate the shortcomings, if any.
Under your hand
You should definitely try to make a pulse soldering iron with your own hands. Such a tool is always necessary on the farm, but store-bought ones can be expensive or do not meet the declared quality. At home, a master can create a reliable soldering iron that meets all his needs. The main thing is not to make a mistake in the assembly. But everything comes with experience. A correctly assembled tool will help avoid problems with flying contacts and will be convenient and easy to use.
Source: https://www.syl.ru/article/305351/poleznyiy-instrument---payalnik-impulsnyiy
Pulse soldering iron gun
> Tools > Pulse soldering iron gun
The principle of soldering is based on the fact that at the end of the soldering iron tip the maximum heating required for melting the solder and warming up the elements being connected is achieved. Preparing parts for soldering takes a lot of time. Keeping a constantly heated electric soldering iron is unprofitable due to unjustified waste of electricity. Traditional soldering devices have been replaced by energy-saving types of pulsed soldering irons (IP).
Factory-made pulse soldering iron gun
Important! The main difference between pulse tools and conventional soldering irons is that the desired temperature at the end of the tip is achieved within 3-4 seconds after switching on.
Operating principle of the device
The tip of the tool looks like a bent copper wire through which a strong current (25-50 A) passes. Until some time, in most individual enterprises, electricity of this power was supplied by a transformer.
Its secondary winding looked like a pair of turns of copper conductor with a cross section of 6 to 10 mm2. The powerful cross-section of the conductor compared to the tip wire allows the tire to remain relatively cold with maximum heat transfer to the end of the tip.
As a rule, the busbar leads from the device body are also tip holders. The power supply itself is placed in a plastic case with a trigger-type switch. Soldering irons are made in the shape of a gun. They fit comfortably in your hand. By lightly pressing the trigger, the tool is brought into working condition.
New generation of IP
How to make a soldering iron with your own hands
The disadvantages of old pulse devices include their impressive weight due to the large mass of transformers, as well as the occurrence of instrument vibration during soldering. In the latest generation models, lighter and smaller electronic power supplies began to be used instead of bulky and massive transformers. The pulse circuit of the high-frequency current conversion unit allows you to avoid the occurrence of these negative phenomena.
Self-made IP
Making a pulse soldering iron with your own hands is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Today, there are two possible options for manufacturing power supplies: the use of standard step-down transformers or the installation of electronic boards that create high-frequency voltage pulses of electric current.
Design of a homemade IP
IP with step-down transformer
For a homemade device, a transformer is used regardless of the type of magnetic circuit. The main requirement for a voltage converter is its power in the range from 50 to 150 W. The secondary winding is removed. Instead, they place a couple of turns of a copper busbar or braided copper wire around the core.
Note! The installation of the new winding must be done so that the busbars do not contact each other and do not short-circuit directly to the core.
Copper bars of the secondary winding
When winding the elastic copper busbar, care must be taken not to damage the primary winding of the transformer. After which it is necessary to test the wiring for opens and shorts.
For the soldering iron handle, you can use an old kitchen utensil handle made of wood or dielectric. Some craftsmen cut out a holder from auxiliary material. Standard insulating tape works well to secure soldering iron parts.
Pulse soldering iron with electronic transformer
To make IP with your own hands, they often use the old body of a soldering iron gun and tip holders. Nowadays electronic units for halogen lamps have become widespread. Such a transformer outputs a current of 12 V and a power of 50 to 150 W.
Electronic transformer
The device easily fits into an old soldering iron housing. Having sufficient qualifications, you can not spend money on purchasing this part, but make an electronic board yourself.
You can go the other way and purchase a ready-made high-frequency pulse transformer. That is, you need to purchase a voltage converter so that it can fit in the body of the soldering gun.
High frequency transformer
Additional Information. If the cross-section of the existing busbars or flexible wires is not enough, then several additional turns of windings are connected.
Installation of parallel turns
Making tips
To make an IP tip, take a copper core with a diameter of 1-2 mm. The conductor is bent with a gap between the ends, which are secured in bolted, screw connections or ring clamps of the IP holders.
The required thickness of the tip wire is selected experimentally. It is clear that a tip made of a 1 mm thick copper core will warm up almost twice as quickly as a 2 mm rod.
Work area lighting
To illuminate the soldering area, install an ordinary light bulb from a household flashlight. The light turns on synchronously with the start of heating of the IP tip. Often an LED is installed instead of an incandescent lamp.
To supply 12 volt current to the light bulb, an additional small parallel secondary winding is installed in the power supply circuit. The housing of the factory-made electronic transformer has ready-made leads for powering the LED.
The LED is installed so that the beam of light rays is precisely directed at the tip of the sting.
Advantages
- The simplicity of the design allows even an inexperienced radio amateur to select the necessary parts on the radio market and assemble a pulse soldering iron with his own hands;
- Electricity is not wasted on heating the environment.
The device operates only when the switch key is pressed;
- When put aside, the soldering iron automatically turns off and the tip cools quickly, which eliminates accidental burns;
- Replacing a burnt-out tip is not difficult.
It is enough to bend a piece of copper wire as needed and insert it into the clamps of the holders.
Flaw
Along with a number of advantages of these tools, homemade pulse soldering irons have one drawback. Despite the compactness of the pulse soldering iron, its weight during long-term operation significantly affects hand fatigue. This creates a certain inconvenience during the soldering process. Skilled people were found who began to separate the electronic power supply and the working part of the soldering iron itself. To do this, the unit is connected remotely.
Today, pulse soldering irons have firmly taken their place in the field of radio electronics. Due to its ease of use, such a tool can be found in almost every household.
Soldering iron with temperature control
Source: https://jelectro.ru/instrument/impulsnyjj-payalnik-pistolet.html
How to make a pulse soldering iron with your own hands - Metalworker's Guide
When you need to quickly solder something, but don’t want to wait for the tip to warm up, a pulse soldering iron will come to your aid.
Its main advantage is that it reaches operating temperature in 1-2 seconds.
Of course, you can buy such a soldering iron in a store, but it will be much cheaper and more pleasant to assemble it yourself, especially if you have unnecessary radio parts lying around.
Any induction (pulse) soldering iron consists of a step-down transformer, a short-circuit button and a tip made of copper wire, 1-3 mm thick. In some designs, a power source and other elements are added to them.
This is what the circuit of a simple induction soldering iron looks like:
It should be noted that in this diagram the transformer has two secondary windings: one powers the lamp to illuminate the soldering area, and the other powers the tip.
A pulse and induction soldering iron are not the same thing. Pulse soldering irons are called induction soldering irons that incorporate a high-frequency voltage converter. The example device with a step-down transformer is not pulsed.
How the device works
The soldering iron works in this way: when you press the button, the voltage is supplied to the transformer, where it drops to 0.5-2 volts (accordingly, the current increases greatly) and goes to the tip, quickly heating it up. When you release the button, the tip also cools down quickly, so after releasing the button you need to quickly move it away from the part being soldered, otherwise it will be soldered to it.
Of course, a pulse soldering iron has differences from a regular one, among them there are both pros and cons. The advantages include quick heating and equally rapid cooling (the risk of getting a burn if you accidentally touch the tip is significantly reduced). Unfortunately, it has more disadvantages:
- greater weight and size, inability to accurately regulate temperature;
- the presence of an electrical potential on the tip, which can damage the electronic components being soldered - this drawback is absent in induction soldering irons with insulated tips;
- impossibility of long-term continuous operation (the standard operating mode for them is from 5 to 8 starts per 1 minute for an hour, then a break to cool down for 20 minutes).
Types of instruments
There are 4 main types of these devices. They can exist as separate species, but their characteristics can also be combined. Main types of soldering irons:
- network, operating at network frequency;
- with forced heating;
- pulse;
- with an isolated tip.
There are also pulse soldering irons with an insulated tip and forced heating. Incompatible types are mains and pulse soldering iron.
Pulse, in contrast to unregulated network, can already have power regulation through the use of a pulse converter that operates at high frequencies and can change power using the pulse-width modulation method. Due to the relatively small size of the converter, this type of induction soldering iron is the most compact of all.
Soldering irons with forced heating are devices that include a battery of powerful electrolytic capacitors connected in parallel to the tip and separated from it by switches or powerful field-effect transistors.
This afterburner works as follows: when the tip is turned off, the transistors open and the capacitor begins charging. After charging is complete they close. Then, when the tip turns on, the transistors open again, discharging the capacitors, and for a short time the power of the soldering iron increases several times.
This function makes it possible to solder massive elements with high heat capacity.
To eliminate the possibility of damage to microcircuits, insulated tips were invented. In them, the working surface of the tip is electrically isolated from the heater.
Such tips are similar to ordinary soldering irons: the tip is a thick copper rod, on which several turns of large-section wire are wound.
The rod is protected from contact with the wire by fiberglass wrapped around it.
Transformer device assembly
This type of soldering iron is the simplest. Therefore, it will not be difficult to assemble it.
To do this you will need the following components:
- The core is from a ShP type transformer (if you can’t find it, you can use the P type, it’s worse, but it will also do).
- Copper wire in varnish insulation with a cross section of 0.3 mm, for the primary winding.
- Copper wire or bus with a cross-section of 12-15 mm, which will go to the secondary winding.
- Copper wire, 2-3 squares, for making a sting.
- 2 terminals for connecting it.
- A switch in the form of a button that operates to close.
- Any soldering iron case and power cord convenient for you.
Assembling an induction soldering iron with your own hands, diagram:
First you need to wind the primary (when winding it, be guided by the resistance - it should be about 40-50 Ohms, this is approximately 1500 turns), and this must be done carefully, the coil must be wound evenly, without bumps along the edges or in the center. Before winding, insulate the core in the area where the winding will be located.
After winding, wrap the primary winding with heat-resistant tape and begin winding the secondary. It should consist of one or two turns. Before winding it, insulate the core again; the winding itself does not need to be insulated; it plays the role of a radiator, dissipating the heat coming to it from the tip. That's it, the transformer is ready.
All that remains is to prepare the case by cutting holes in it for ventilation, terminals and a switch, then install all the parts in it and connect them as indicated in the diagram.
After this, solder the network wire of the length you need and mount a plug at the end to connect to the network. Having assembled the case, plug your resulting device into a power outlet and check its operation.
If it melts the solder and the tip does not burn from overheating, then everything is in order and you can safely use it.
Making a pulse variety
It is the most common of all. It's just as easy to assemble as the previous one.
List of spare parts required for its assembly:
- Electronic transformer 12 volts for halogen lamps, power 60-90 watts.
- Copper wire with a cross section of 3 mm, for the secondary winding and tip.
- Closing button.
- Terminals.
- A piece of fiberglass for attaching terminals.
- Power cord with plug.
- Plastic water pipe, for use as a handle.
First, you need to slightly modify the halogen driver, namely, replace the secondary winding of the pulse transformer. To do this, disassemble it.
Inside it will look like this:
The required part is circled in red.
You need to carefully peel it off, then, having unsoldered the leads from the board, remove it completely. Then remove the factory secondary winding (it is located on top of the primary) and install your own, half a turn. Drill the board as shown in the photo:
After this, drill through the case so that the holes in the case and the board match. This is necessary for the convenience of bringing the ends of the secondary out.
Then solder and glue the transformer, maintaining the alignment of all existing holes, and assemble the case, having previously installed and soldered the button with the power cord. Then pass the secondary winding wire through the driver and bend it into a half ring.
All that remains is to connect the ends of the secondary with a piece of PCB with holes pre-drilled in it, and secure the terminals and tip to it, after which the assembly of the device can be considered complete.
The assembled device should look like this:
Side view:
Making a battery type mechanism
This option is more complicated than the previous ones; it is assembled not from blocks, but from individual radio components.
First let's look at the diagram
Let's make a list of the necessary components:
- 2 x 18650 batteries with built-in protection;
- 2 holders for 18650;
- 2 diodes;
- 2 resistors at 47 Ohm;
- 2 resistors at 5.6 kOhm;
- 1 capacitor 220 nF;
- 2 low-voltage (with a threshold switching voltage of 2-2.5 volts) field-effect transistors;
- 2 small radiators for cooling power transistors;
- High-current (10 A) button that operates to open.
- Ferrite sponge from a noise filter or any other small toroidal core for winding a pulse transformer.
- Smaller sized toroidal core for inductor winding.
- 2 terminals for connecting the tip.
- A piece of fiberglass for attaching terminals.
- A piece of foil fiberglass for making a board.
DIY device for disassembling racks
This is what the board layout should look like:
Link to gerber file with layout (open in Sprint-layout program): yadi.sk/d/SM1st1Lu3SaR3L
The circuit of this step-down converter does not contain a PWM controller, but is built on the basis of a symmetrical self-oscillator, which significantly reduces the complexity of the assembly and the size of the future soldering iron.
Before you begin assembling it, you need to assemble a pulse transformer and inductor , and also make a board (or use a breadboard).
The primary winding consists of six turns of wire with a cross-section of 3 mm and has a midpoint. Since such a thick wire will be difficult to wind around a small core, we recommend using six wire strands in varnish insulation, with a cross-section of 0.5 mm.
To begin, take two pieces of wire of the same length, fold them together and connect the 2 ends (after assembling the transformer they will become the middle point), leave the other two free.
The secondary winding is much easier to assemble. It consists of 1 turn of wire with a cross section of 7 mm. To wind it, we recommend using 7 wires with a cross-section of 1 mm, twisted together. Before assembling the secondary, do not forget to wrap the wire with heat-resistant insulation (thermal tape, fluoroplastic or fiberglass tube). The transformer is ready.
Next, you should start throttling. It contains 13 turns wound with wire with a cross section of 1.5 mm. For winding, use a wire in varnish insulation.
After assembling the inductor and making the printed circuit board, proceed to installing the entire circuit. After assembly, do not forget to glue the radiators to the transistors.
As a result, it should look like what is shown in the photo:
After assembling the circuit, connect the tip to it (made from copper wire with a cross-section of 3 mm) and check the functionality of the soldering iron. If everything is in order, start assembling it into the case; before doing this, do not forget to glue the battery holders together and solder them to the board. The batteries are connected in parallel.
You should get this result:
The rated power of the resulting soldering iron is 40 watts, the operating time on one charge is 1 hour, 20 minutes (when using normal batteries).
The device is not intended for long-term operation; its scope of application is urgent repair of something necessary when the power is cut off at your home or if you are far from civilization.
This soldering iron is also suitable for installers and repairmen of low-current equipment.
Its operating mode is as follows: it works for 10 minutes and cools down for the same amount of time. No more than 7 starts per minute are allowed.
Source: https://ssk2121.com/kak-sdelat-impulsnyy-payalnik-svoimi-rukami/
Self-production of a pulse soldering iron
It is known that soldering wires, radio components or various metal structures requires short-term heating of the solder to melt it, and heating of the soldered surfaces of the conductors to the required temperature.
With repeated soldering, the process of preparing parts for installation takes much more time than briefly touching a heated tip to the surfaces being soldered.
Obviously, in this case, a regular (factory or homemade) soldering iron sits uselessly idle most of the time, dissipating the energy consumed. To reduce the unnecessary power consumption of soldering tools when they are idle, a pulse soldering iron was developed,
Industrial pulse soldering iron
switched on briefly only during soldering. This tool received its name due to the consumption of electricity in the form of short-term pulses, a period of several seconds , sufficient to warm up the tip and perform the work.
Operating principle
The main difference between a pulse soldering iron is the method of heating its tip, which is a copper wire bent in an arc (like the letter “U”), through which a high-power electric current is passed, necessary to achieve the required temperature.
Heating copper wire in the form of a sting
The power supply of such a soldering iron must provide an output voltage of 1-2 V and a current of 25-50 A. Until recently, a conventional transformer was actively used for these purposes, in which the secondary winding is made in the form of several turns of a copper bus of a relatively large cross-section (several times larger, than the cross-section of the tip wire, in order to avoid heating the winding itself during operation).
Also, the conductive bars that serve as a tip holder must have a large cross-section, so the power supply is placed in the body of a pulse soldering iron, which, due to its revolving handle, resembles a pistol.
Typical shape of an industrial pulse soldering iron
But the considerable dimensions and noticeable weight of the step-down transformer make working with a soldering iron inconvenient, so recently switching power supplies have begun to be used, which are much smaller and lighter.
Current sources used to power pulsed soldering irons
Pulse soldering irons also have this name because of the improvement and miniaturization of power supplies used in these tools, which use an electronic circuit for converting high-frequency voltage pulses, although a conventional step-down transformer of suitable power can also be used.
Therefore, when creating a pulse soldering iron with your own hands, you need to decide which power supply will be used - with a step-down transformer, or electronic. The advantage of the first option is the extremely simple electrical circuit - the terminals of the secondary winding are directly connected to the conductive busbars.
An example of a homemade soldering iron with a step-down transformer
Disadvantages include the dimensions and weight of the device, as well as noticeable vibration during operation. In addition, the primary winding very often burns out due to unstable voltage and frequent overloads, and it is impossible to independently rewind it without special equipment and the appropriate winding wire.
Therefore, many radio amateurs, when repairing a failed pulse soldering iron based on a step-down transformer, use a suitable electronic power supply , replacing the secondary winding.
A burnt-out step-down transformer in an industrial soldering iron. The bulky transformer is replaced with a miniature electronic board.
The process of converting a step-down transformer
When making a pulse soldering iron, you can use an existing step-down transformer to power it, which can be with any type of magnetic circuit, the main thing is that it is suitable for power in the range of 50-150 W.
The primary network winding is left unchanged, and the secondary is removed by disassembling the transformer. Since current is of decisive importance for heating the soldering iron tip, the exact calculation of the number of turns can be neglected, concentrating efforts on achieving the maximum possible cross-sectional area of the winding busbar.
As a rule, two turns of a copper busbar or braided flexible copper wire with a cross-section of 6-10 mm² will be sufficient, which must be positioned in such a way that they do not short-circuit with each other and the transformer core.
Copper busbar in the form of a secondary winding
In the case of using a copper bus as a winding, its terminals will serve as a tip holder.
The continuation of the winding is the tip holder
The elastic bus should be wound carefully so as not to damage the primary winding, after which it should be checked for breaks and short circuits.
Remaking an electronic transformer
Creating a pulse soldering iron with their own hands from scratch, or using a ready-made case with holders, many radio amateurs use the existing electronic power supply for 12V halogen lamps with a power of 50-150W as a transformer, while also remaking the secondary winding.
Electronic transformer (switching power supply for halogen lamps)
Since no other changes to the device are required, a typical electrical circuit diagram of a switching power supply is given only as an example, without analyzing the functions of the elements and describing the operating principle.
Pulse transformer in the diagram, subject to alteration
In this case, you need to remember that to achieve the required voltage in a pulse transformer, smaller magnetic core dimensions and fewer turns are required, so one turn may be enough to remake the secondary winding.
One output turn on the toroidal magnetic core of the pulse transformer
If the existing bus or flexible wire has an insufficient cross-section, it can be increased by connecting the turns of the windings in parallel.
Connecting the terminals of parallel turns to the tip holder Parallel turns of flexible braided copper stranded wire
Since the old secondary winding can be removed without disassembling the transformer, and a new one can be created simply by inserting one turn into the voids between the insulation and the magnetic circuit, the process of remaking a switching power supply is not too difficult even for a novice craftsman.
Making a soldering iron tip
As a soldering iron tip, you need to use copper wire with a diameter of 1-2 mm, connecting it to the holders using bolted or ready-made collet connections.
Bolt fastenings of the sting on the plates
More accurately, the thickness of the wire is determined experimentally - by the speed with which the temperature of the soldering iron reaches the operating range - the thinner the tip wire, the faster it will heat up. But on the other hand, too high a temperature will make the soldering process impossible and will lead to rapid wear and even burnout of the wire.
By increasing the cross-section of the wire, it is necessary to achieve an acceptable time (4-8 seconds) for heating the tip and preventing it from overheating. It must be remembered that with an increase in the cross-sectional area of the tip wire, the power consumption and heating of the secondary winding of the transformer increase.
Therefore, having selected the required diameter of the tip wire and tested a homemade soldering iron in operation, having carried out the soldering process several times, you need to check the heating of the secondary winding - it should not heat up too much, much less get hot - otherwise the transformer may overheat, which will lead to burnout of the primary winding and ignition isolation.
For ease of operation, a light bulb or LED is often connected, which turns on synchronously and illuminates the soldering area.
A bright LED turns on synchronously with the soldering iron, illuminating the soldering area
Advantages and disadvantages
Having picked up the necessary parts on the market, or disassembled other devices, having minimal skills in radio engineering, you can assemble such a soldering iron with your own hands, adding to your arsenal a tool that will compare favorably in the following parameters:
- Economical – no electricity is used when the tool is idle;
- Safety - when not in use, the tip is always cold , which eliminates skin burns, fires of objects and melting of the power cord insulation if accidentally touched;
- Convenient to repair - the absence of a heating element prevents it from burning out, and making and replacing the tip is much simpler than that of a conventional soldering iron, where it often gets stuck.
The disadvantages include its considerable size and significant weight, which requires some physical effort and causes hand fatigue after prolonged work. Therefore, many radio amateurs separate the electronic circuit and the pulse transformer, making the instrument lighter.
The electronic circuit and the pulse transformer are separated. The transformer is separated from the circuit.
Source: https://infoelectrik.ru/elektrotexnicheskie-ustrojstva/impulsnyj-payalnik-svoimi-rukami.html
How does a pulse soldering iron work?
First of all, you need to pay attention to a very important point - a pulse soldering iron cannot be used for soldering low-voltage microcircuits that have a MOS structure, as well as elements that are afraid of static, since they can fail.
Pulse soldering iron - Differences between a pulse soldering iron and a regular one
The principle of soldering is based on the fact that at the end of the soldering iron tip the maximum heating required for melting the solder and warming up the elements being connected is achieved. Preparing parts for soldering takes a lot of time. Keeping a constantly heated electric soldering iron is unprofitable due to unjustified waste of electricity. Traditional soldering devices have been replaced by energy-saving types of pulsed soldering irons (IP).
Factory-made pulse soldering iron gun
Important! The main difference between pulse tools and conventional soldering irons is that the desired temperature at the end of the tip is achieved within 3-4 seconds after switching on.
IP with step-down transformer
For a homemade device, a transformer is used regardless of the type of magnetic circuit. The main requirement for a voltage converter is its power in the range from 50 to 150 W. The secondary winding is removed. Instead, they place a couple of turns of a copper busbar or braided copper wire around the core.
Note! The installation of the new winding must be done so that the busbars do not contact each other and do not short-circuit directly to the core.
Copper bars of the secondary winding
When winding the elastic copper busbar, care must be taken not to damage the primary winding of the transformer. After which it is necessary to test the wiring for opens and shorts.
For the soldering iron handle, you can use an old kitchen utensil handle made of wood or dielectric. Some craftsmen cut out a holder from auxiliary material. Standard insulating tape works well to secure soldering iron parts.
