How to make a soldering gun with your own hands

Hairdryer for soldering microcircuits: DIY instructions - SibNovStroy

The modern tool market represents a wide segment of hot air gun models that are distinguished by a high level of efficiency. These professional devices have many functions. But their cost is quite high, so many people assemble a hair dryer for soldering microcircuits with their own hands.

The modern tool market represents a wide segment of hot air gun models that are distinguished by a high level of efficiency. These professional devices have many functions. But their cost is quite high, so many people assemble a hair dryer for soldering microcircuits with their own hands.

The design of the device The hot air gun belongs to the category of devices designed for soldering materials subject to easy melting. In addition to its main function, the unit can be used for thermal surface treatment to remove paint or heat a product for bending, for example, a pipe.

The design of the device includes: a housing, the distinctive characteristic of which is a high level of heat resistance; device for pumping air flow; heating element. The temperature of a hair dryer for soldering microcircuits can rise to 750 ºС.

To ensure this indicator, the power of the heating component must be above 1.7 kW. An important function of factory units is the ability to regulate temperature, which increases in steps.

The temperature required for soldering materials is controlled by the distance from the nozzle to the material. Most of the modifications are designed in such a way that when the unit moves 7 cm away from the surface of the material, the temperature of the air flow is halved.

Today, such devices are used by craftsmen not only for the purpose of soldering, but also for removing paint, which is especially necessary when working with a wood surface.

When heated, the coating becomes elastic and peels off from the wood. A hot air gun copes well with this function at a temperature of 550 ºС with a nozzle distance of 1 cm from the material.

Heated air can also be used to dry surfaces.

Materials needed to assemble the device

To assemble a hair dryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands, you should prepare:

• wire;
• soldering iron;
• halogen light bulb;
• asbestos;
• heat-resistant adhesive mixture;
• thermal insulation tube;
• screws;
• electrical wire;
• start button;
• rheostat;
• compressor.

Features of self-manufacturing of the unit

Self-assembled hair dryers for soldering microcircuits create a hot air flow with a temperature of at least 850 ºС. The power indicator of the heating component should be 2.6 kW. All elements should be easy to obtain and inexpensive. The design of the unit can be manual or stationary.

A homemade hairdryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands of a stationary modification is much easier to assemble, since its dimensions are not limited, and you do not have to worry about the temperature in the handle area. But in this case, the hair dryer, which is a type of soldering iron, will be stationary. The part itself will have to be moved. A hand-held device gives you more options when working.

It should be small and allow you to hold it with your bare hands.

Making a pen

The handle must be subjected to maximum insulation. You can often hear that you can use a tarpaulin glove when soldering. This method is uncomfortable. The handle can be carved from ebonite with your own hands. This work does not require any special skills. For thermal insulation, it is advisable to use heat-resistant fabric.

If you wrap it around the handle, it will allow you to work calmly. The use of tubes made of different metals is not recommended. There is an explanation for this. Firstly, such a pen will heat up quickly. Secondly, it should be taken into account that a hair dryer is an electrical appliance that conducts current.

The fewer metal parts, the safer the use of the unit becomes.

Heating element assembly

The main problem when assembling a device such as a hair dryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands is the creation of an element for heating. Heaters from household devices such as a hair dryer or soldering iron are unsuitable in this case. The required part should be made independently based on nichrome wire, the cross-section of which is 0.4-0.8 mm.

Nichrome with a large cross-section provides high power, but it will be difficult to achieve the desired temperature. For a compact position of the heating element, you will need to make a spiral with a diameter of 4-8 mm. The spiral must be wound onto some kind of cylindrical base made of a material with high thermal resistance.

In this case, quartz or porcelain is used in the form of an empty cone or tube. This base can be removed from an old hair dryer. A product made of quartz from tube-based halogen lamp spotlights with a power rating of 2.3-2.6 kW becomes more preferable.

A small standard fan is suitable as an element responsible for forcing air flow. When assembling a hair dryer at home, this part will become the most expensive. The blower can be removed from an old high power hair dryer. For household fans, the BAKU 8032 brand with a power of 30 l/m is suitable.

The assembled hairdryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands, the photo of which is presented in this article, operates from a 220 V power supply and has a power of approximately 420 Watts. The cheapest and most standardized option is to use a small compressor for aquarium fish. It is installed together with the receiver (air storage tank).

For this purpose, any small plastic bottle is used, since there will be no heating in the installation area, and hot air will escape in the opposite direction.

When manufacturing the device body, several options are used: A material with a high level of thermal insulation is used (ceramics or porcelain). But these materials are not cheap and will complicate the design. Highly reliable thermal insulation is used to distribute hot air.

In this case, the material is not affected by temperature, with the exception of the area adjacent to the nozzle. The body base, which also includes the handle, can serve as the base of any medium-sized household hair dryer.

The body nose, that is, the nozzle, is made of thermal insulation material that can withstand heating temperatures of 800 ºС. At the same time, it acts as an insulator for other parts of the housing from high temperatures.

The nozzle must be made of metal, taking into account possible contact with melts during the soldering process. Thermal insulation can be provided by quartz elements (tube, plate, mica, fiberglass, glass, porcelain, ceramics, etc.). When manufacturing the unit, heat-resistant glue will be needed.

A power control system can be assembled from old electrical appliances, provided they are in working order. A key or push-button modification is used as a switch.

What tools will you need?

You should prepare: a jigsaw; vice; scissors; pliers; hacksaw for cutting metal surfaces; drill; brush; screwdriver; calipers; soldering iron; taps; ohmmeter; tester.

Main assembly steps

A homemade hair dryer for soldering microcircuits is assembled in several stages. The work begins with the coil winding of the heating part. The spiral is located on a steel wire with a cross-sectional index of 4-7 mm with tension. It is recommended to wind the spiral with nichrome wire with a cross-section of 0.5-0.6 mm.

The size of the spiral is selected taking into account the fact that the resistance value will be approximately 75-95 Ohms. The spiral is wound around the tubular core of a halogen lamp from a spotlight or soldering iron. The spiral turns should be laid equally over the entire base area with a small gap.

They should not contact each other. An asbestos or fiberglass layer is fixed on top of the laid spiral. The latter material is fixed with heat-resistant glue. After this, a thermal insulating tube made of ceramics, quartz, porcelain, etc. should be placed on the glue layer. The ends of the spiral are brought out.

In this case, the ends and output areas are also treated with glue.

The finished heating element is mounted in the internal channel of the hot air gun body. The installation site is covered with plates of quartz, mica or asbestos for additional thermal insulation. The spiral leads are connected to the electrical wire by means of a twisted fastener. The electrical wire must have heat-resistant insulation.

The wire is routed through a start switch and a rheostat to regulate the voltage supplied to the coil. The air blower is mounted flush with the opening of the heating element on the back of the housing. If the compressor or air injection element does not fit in the housing, it can be mounted in the outer part of the end of the housing.

In this case, a tube is connected to it, which directs the air flow. It leads to the heating element located inside the housing. Wires for power supply should be taken out from the blower, connected by a wire for heating, so that the switch can control the power of both elements.

A rheostat for regulating air flow is inserted into the circuit of the electric wire for injection. The electrical wire is brought out at the bottom of the housing handle, and the key or switch button and rheostat levers are fixed in any convenient place on the outside of the base of the product. Next, the halves of the base are connected and secured to each other.

A tip made of thermal insulating material of a cone-shaped or cylindrical shape is installed. Then a metal nozzle is attached. The design should provide for replaceable nozzles with different hot air outlet diameters.

Basic principles of operation of the unit

A homemade hair dryer for soldering microcircuits works according to the following principle:

1. when you press the start button, the fan and heater start working;
2. a narrow stream of hot air is directed to the desired point;
3. flux for soldering microcircuits with a hairdryer and the solder begins to melt;
4. the parts to be connected are heated.

This is how parts are soldered.

Soldering microcircuits

If it is necessary to use a hair dryer as a device for soldering microcircuits, then the temperature of the air flow rises to 700-800 ºС. The air flow is directed in a narrow stream.

The power of the heating element should be increased to 2.3-2.6 kW. The handle should have a temperature that is comfortable for the skin of your hands.

To prevent soldering from causing inconvenience, the handle can be equipped with an additional protective layer of rubber.

Conclusion

A device such as a hot air gun can be used for many types of work related to soldering microcircuits and small parts. Using the unit, you can solder materials such as linoleum, PVC film, dismantle radio components, dry joints with glue, melt the ends of synthetic ropes, melt hot-melt adhesive, etc. Soldering SMD microcircuits with a hairdryer is of high quality.

The device can be assembled independently. At the same time, monetary costs will be minimal. A hair dryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands is assembled on the basis of a regular hair dryer.

The heating element undergoes greater modification. The idea of ​​how the unit works remains the same as that of a conventional hair dryer.

The air is pumped by a fan, passes through the heating element, and acquires a temperature sufficient to melt the flux for soldering or desoldering.

Source: https://sibnovostroy.ru/stanki/fen-dlya-pajki-mikroshem-instruktsiya-po-izgotovleniyu-svoimi-rukami.html

Homemade hot air gun for soldering with your own hands +

When working with plastic materials during soldering, various devices are used that you can buy or make yourself. For example, it is very easy to assemble a hot air gun for soldering with your own hands, although many are put off by the complexity of such a task.

In fact, you can assemble this device from scrap parts very quickly - in about an hour or two.

NECESSARY TOOLS AND MATERIALS Gas shears Drill File Knife Screwdrivers Pliers Electric hacksawExpand
about a homemade hot air gun

A hot air gun is a device for softening, heating and melting materials such as, for example:

• plastic;
• tin;
• thin sheet of metal (up to 0.5 mm).

The process involves blowing a stream of air onto a heated coil. The mass of air, passing by the spiral, heats up, and a hot stream of molecules is obtained, which, bombarding the material at high speed, transfer to it thermal energy even slightly greater than that generated at the outlet of the hot air gun. Of course, if the end of the tube is located very close to the material being processed. As the distance increases, the heating temperature drops.

In order to assemble a hot air gun with your own hands, it is important to know what it consists of:

1. heater (the housing is usually a tube);
2. supercharger (it can be a fan or pump);
3. pen;
4. cord with switch.

At the end of the device, if, for example, it is made for soldering, various attachments and a temperature sensor are installed. To desolder elements, nozzles are optional. If the supercharger is made separately, then a hose is provided between it and the housing.

Tip: It is best to use store-bought bits, but you can turn them on a lathe.

Popular misconceptions when assembling a hot air gun for soldering

Many people are sure that if you have a fan and a heater, then making a device for soldering plastic materials is a piece of cake. Therefore, they decide to use a regular household hair dryer, because it contains all the necessary components:

• heater - a spiral on a mica or fluoroplastic frame;
• fan - on the motor shaft;
• cord, handle, switch.

But even if you take a powerful hair dryer, it still won’t heat the tin until it melts, and to raise the temperature you will have to:

1. reduce engine speed;
2. reduce the caliber of the outlet.

Let's consider these options.

The first option will cause the coil to overheat and break or shut down due to overheating.

The second will cause the temperature inside the case to rise, which could cause the case to melt.

There is another option - reducing the spiral, but it’s hardly worth talking about. The result will be the same.

Homemade hot air gun for soldering

about a homemade soldering hair dryer

The lightest and most efficient device can be assembled from a vacuum cleaner and a ready-made heater, which can be bought at any flea market, and is a spiral wound around a wooden boss with an attached cord.

Parts for assembling a hot air gun:

• heater – spiral on a boss;
• body – tin can with a lid;
• adapter;
• adapter for vacuum cleaner.

The structure is assembled like this:

1. A hole with a diameter of 10–20 mm is made in the lid.
2. A boss with an attached adapter is attached to the lid of the jar on one side, in which holes must be drilled for air supply.
3. On the other side of the cover, an adapter for a pipe or vacuum cleaner hose is strengthened.
4. A hole is cut in the bottom of the jar.
5. A nozzle is attached to the bottom - a hollow, thick-walled copper cone.

Tip: attach a tap to the hose or pipe of the vacuum cleaner to regulate the pressure and air speed.

When assembling, you should select the optimal length of the spiral experimentally. For this:

• gradually reducing the air supply with a tap, check the heating by touching the rosin and solder with a tip;
• if the heating is insufficient, reduce the spiral and check again.

Hot air gun for soldering microcircuits

Next we will talk about a more complex device, similar to those used in soldering stations. To assemble it you will need:

• a tube from an old heater (for example, Soviet-made, there were ones with two or three spirals enclosed in quartz glass tubes),
• 600 watt tile spiral (can be bought at any store or flea market),
• a handle from a children's pistol or a damaged electric drill,
• insulation (heat-shrinkable tubing and varnished fabric),
• clamps (you can use homemade ones, or you can buy them);

• a regular computer cooler or a snail fan (the second option is better, you can use a separate compressor, but this will cause inconvenience - you will be tied to the hose),
• neck of a plastic bottle or bottle with a cap;

For the fan, it is best to use a transformer power supply of 5–22 volts (regulated). It is easy to build it yourself, for example, if you know pulse technology, you can use an old computer unit, modifying it a little.

It is very simple to assemble a circuit that regulates the heating of the coil. It requires 4 KD-202 diodes and one thyristor, for example, KU-202, controlled by variable resistance.

Design and assembly

To assemble a hot air gun for soldering, use our recommendations.

Making a heater with a handle

• Cut the spiral to approximately 12 cm, having first measured its resistance. It should be within 40-45 Ohms.
• Insert the spiral into the tube, which needs to be cut on the sharpener so that approximately 5-7 cm remains unoccupied. This is necessary to create a temperature difference between the heated part and the place of connection to the cooler, as well as to strengthen the handle in the place free from the spiral.
• Cut a handle out of wood or take a ready-made one, for example, from a broken drill or a children's pistol.
• On the upper part of the handle, attach two clamps coaxially, which will serve to secure the tube and as contacts.
• Straighten the ends of the spiral and bend them so that they can be screwed to the clamps. There should be a straight long piece at the front.
• Wrap the spiral in the places of fastening with mica and varnished cloth.
• Secure the tube in the clamps by connecting the mounting wire to them.
• Melt or glue the end of the tube into the cap of the bottle.

Making a supercharger

There are two manufacturing methods.

1. If you have a snail fan, then everything is done very simply. A suitable part is cut from the neck of the bottle and glued to the fan.
2. If you have a simple fan or cooler, then you need to cover one of the sides of the cooler with a plastic cover and cut a hole in the end for air. And also glue the neck of the bottle.

The ends of the fan wires are extended, strengthened, and passed through the handle, which houses a switch for the coil or a switch with a temperature controller.

All that remains is to screw the resulting supercharger onto the heater (the cap and neck of the bottle you are using are very suitable as a connector) and connect the wires to the cord with a plug. For greater convenience, it is better to assemble the electrical part of the device in one case, and weave the cooler power cords and spirals together or wrap them with tape in several places.

In the same way, you can make other devices, for example, a do-it-yourself heat gun.

Source: https://refite.ru/termofen-dlya-pajki-rukami.html

Setting up a homemade soldering station and assembling a powerful hot-air soldering gun from improvised means

Radio technicians and amateurs often encounter various breakdowns of radio equipment. For repairs, a regular soldering iron with a copper tip can be used, but with the advancement of technology, very small parts are installed in some devices. It is inconvenient or completely impossible to work with such devices with a regular soldering iron; for example, SMD elements must be soldered by heating the common soldering area. To carry out such processes, there are various soldering stations and hair dryers.

Features and purpose

To heat metal taps and a special soldering agent, you need special equipment, which is a soldering hair dryer. The device can very quickly heat up to the desired temperature, even with a simple design.

Thanks to its simple structure, both a novice electrician and a professional can work with the device. To simplify the work with small parts, additional equipment is also used in conjunction with hair dryers, but since the price of the devices is considerable, the best option would be a do-it-yourself soldering station with a hair dryer.

This equipment will allow you to cope with most complex tasks without much effort.

The design of the device is the same as that of a hair dryer, but has less power and more compact attachments. Most often, the soldering station kit includes a regular soldering iron and a hot air gun. In this case, the devices are equipped with temperature regulators.

For a professional workshop, it is easier to buy a hot air gun, as it will quickly justify its cost, and it will be more convenient to use such equipment. And if microcircuits need to be soldered at home and not every day, then a homemade hot-air soldering station with your own hands is suitable for this.

The difference between soldering guns

Very often, radio amateurs think about how to make a soldering gun with their own hands, but before starting assembly, you need to know the principles and differences between the soldering station and the soldering iron itself. The device circuit consists of a main and an additional part. The main part is the block to which soldering irons are connected. Depending on the method of air supply, stations are of two types:

1. Turbine - the air flow is formed thanks to the built-in cooler in the hot air gun.
2. Compressor room - the air flow is formed by a compressor installed in the main building of the station.

When purchasing a soldering station, such features are of great importance, since compressor ones create a strong air flow, and they can be used to work in hard-to-reach places even with narrow nozzles, while turbine ones are not able to push air with the required power through the narrow opening of the nozzles.

The device works by heating a ceramic or spiral-like element that is installed in a hot air gun, and heating the air passing through this element. A soldering hot air gun can heat air to a temperature within 100-180 degrees, and modern models have the ability to adjust the temperature threshold.

Compared to infrared analogues, hot air stations have the following disadvantages:

1. The air flow blows away small parts.
2. Uneven surface heating.
3. Changing attachments for different types of work.

However, for amateurs, such disadvantages are insignificant compared to the price advantage.

A hot-air soldering iron for a station can be made at home from an ordinary household hair dryer. At the same time, in terms of technical characteristics, it will not be inferior to the factory analogue. The main characteristics of this soldering iron are:

• Tip diameter;
• Power;
• Turbine performance;
• Maximum temperature threshold.

Such parameters directly affect the quality and performance of the device, so they must be treated very carefully during assembly.

Design features of a hot air gun

Using a soldering device, you can melt plastic parts and metals that have a low melting point. A special nichrome spiral heats the air, after which the hot air is supplied to the desired point.

When designing a homemade device, you must be guided by the main parameter - the heating temperature of the air.

In professional devices, the parameter reaches 800 degrees, but if melting silver or aluminum is not required, then a homemade hot air gun can be made with a temperature threshold of up to 600℃.

When assembling a device at home, you also need to focus on saving money, and for this you need to find parts for assembly. The equipment design includes:

• Frame;
• Heating part;
• A device through which air will be supplied;
• Holder;
• Power button.

To improve the device, you can pre-provision for the use of a sensor and temperature controller, as well as the installation of different attachments.

Making a hot air gun

A hairdryer with a fan and a nichrome spiral with a thickness of 0.4 mm or more are well suited for making an air-heated soldering iron yourself. Since we plan to assemble a homemade device of a compact size, a spiral with a diameter larger than 0.5 mm will not work.

A larger cross section will require more current. First you need to select a power source, and then select the number of turns, since the resistance of the spiral and heating of the air will depend on this.

In order to assemble a powerful hot air gun, a power source with a voltage of up to 36 V is sufficient.

Housing and heating system

An old soldering iron or a steel tube can be used as the body of the hot air gun, but since the operating temperature will be high, you need to wrap the tube with heat-resistant material or attach a handle holder. You can also use a car cigarette lighter as an air duct inside which the heating system will be placed.

At the next stage, it is necessary to wind a nichrome spiral with a small distance between the turns. A ceramic tube with a diameter of 4-5 mm can be used as an insulator on which the spiral is wound. The length of the spiral must be wound taking into account the resistance, which is calculated in the range from 70 to 90 Ohms.

The end of the tube can be equipped with a ceramic or porcelain tubular element, and it is better to wind the spiral on a flat plate, which will have a beneficial effect on heat transfer. You will get peculiar branches in the form of petals that will not touch the insulator. To increase efficiency, thermal protection can be made using fiberglass or asbestos.

Air supply device

To supply air, you can use a small-sized cooler from a computer power supply, which is installed near the handle of a hot air gun. A metal tube with a wound spiral is connected to the fan.

A hole is cut at the end of the fan to move air to the tube. One of the sides of the cooler is hermetically sealed. You can use mica plates from an old hair dryer as the base of the thermal system. A cross-shaped base is made from such plates, onto which nichrome wire is wound.

Power adjustment

In order to be able to adjust the air flow and current strength, it is necessary to assemble a block in which the rheostats will be placed. One of the rheostats is connected to the heating system, and the other to air ventilation. The power button is installed common to the entire system.

A homemade soldering station with a hair dryer and regulators will replace the factory version and can be used not only for soldering conventional radio components, but also for working with more serious elements.

When assembling a hot air gun, care must be taken to isolate the spiral from the metal body, otherwise a short circuit will inevitably occur.

Hot air gun from a regular soldering iron

An ordinary soldering iron is perfect as a housing for a soldering gun. All internal components must be removed. You must be extremely careful not to damage anything. For assembly you will need a halogen lamp bulb as an insulator.

Next, the edges of the flask are cut off with a glass cutter to obtain a glass tube, and a tip with a manufactured socket for the heater is attached to one of the sides. The heater can be a nichrome plate up to 0.7 mm thick.

When manufacturing a device, different steps are carried out, but it is better to follow this sequence:

• Winding a spiral and inserting a quartz flask inside the spiral.
• To reduce heating of the device, the insulator is wrapped with foil.
• Installation of the heating element into the housing and its fixation.
• Connecting the compressor hose to the handle or installing a fan.

Such a simple design will not have high performance, and the heating of the air flow does not exceed 300 degrees. For DIY modifications, a soldering iron with a power of 40 W is suitable, as well as an aquarium compressor as an air blower.

Upgrading a conventional soldering iron can occur without removing the heating element, but with removing the metal part. The power wire is led out into the side hole made in the handle, and instead of the wire, a bushing is installed in the rear part for further installation of the air tube. The outlet of the sleeve and wire must be sealed.

Next, the metal part of the soldering iron is installed in place, and instead of the copper tip, a metal tube of a suitable diameter is installed. A section from an element of a telescopic indoor antenna can be used as a tube.

In a homemade soldering hot air gun of this type, it is important to regulate the air flow , since if the flow intensity is high, the air will not be able to heat up to the required temperature.

From a plastic jar

To manufacture this design, you will also need a nichrome spiral, a power supply and a blower fan, and the following parts are used as housing elements:

• Small plastic pill bottle;
• Aluminum tube from the condenser;
• Plastic lid from a coffee can;
• Steel tube as a nozzle.

To assemble the device, you need to cut off the bottom of a plastic jar with a utility knife. A cooler is glued into the lid of a coffee can, and a capacitor housing is mounted into the lid of a jar of tablets along with a prepared heating element.

All wires are brought out, after which the lid with the cooler is put on the jar using hot-melt adhesive.

This hot air gun device is quite compact and does not require an additional holder, and as a nozzle you can use not only a steel tube, but also ceramic elements from the heating system of an old iron.

Safety precautions when working

Working with a hot air gun, especially a self-assembled one, requires special attention to operational safety. There are several rules that must be followed:

• Follow fire safety precautions.
• If a temperature regulator is installed, the temperature threshold cannot be changed by sharply turning the regulator.
• Do not touch the heating element or attachments while the device is operating, as this may cause serious burns and other consequences.
• You can change the nozzle only after turning off and cooling the soldering iron.
• Do not allow water or other liquid to come into contact with the device.

When working with the device, it is recommended to ventilate the room to avoid poisoning by vapors.

Manufacturing recommendations

Without modification, a hair dryer device for drying hair will not bring success in operation, so it is recommended to use only a motor with a fan and a spiral that will be wound taking into account the requirements for a homemade device. Strong heating, together with a decrease in fan rotation and a decrease in the diameter of the nozzle, leads to burnout of the spiral and melting of the plastic case, and also, if the insulation is poor, a short circuit .

By installing an additional power button for the fan, you can speed up the cooling process of the soldering iron.

If you turn off the heating element and leave the cooler on, the heated part of the device will be blown through with air, thereby cooling the entire system.

For convenience in working with the device, it is recommended to make a stand with a metal base , as well as using magnets. Thanks to the use of a neodymium magnet, the hot air gun will be securely held in the desired position.

Source: https://chebo.biz/stroyka-i-remont/kak-sdelat-termovozdushnyj-payalnyj-fen-svoimi-rukami.html

How to make a hot air gun from a regular soldering iron

Keen radio amateurs often require a soldering gun to mount various microcircuits. Good equipment has a high price, and a simple heat gun will not work in many cases. If you can’t buy a soldering gun, you can assemble it yourself.

Using a hot air gun

Typically, a soldering iron is used in certain cases, such as:

1. Soldering small radio components that a regular soldering iron cannot handle.
2. Limited space on the board, when it is difficult to get to the parts with a soldering iron.
3. Repair of smartphones, phones, tablets and e-books.
4. Removing video chips from the board.

Craftsmen have learned to make hot air guns from scrap materials, such as construction and household hair dryers or a regular soldering iron.

Soldering iron hair dryer: materials and assembly

To assemble a hairdryer from a simple soldering iron, you will need to think about how the temperature will be regulated, air supplied and the heating element assembled. It is also necessary to take into account all safety rules to avoid injury during work.

For a hot air gun you will need:

• An old soldering iron powered by 220 V;
• A quartz tube that will serve as a heating chamber;
• Thermostat;
• Nichrome wire up to 0.7 mm thick;
• A halogen lamp from a spotlight for heating the air and melting the solder;
• Fan.

The hair dryer assembly process involves several steps:

1. A spiral is made from nichrome wire, which is placed inside a quartz tube and connected to the supply wire.
2. Next, the thermocouple wire is threaded to regulate the heating of the filament.
3. The device is insulated using a tube that needs to be wound around a quartz tube.
4. The soldering iron tip is replaced with a tube. The tube is centered by wrapping it with asbestos cord.
5. The front end of the tube is clamped using a clamp.
6. A hose is threaded through to supply air.
7. At the end, a compressor is connected, the temperature regulator of which is located on the body of the hair dryer.

Features of a homemade hot air gun

This type of soldering gun works when the nichrome thread is heated by current. The air from the compressor enters a special chamber, where it is heated by a spiral and insulating foil. Next, the heated air flows to the printed circuit board.

You can assemble a hot air gun from a soldering iron, but it will still have a number of disadvantages. These include the difficulty of calibrating the heating temperature, the laboriousness of the process, and poor thermal insulation of the soldering iron. It will also not be possible to regulate the heating intensity, and the strength of the air flow will have to be increased or decreased by pinching the air duct tube.

A more advanced model can be made from a construction heat gun. In addition, for a soldering gun it would be nice to purchase a special soldering station that provides data on temperature and air flow and helps calibrate the thermocouple. The station will make working with a hot air gun much more convenient.

Source: https://izdoski.com/kak-sdelat-termofen-iz-obychnogo-payalnika.html

How to make a soldering station from a hair dryer with your own hands

A soldering hair dryer is very similar to a simple household product. The main difference is only the operating temperature. It is thanks to the high power that such a product can be used to solder various radio components. You can also assemble circuits using a household hair dryer or a simple soldering iron.

• What is a soldering iron
• Soldering gun design
• How to make a soldering gun with your own hands
• How to make a soldering iron from a soldering iron with your own hands
• Main features of soldering stations
• How to make a soldering station with your own hands

What is a soldering iron

A soldering hair dryer is a universal electrical device that makes it possible to heat metal bends . Due to its good build and ease of use, the soldering gun is ideal for professionals and beginners.

This device is very rarely used separately, because when performing work, the exact direction of the hot air is quite important. That is why specialists mainly use soldering stations.

In other words, this is a semi-professional heating device that includes a welding heater and a convenient soldering iron. The soldering station is ideal for high-quality work with blocks of electrical circuits and networks.

In some cases, thanks to such a device, it is possible to heat treat small parts.

It should be noted that all models of soldering guns are very different in their technical characteristics:

• nozzle diameter from 2 to 6 millimeters;
• maximum power up to 500 watts;
• maximum fan performance is up to 32 liters per minute;
• operating temperature up to 550 degrees Celsius.

Soldering gun design

A soldering gun is often used to melt or soften tin, small sheets of metal or plastic. This treatment occurs due to the blowing of the material with a highly heated spiral. The air becomes very hot and transfers thermal energy to the material being processed.

In order to make such a universal product with your own hands, you need to study its design features . It includes:

• tube-shaped body;
• an air blower, which can be a regular fan or pump;
• manual switch;
• comfortable handle.

Experts recommend additionally equipping a homemade soldering gun with a temperature sensor and several special attachments.

How to make a soldering gun with your own hands

Radio amateurs who intend to make their own soldering gun should know that absolutely any old device can be suitable for creating such a device. Sometimes you can use a piece of metal tube. Metals such as copper and aluminum are not suitable for this job.

Of course, it is necessary to take into account the fact that when heated, the element can become very hot and will increase the weight of the soldering iron , and this will make its use uncomfortable for a long period of time.

It follows from this that it is necessary to use only specialized heat-resistant fabric.

Soldering guns are mainly made of stationary design. In this case, you need to firmly fix the product on a stationary base and move the board when soldering the circuit. Of course, this design has many disadvantages.

To make your own soldering gun, outdated hair dryers are often used because they are equipped with mica plates that can withstand high temperatures.

For this element you need to make a special base that will withstand heavy loads well.

Heating coils must be made only from fairly soft nichrome. Fechral is not suitable for this purpose because it is very hard. Much attention should be paid to the maximum power of the soldering gun, since the flux will not be able to melt due to insufficient temperature. But it is worth recalling that if the temperature is too high, radio components may fail.

How to make a soldering iron from a soldering iron with your own hands

Quite often, instead of a hair dryer, a regular soldering iron is used, or, to be more precise, its body. Absolutely all the insides must be carefully pulled out, leaving only a metal clip and a comfortable handle. Additionally, a halogen lamp with a maximum power of up to 2 kilowatts will be required. It will be useful for making a quartz insulator.

A burnt-out lamp may also be suitable for this purpose. Next, using a special diamond machine, you need to cut off all the flattened ends . The result should be a quartz tube. On one side there will be a special nipple for technological needs, in which it is necessary to make a hole for powering the heater.

Nichrome will act as a heating element. Its thickness should be from 0.33 to 0.75 millimeters. If the wire diameter is larger, its cooling time will be very long.

You will also need a special regulator that will help you properly configure the operation of the equipment. Assembling the product with your own hands should be done in strict sequence. The finished quartz tube must be placed in a nichrome spiral.

The end of the spiral should be extended using a regular wire. To reduce the heating temperature, the tube must be wrapped in a layer of foil.

Next, the element must be placed in a metal casing holder and the power cord secured to the handle of an old soldering iron. A pre-prepared structure is inserted into the same place, and the tube is wrapped with an asbestos cord. After these steps, the device will be in the center of the clip. The front edge must be clamped , and then the hose must be placed in the handle for air flow. In this case, the air source will be a simple compressor, which is often used in aquariums.

Main features of soldering stations

The soldering station consists of a main unit and a hot air gun manipulator, which is responsible for heating the air. Such devices are used for minor repairs of various household appliances.

Soldering stations can be divided into the following types:

• turbine devices in which a small electric motor with an impeller is responsible for the air supply;
• compressor devices in which air is supplied by a small compressor.

Turbine devices are distinguished by their ability to generate a large flow of air, and compressor devices help it pass through very small nozzles. The operating principle of the soldering station is quite simple. Room air passes through an induction heater, which is located in the tube, and then heats up and enters the radio component through a special nozzle.

Of course, soldering stations have some disadvantages , which include:

• risk of blowing off a small radio component;
• uneven heating of the surface of the material;
• the need for various special attachments.

How to make a soldering station with your own hands

A soldering station is quite easy to make yourself. For this you will need a nichrome spiral and an old hair dryer. The coil is a heating element, and the air blower can be a small fan. For example, you can use a cooler from an old power supply for this purpose. It is placed on the body of the soldering gun.

tube for heating the air must be connected to the same place . A small cooler on one side closes very tightly, and on the other side you need to make a small hole. Making a heater can cause some difficulties, so this work should be done quite carefully.

The wire needs to be wound onto the base, only the turns must be located at a small distance. To make the base, you will need a material with low thermal conductivity and resistance to high temperatures. Mica plates, which are often found in outdated household hair dryers, are ideal.

Sometimes a halogen lamp, which is used in powerful spotlights, is suitable for this. A few centimeters of the base must be left free. They need to be covered with heat-resistant fabric . Next, a special nozzle is made from porcelain or ceramics.

It also needs to be treated with thermal insulation material, which will increase the efficiency of a homemade soldering station.

Absolutely all parts must be assembled in such a way that air flows well into the tube and the heating element is located in the middle of the nozzle. The manufactured device will closely resemble a pistol. In order for them to work comfortably, it is worth making clamps for different attachments and holders.

There will be several wires coming out of the back of the soldering station that need to be properly insulated. Additionally, you need to install several special rheostats that will help regulate the heater power supply and air flow.

Next, you need to install a manual switch and connect the plug to the socket.

Making a homemade soldering station for performing various types of repairs is quite easy. To do this, you can use an outdated hair dryer or soldering iron. The main condition is high-quality and correct assembly of all circuit parts so that the product can provide good power and not overheat. You can also use these tips when repairing a soldering station yourself.

Source: https://instrument.guru/svoimi-rukami/kak-sdelat-payalnuyu-stantsiyu-iz-fena.html

How to assemble a soldering gun with your own hands?

A soldering gun, made with your own hands from the same soldering iron, can satisfy all the needs for repairing radio equipment. It is very important for a radio amateur to have such equipment for personal use. Modern technology has begun to be made from such small parts that a regular soldering iron is simply not able to perform soldering.

Drawing of the heater housing of a homemade soldering hair dryer and its photograph.

Setting up a hot air gun is not difficult. The main parts and assemblies include:

• a heating element;
• housing made of materials with low thermal conductivity;
• compressor.

Required materials and tools

At the same time, there is no need to look for specific schemes for making a soldering gun: everything is arranged quite simply. Must have:

• old soldering iron or soldering iron;
• halogen lamp;
• nichrome thread (diameter less than 7 mm);
• compressor from an aquarium or refrigerator.

Work order

Assembly drawing of a soldering gun.

Ideally, you need to have an old soldering gun and repair it by replacing worn parts. The main thing about this device is its body with low thermal conductivity. But it is quite possible to make a soldering iron from an ordinary soldering iron. First you need to disassemble the soldering iron by removing its tip. A heating element will need to be placed in the housing.

It can be made from nichrome thread and a halogen lamp. The fact is that the glass on such a lamp can withstand enormous temperatures. Moreover, the higher the lamp power, the stronger and more reliable the glass. All you need is the lamp housing.

The remaining parts can be cut with a grinder or a special file, or ground off on a diamond wheel from a grinder. A spiral of refractory material must be placed inside the resulting glass case.

Nichrome is the best of them, and it works under normal conditions and does not require an inert gas environment.

The spiral will need some work. The heat given off depends on the surface area, so the spiral should not be thick. A thin wire will quickly burn out if it is short. We recommend following the principle that was used in the manufacture of incandescent lamps: the spiral is made of nichrome thread. The length will be sufficient, but in order not to take risks, it is better to immediately calculate all the parameters of the spiral depending on the existing compressor and current parameters.

Installation and insulation of the spiral

Circuit of a switching power supply for a miniature soldering gun, assembled on the basis of a CFL ballast.

We place the spiral in the lamp body. The resulting element is placed in a foil capsule. The reflected radiation will only increase the power of the hair dryer, and a minimum of heat will flow out.

The heating element must be positioned strictly in the center of the soldering iron body. This can be done this way: the element is wrapped in several layers in an asbestos thread so that its diameter evenly increases.

The resulting product can be placed in the housing, but only on the condition that a tube supplying air from the compressor is already connected through the handle of the former soldering iron. The main thing is that it provides an air supply of about 30 liters per minute.

Even a computer cooler placed in a special case may be suitable. Now we collect all the parts into a single product - and the hot air gun can be considered complete.

How to regulate and adjust the power?

You may not be able to work with a hot air gun right away. More work will need to be done on the power. Electrical parameters can be changed using a series-connected rheostat. But about the hair dryer nozzle, you will also have to do some magic. Many craftsmen are simply confident that a needle from a medical syringe is ideal for these purposes.

Soldering gun diagram.

A controversial issue: modern needles are not always able to withstand temperatures above 500 degrees. But soldering often requires much more - up to 800 (certain brands of fluxes melt at high temperatures). If you want to provide a hot air gun with a cut medical needle, then try to find old tools. In the old days, the alloy used to make reusable needles was of very high quality, so there is no doubt about their reliability.

By experimenting with the nozzle diameter, you can achieve optimal operating conditions. But using such a hairdryer for a long time without turning it off is very inconvenient: excessive temperature leads to overheating of the parts. And even though the likelihood of ignition is small, you will definitely need to have special oven mitts or tweezers on hand, and this is not very convenient. If you place the device on a tripod, this will partially reduce the inconvenience due to the appearance of other disadvantages.

Hair dryer or soldering station: conclusions on the topic

Although a stationary soldering gun is mistakenly called a soldering station, it is a completely different device. An ordinary stationary hair dryer is inconvenient because when using it you need to constantly bring the parts under the air flow. At the same time, you will not always be able to accurately direct it, which means that the radio components will overheat and deteriorate.

The soldering station must provide various operating modes and have an additional number of attachments and accessories.

These can be heating elements of various powers, which can be easily replaced, and a set of nozzles, and various regulators for both the current power supplied to the element and for changing the air supply speed. Such a station can be made on the basis of a stationary soldering hair dryer, equipped with a control unit.

A low-power construction hair dryer can also be converted into a soldering station. The DIY hair dryer itself is made according to the principles described above, but the thread for the heating element does not need to be placed in a glass case: it can simply be wound on a plate of fireproof, refractory material. In this case, a ceramic base is the best option.

Source: https://masterinstrumenta.ru/info/payalnyj-fen-svoimi-rukami.html

Hairdryer for soldering microcircuits: DIY instructions

A hot air gun for soldering is sometimes simply an indispensable assistant in the household. Using this hairdryer, you can do a number of different jobs with your own hands in any field of activity. The hairdryer makes it possible to solder linoleum, films, microcircuits and is an indispensable equipment for other types of work.

Today, a huge number of models are offered that meet all the highest requirements and standards. These professional hair dryers can do a lot. But their price is quite high, and therefore a home-made hot air gun for soldering looks much more preferable for most people.

Hot air gun design

A hot air gun is a device for soldering low-melting materials using a hot air stream. In addition to its main function of soldering materials, this device can be used for heat treatment of materials for another purpose, for example, to remove paint or heat a product, for example, a pipe during bending.

The design of the hot air gun has a body with high heat resistance, devices for forcing air flow and a heating element. The air in the hairdryer heats up to 600-750 degrees. To ensure this heating, the power of the heating part must be over 1.7 kW.

An important element of industrial hot air guns is the ability to regulate the temperature, most often in steps, 350 and 550 C. The temperature that reaches the surface of the materials being soldered can also be adjusted by the distance from the hair dryer nozzle to the material.

The majority of hair dryers are adjusted in such a way that when the device moves 6-7 cm away from the material, the temperature of the air flow decreases by 2 times .

Today, these hair dryers are widely used to remove old paint, which is especially important for wooden surfaces. In this case, a maximum air flow temperature of at least 550 C is required. With this heating, the paint becomes elastic and moves away from the wood.

Today, artificial aging of wood coatings is in demand. A hot air gun does an excellent job of this task at a temperature of 550 degrees and a distance of the device nozzle of 1 cm from the material. Heated air (at the lower adjustment level) is used to dry coatings.

Features of making a hot air gun with your own hands

The main requirement for a homemade hot air gun can be outlined this way: the hair dryer must create a hot air flow with a temperature of at least 850C with a heating element power of at least 2.6 kW. In addition, all elements of this hair dryer must be inexpensive and accessible. Simple household hair dryers do not meet this requirement either in terms of power or temperature.

Most often, the design is chosen in two types:

• Manual hot air gun.
• Stationary hot air gun.

A stationary hair dryer is easier to make because there are no restrictions on the size of the device and you don’t have to think about the temperature on the handle. But in this version, the hair dryer (in this case, a kind of soldering iron) is fixed motionless, and the part needs to be moved. This circumstance makes soldering much more difficult. The most promising, although more complex, is a mobile manual design; it should be small and allow it to be held with bare hands.

One of the main issues is the heating element. In household devices (soldering iron, hair dryers), heaters are not suitable in terms of power. The required heating element must be made with your own hands from nichrome wire with a cross section of 0.4-0.8 mm.

Nichrome with a larger cross-section can create more power, but achieving the required temperature will be much more difficult.

with a diameter of 4-8 millimeters from wire .

The spiral must be placed on some kind of base in the form of a cylinder (in the shape of a hollow cone or tube) made of a material that has high thermal resistance. In this case, it is difficult to do without quartz or porcelain elements.

This base can be found in non-working household hair dryers, but it is recommended to use a quartz insulator for halogen tubular lamp spotlights with a power of 2.3-2.6 kW.

If you find such a non-working lamp, then this element of a homemade hot air gun will cost you free.

A standard small-sized fan will be required as a blower element. When assembling a hair dryer yourself, this part will cost you the most. The blower can be removed from any powerful home hair dryer. For household fans, we can recommend the BAKU 8032 model with a capacity of 30 liters per minute. This fan operates from a 220 Volt power supply and has a power of about 420 Watts .

The cheapest and simplest option that can satisfy all requirements is a small compressor for aquarium fish. It must be installed with a receiver, that is, with an air storage tank. Any small plastic bottle is suitable for this, since no heating occurs in the area where it is installed, and the hot air flow is directed in the other direction. And the air blower itself is not subject to thermal effects.

There are several options for making the hair dryer body:

• Use a material with increased thermal insulation, for example, ceramics or porcelain, but this will cause a significant increase in cost and complexity of the design.
• Use reliable thermal insulation of the heating element and hot flow distribution channel. In this case, the housing material is not subject to temperature effects, with the exception of the area adjacent to the hair dryer nozzle.

As the main part of the body (including the handle), you can choose the body from any unnecessary large-sized household hair dryer (the older the year of manufacture, the better).

The nose of the body , that is, the place of the nozzle, must be made of thermal insulation material, which itself can withstand temperatures of about 800C and at the same time insulates other parts of the body from the effects of this temperature.

The hot air gun nozzle itself must be made of metal to take into account possible contact with melts during soldering.

Thermal insulation can be perfectly provided by quartz elements (tubes, plates), mica, fiberglass or glass, porcelain, ceramics and so on. During the manufacture of the hair dryer, special heat-resistant glue .

The design of a hairdryer for do-it-yourself soldering must include:

• starting switch;
• mechanism for adjusting the air flow speed and temperature (power) of the heating element.

Why should smooth regulators be installed - rheostats? The power control system can be used from unnecessary household electrical appliances if these elements are still in good condition. A key or push-button mechanism can be installed as a starting switch.

DIY hot air gun assembly

The main purpose of a hot air gun is to solder materials. Materials such as rubber, linoleum, PVC film are soldered by filling the weld with a filler alloy; this can be achieved with a hot air stream. The melting of the bundle occurs by heating it to 350C.

This method is the main one when soldering linoleum when laying it on the floor. A hot air gun greatly simplifies the task of bending plastic pipes, sheets and profiles. Warming up when bending plastic is provided in the temperature range of 350-450C at a reduced air flow rate.

Heating of the plastic must occur gradually and slowly.

Assembling a hot air gun with your own hands begins with creating a heating coil. The spiral is wound onto a steel wire with a cross-section of 4-7 mm under tension. It is advisable to wind the spiral with wire made of fechral or nichrome with a cross section of 0.5-0.6 mm. The size of the spiral is calculated taking into account the condition that its electrical resistance will be approximately 75-95 Ohms.

The spiral is wound onto a tubular base from a halogen lamp for a spotlight or a soldering iron (for example, an EPSN100 soldering iron). The spiral turns are laid evenly over the entire area of ​​the base with a small gap (contact of the turns with each other is unacceptable).

A layer of asbestos is fixed on top of the laid spiral or a layer of fiberglass is wound with tension. This layer is best secured with a heat-resistant adhesive. Afterwards, a thermal insulating tube (quartz glass, ceramics, porcelain, etc.) is placed over the layer of glue. The ends of the spiral need to be brought out.

In this case, it is best to treat the ends of the heating element and the outlet areas with heat-resistant glue.

The assembled heating element is installed in the internal channel of the hot air gun body . But first you need to pave the installation site with quartz plates, mica or asbestos for additional thermal insulation.

The outputs of the spiral, using a screw fastening, are connected to the electrical power wire. This electrical wire must have heat-resistant insulation - fiber insulation or fluoroplastic.

The wire must be routed through the starting switch and rheostat to regulate the voltage supplied to the coil.

An air blower is fixed in the back of the housing precisely coaxial with the opening of the heating element. If the compressor or blower element cannot fit into the housing, it can be fixed outside the end of the housing. In this case, you need to attach a guide tube for air flow to it. This tube must pass to the heating element from inside the housing and be installed clearly coaxially with its channel.

Wires for electrical power come out from the supercharger, which are connected to the wire for the heater so that the switch can simultaneously control the power of two elements. The air flow control rheostat must be inserted into the electrical wiring circuit for the supercharger - its operation does not depend on the heater being turned on .

The power supply cable is routed out at the bottom of the housing handle, and the switch key or button and rheostat levers are mounted in a convenient location on the outside of the housing. Afterwards, the housing halves are connected and fastened together. The end part is made of thermal insulating material in the shape of a cone or cylinder. A metal nozzle is attached. It is best to provide replaceable nozzles with different outlet diameters in the design.

Operating principle of a hot air gun

A DIY soldering hair dryer works this way. When you press the shutter button, the heater and fan turn on. The heated air moves in a narrow stream to the required point. When the set temperature is reached, the air flow melts the flux and solder, and also heats the parts being connected. Thus, soldering of parts occurs.

Hot air gun assembly tool

When making a hair dryer with your own hands, you will need the following tool:

• jigsaw;
• scissors;
• pliers;
• hacksaw for metal;
• electric drill;
• vice;
• brush;
• screwdriver;
• calipers;
• soldering iron;
• taps;
• dies;
• ohmmeter;
• tester.

A hot air gun can help in many jobs that involve soldering microcircuits and small parts. Using it you can solder linoleum, polymer films and do many other useful things. A hot air gun can be assembled with your own hands at low cost.

Source: https://stanok.guru/cvetnye-metally-i-splavy/med/kak-dlya-payki-mikroshem-sdelat-fen-svoimi-rukami.html