How to Make a Small and Powerful Induction Soldering Iron

Tool station

If you are a type of person who likes to make stuff or fix little things around the house, you surely know that soldering iron is one of the tools you absolutely must-have. People mainly buy these tools without a lot of thinking. But do you know that there is a way for you to make one by yourself?

You might be asking yourself why are we talking about making soldering iron when you can find them in every DIY shop, and they are relatively cheap.

First, it is essential to point out the difference between those you can buy and the one we are talking about here. Most soldering irons that you find on the market are getting hot through an electrical supply. It means that the electric current goes to the heating element of your tool through a cable or batteries. What we are talking about is induction soldering iron. In this case, the heating of the electrical conductor is achieved by electromagnetic induction.

Another thing is that even though several companies are making this high power soldering iron, they are a bit of a pricey side. If you are not using it professionally, you probably don’t want to make that investment for a tool that you will use a few times a year.

People who are into soldering as a hobby like casino games, and we guess you are as well, often use Chinese, cheap, and small soldering iron for their work. The truth about these tools is that they usually don’t last long. So, when you think about having to buy a new one every once in a while, it turns out that maybe this soldering iron isn’t as cheap as it seems. And that’s another reason why it is a good idea to make it yourself. In this text, we will explain to you how to do it using the parts of old broken tools.

Soldering iron

Induction Heating Soldering Iron

First, let’s say that a magnetic induction soldering iron has three parts: power unit, work head, and coil.

Talking about it, we feel it is important to mention that when soldering iron uses electromagnetic induction, the whole heating process becomes much faster. Induction soldering is a process in which two parts are connected by melted solder. Induction is a pretty error-free and repetitive method, which means that you can expect to see the same result over and over again. Moreover, this is a pretty fast process since it takes about 10 seconds for soldering iron tips to get hot.

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How to Make Soldering Iron

You may be thinking that using a practical guide or mobile app and making an entire soldering iron is pretty challenging work and that it’s better to leave it to professionals. It’s not surprising: many people feel the same way, and so did we until we had a little research. Don’t let the idea scare you because it is not nearly as intimidating as it might at first seem. Let’s see how you can make your first soldering iron Homebase tool from scrap that is lying down around your working space.

 

  • One of the essential elements your DIY soldering iron needs is a circuit. It consists of the work coil and the metal tip that will be heated. Now you can make the circuit by yourself, of course, but if you want to save some time it is also possible to buy it. If you decide to make one by yourself, then you will need two 240 ohm, 0.6watts resistors, low voltage drop diodes, 100-volt transistors, and an inductor. What you need to pay attention to, when it comes to diodes, is that they can resist when the voltage goes up in the circuit. The role of the inductor here is to prevent the oscillations of the power supply.
  • The next part is to make the coil. The best thing you can use is a copper wire or a pipe. This is an excellent material because it can withstand strong currents. If you cannot find copper, keep in mind that brass, which is an amalgam of copper and zinc, will do in most cases. However, if you are using a brass coil, it is better to more frequently make breaks because, in case of overheating, it can get damaged.
  • When you are making a capacitor, the important thing is to make sure also that it can resist high-frequency currents and heat. If not, it will quickly stop functioning, and your entire tool will be ruined. You need to use the tick wire or pipe for the capacitor as well, mainly because the electricity will flow between the coil and condenser.
  • The tip should also be thick copper wire or a pipe. Make sure that the top of it is well sharpened to ensure you have the best effect when soldering. The diameter of the tip isn’t vital for the soldering iron to work correctly.
  • After you finish soldering the system, you need to attach the soldering iron handle, and you are ready to go. The handle or base can be made of heat resistant plastic or any other material of your choice.
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In the end, we feel it is important to remind you that there are a lot of advantages that come with homemade induction soldering iron. One and maybe the most important is that its heating element gets hot much faster than when you use a conventional soldering iron. But remember that with this one, it is also super simple to replace the tip because the only thing that you need is an adequate copper wire or pipe. Maybe not a critical point, but worth thinking about is the design. When you are making your soldering iron, you can use all your imagination to create a product of your liking.

Conclusion: We came to the end of our adventure of making a DIY soldering iron. It might seem at first glance that you need to have some severe engineering background. The truth is that it is way more straightforward than it looks and that you can make your own tool station soldering iron without a lot of effort. We hope you will try and be proud of your creation. If you want to know more about this tool you can check out a soldering iron review where you will find plenty of interesting information. Have you ever tried to make a soldering iron or some other tool by yourself? If you have experience or any comments or ideas, feel free to contact us. We are always thrilled to hear from our readers.

Author’s bio: Joshua Sherman has an MSc in Applied Physics. His hobby is developing on different DIY projects. He enjoys writing about them because he thinks it is a way to explain to people that they can do a lot of things on their own. Joshua likes to cook and experiment with spices from distant countries.

 

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