Today, many are faced with such a problem when radio equipment fails for various reasons. To perform complex work on repairing electronic equipment, a conventional soldering iron, as a rule, is not enough, and special equipment is required. That is why electronics lovers are thinking about how they can make a soldering station with a hairdryer with their own hands from available parts at home. There is nothing complicated about this, and the detailed instructions that will be described below will help you with this.

Soldering gun: what is it?

A soldering station is special equipment that can heat up to very high temperatures and allows you to heat metal leads very quickly. This device has a very primitive design, so not only a professional, but also a novice radio amateur can understand it.

In this case, soldering guns are used in conjunction with other equipment, since when working with the device it must be directed with millimeter precision. In this case, an excellent solution would be a soldering station with a hair dryer, which you can make with your own hands without any problems. Such devices are considered semi-professional and can be used to perform a large number of tasks of varying levels of complexity.

Main differences between soldering guns

Before figuring out how to make professional-grade soldering equipment at home, you need to understand what differences a soldering station can have. It’s easy to make a soldering iron from a hair dryer with your own hands. In terms of its technical characteristics, it will be absolutely identical to factory analogues, among which the main ones are:

• tip diameter;
• power;
• active air cooling system performance;
• maximum operating temperature.

These characteristics determine how well a homemade soldering station with a hair dryer will work, so they should be given special attention.

Design features

Soldering guns allow you to melt plastic and various metals with a low melting point. Softening of alloys is carried out by blowing hot air, which is heated by a special spiral. What can you use to create a soldering station with a hair dryer yourself? Atmega328, for example, like any other similar device, consists of the following elements:

• frame;
• a heating element;
• air blower;
• pen;
• switch.

Some devices can also be equipped with a sensor and a heat level regulator, as well as special attachments that allow you to perform soldering work of various levels of complexity.

Making a soldering station from improvised materials

Every person with at least a little knowledge in the field of electronics will be able to make such a device as a homemade soldering station with a hair dryer. It’s not difficult to create it with your own hands from available materials. Any old or non-working device, as well as a steel tube, can serve as a housing. When working with the equipment, the housing will heat up to critical temperatures, so in order to be able to work with it, the tube should be wrapped with a special material that is resistant to high temperatures.

Stationary device

Soldering stations can also be stationary. In this case, they are fixed at the workplace to increase stability and ease of use. Such equipment can be equipped with a special movable mechanism that allows you not to move the board during soldering.

A do-it-yourself soldering station with a hair dryer can be made from an old hair dryer. Arduino is an open source platform that allows you to quickly and easily create any electronic device. This device uses mica plates as heating elements. The melting point of this metal is very high, so it can withstand any load perfectly. As for heating coils, any that are made of soft metal will do. Nichrome would be the best option.

When manufacturing a soldering station, great attention should be paid to the power of the heating elements. It must be calculated in such a way that the device quickly melts the metal without damaging the microcircuit. The power regulator of the soldering station hair dryer will also help solve the problem. With your own hands you will be able to manually regulate the temperature conditions of the equipment.

Soldering station from a soldering iron

An excellent alternative for the device body would be an old soldering iron, or rather its body, and all the insides should be completely removed. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage anything. In addition to the housing, you will also need a 2 kW halogen lamp. It is necessary to make a quartz insulator from it. To do this, using a diamond cutter, the ends are cut off the glass, resulting in a tube, onto one end of which a technological nipple is placed, and a hole is already made in it for the heater. A nichrome plate will act as a heating element in the equipment. Its thickness should be no more than 0.7 millimeters, otherwise the soldering station with a hair dryer will take a very long time to cool down.

It’s cheaper to make the device yourself, but you need to follow a certain sequence of actions:

• The quartz insulator is carefully placed into the spiral.
• To prevent the device from getting too hot during operation, the insulator is wrapped with foil.
• Next, the heating element is placed in the body of the soldering iron and secured with a wire from the handle side.
• A previously prepared structure is also placed here, which is pre-wrapped with asbestos cord, which ensures a better fit in the body.
• The handle contains a hose responsible for supplying air, which is connected to the compressor.

That's all, actually - a do-it-yourself analog soldering station with a hairdryer is completely ready for use.

What mistakes should you avoid during the assembly process?

Many beginners mistakenly believe that only a heating element and a fan are enough to make a soldering gun. Therefore, most often they make this equipment from an ordinary hair dryer. However, in this case it will be impossible to melt even tin, not to mention harder metals.

There is a way to increase the heating temperature by reducing the fan speed and hole diameter, but in this case the heating element will heat up too much and may fail, and the case will completely melt.

Types of soldering stations

All devices are divided into two types:

• A turbine soldering station with a hair dryer can be created quite quickly with your own hands. In it, an electric motor is responsible for air movement.
• Compressor devices are assembled on the basis of compressors.

In the first case, a powerful air flow is created, and in the second, the air moves more directionally, making it possible to use various nozzles. In terms of their operating principle, both types of stations are no different and are completely identical.

How to make a device?

A do-it-yourself soldering station with a hairdryer can be made at home from scrap materials that can only be found in the garage. The basis for the equipment will be a household hair dryer, from which we will need a housing. The role of the heating element will be performed by a spiral, and to ensure a constant flow of air you will need a small fan, which is fixed to the handle of the hair dryer.

To make a spiral, nichrome wire is taken, which is twisted into a spiral with a small distance between the turns. For the base, it is better to take any metal that does not conduct heat well. When winding the spiral, you need to leave a few centimeters free on the base. This place will need to be wrapped with heat-resistant fabric so that you can pick up the soldering station while working with it. It is best to choose a ceramic or porcelain nozzle, and thermal protection is created to increase efficiency.

Once assembly is complete, the soldering iron will vaguely resemble a gun. To increase the ease of use of the device, it can be attached to a special holder. In order for a homemade soldering gun to comply with all safety rules, all exposed wires must be insulated. At the very end, a switch is installed and the network cable is connected, after which you can begin testing the equipment. As it turns out, making a soldering station at home is easy. The most important thing is to follow the instructions and follow safety precautions.

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.

Device design

A 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 whose distinctive characteristic 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.

How to assemble a hairdryer for soldering microcircuits with your own hands? The diagram below will help you assemble the device.

For what purposes is it used?

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 is also used for drying 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 quartz product from a tube-based lamp 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:

• 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.

Mount flush with the hole in 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:

• when you press the start button, the fan and heater start working; a narrow stream of hot air is directed to the desired point;
• flux for soldering microcircuits with a hairdryer and the solder begins to melt;
• 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.

Directed by 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.

Prologue

When testing the predecessor hair dryer, it turned out that its 100-watt power was not enough to quickly dismantle large radio components. Then it was decided to make a soldering hair dryer with a power of 300 watts.

The main difference between the new hair dryer and the previous one is the use of one power source instead of two, as well as a more complex design of the heating element.

Video for those who don't have time to read.

The 10-minute video shows the process of assembling and testing the hair dryer and pays attention to some metalworking techniques.

Soldering hair dryer power supply circuit

Unlike the previous one, this hair dryer is powered by a single power source, which makes the hair dryer easier to operate. However, it must be recognized that such a power supply somewhat reduces the functionality of the product and significantly complicates the design.

The basis of the circuit is a parametric voltage stabilizer assembled on the elements: VT1, D5, D6, D7 and R1. It provides stabilization of the power supply voltage for the hair dryer fan, while the voltage of the main power source can be varied to adjust the temperature of the air flow.

To change the air flow speed, switch SA1 is used, which has two positions 8 and 12 Volts.

The fan is protected from exceeding the maximum permissible voltage by fuse FU1 and protective diode D8 (Suppressor). If for some reason the fan supply voltage reaches 13-14 Volts, the suppressor will open and the fuse will blow and break the fan power circuit.

Anticipating questions about the use of a parametric stabilizer, instead of a linear or pulsed one, I will immediately clarify. If you use alternating current to power the hair dryer, the peak voltage of the power supply may exceed the maximum permissible voltage for most inexpensive microcircuits. For example, with an AC voltage of 30 Volts, the peak will be:

I note that the PP was developed for the long-forgotten technology of manufacturing boards based on hollow rivets - pistons. Therefore, all paths look like straight lines.

And this is the assembled hair dryer fan power board.

Since the stabilizer transistor can dissipate power up to 24 Watts, it is installed on a radiator. The radiator can be made from sheet aluminum alloy, such as an aluminum tin can. The total thickness of the set of radiator plates must be at least 1.5 mm. A layer of thermal conductive paste must be applied between the transistor and the individual plates.

To connect the leads of the heater spirals, brass inserts of electrical terminal blocks were used.

Assembly drawing of a homemade hair dryer

This is an assembly drawing of a homemade hair dryer.

How to calculate the heating element of a hair dryer?

Let's calculate a heating element for a hair dryer with a power of 300 watts and a supply voltage of 24 volts. I chose a supply voltage such that, if it was necessary to obtain more power, I could remain within 36 Volts - a conditionally safe voltage for life.

The heater resistance of such a hair dryer will be equal to:

R = U²/P, Where:

R – resistance in Ohms,

U – supply voltage in Volts,

P – heater power in Watts.

R = 24²/300 = 1.92(Ohm)

When using five spirals connected in parallel, the resistance of each spiral will be five times greater:

R = 1.91 * 5 ≈ 9.6(Ohm)

You can determine the required length of nichrome wire using an ohmmeter. I got about 1100mm. You can measure pieces of wire and simply wind them onto a mandrel, or you can calculate the length of the winding.

Since one of the spiral leads can be formed already during winding, I subtracted 50mm from the length obtained experimentally:

1100 – 50 = 1050 (mm)

The length of the wire wound on the mandrel can be determined as follows:

H = L / π / (D+d) * D, Where:

H – winding length (turn to turn),

L – wire length,

π – Pi number (3.14),

D – mandrel diameter,

d – wire diameter.

H = 1050/ 3.14 / (4+0.4) * 0.4 ≈ 30(mm)

Soldering iron heating element

The heating element of a soldering iron consists of five spirals and a ceramic insulating tube.

To prevent arcing, the internal leads of the coils were placed in a ceramic tube borrowed from the delay line of an old Soviet TV. You can free the ceramic tube from the compound, leads and wire using a gas torch. But it is better to do this outside or in a well-ventilated area.

Another source of ceramic insulators can be tubular ceramic capacitors,

If you've ever taken apart burnt soldering irons, you might have mica tubes like these lying around. They can also be used to insulate the central terminals of the heater.

Nichrome wire with a diameter of 0.4 mm was purchased at the market for $1.1 in rows of pieces of iron from a seller selling heating elements.

The seller had the same bobbins from a sewing machine filled with wire of a different diameter.

The spirals were wound using a hand drill and a shaft with a diameter of 4 mm. In order not to measure the wire, a stop was attached to the shaft.

Heating element housing

The most complex assembly unit of a soldering gun is the heating element body. It was assembled from three parts: a glass, a tube and a washer.

A glass with an outer diameter of 16.5 mm was obtained by disassembling a lithium-ion battery from a laptop. The fact is that the very aggressive filling of lithium-ion batteries and batteries is enclosed in stainless steel cases.

Used batteries can be purchased at the radio market, and faulty ones can be asked at a computer workshop. If somewhere at a radio market or flea market you come across a whole laptop battery, then here it is.

Attention! Before disassembling the battery bank, it must be discharged. This can be done using a powerful, low-resistance resistor. I used a 10-Ohm PEV resistor with a power of 10 Watts, which I usually use to discharge electrolytic capacitors.

Although, if you are not so scrupulous, you can rivet the heater body from tin from a tin can, after first making sure with a magnet that the can is steel. Of all the metals that a DIYer may have at hand, only aluminum alloys have a low melting point. At the same time, steel, brass and copper are suitable for the manufacture of such parts.

Thin-walled tubes of various diameters can be obtained by disassembling a broken telescopic antenna from a radio or radio. How to cut the antenna section and flare the edge of the tube is shown in the video.

The flange securing the thin-walled tube is made of a steel washer 1 mm thick. M1.6 screws were chosen as fastenings, although rivets made of copper wire can also be used.

Hair dryer body

A one-liter PET bottle of sparkling water was used as the body of the hair dryer. The bottle size was chosen based on the perimeter of the fan used.

The heating element body is attached to the hair dryer body using a four-leaf collet clamp. To do this, the screw part of the bottle neck was cut into four parts using a hacksaw, and a hole was made in the cap with a scalpel.

Hair dryer handle

The hair dryer handle was made from the barrel of a 40 gram disposable syringe. A rectangular window was cut out in it with a sharp knife to install the fan power switch.

Fan Assembly

A high-power hair dryer also requires a more efficient fan. I bought a used server fan Brushless FFB0612EHE 12V/1.2A on the radio market for only $1.35.

To attach the fan to a PET bottle, a clamp was made from 0.5mm thick sheet metal.

In order for the body of the bottle to press tightly against the side surfaces of the fan, the edge of the bottle was cut in four places.

Heater housing fastening unit

In order to protect the neck of the PET bottle from overheating, the heater body was insulated with several dozen layers of fiberglass. To additionally protect the hair dryer body from overheating, an aluminum heat shield 0.5 mm thick is used. The screen petals bent inside the body are blown by an air flow. This design reduces heat transfer from the heater body to the hair dryer body.

Drawing of thin-walled parts

This is a pattern drawing with which you can make all the thin-walled parts necessary to assemble a hair dryer. Below the preview is an image for printing in A4 format, 300dpi.

Hairdryer assembled

And this is a homemade soldering gun in assembled form.

I have long wanted to buy a station, but due to financial problems the opportunity did not arise, and after a little thought I decided - is it possible to make it with my own hands?

I scoured the net a little and found this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzGbTwlyZxo. The station is just what I need - controlled by a microcontroller, data output to a 16x2 LCD display on which it is displayed.

The top line is the set temperature of the soldering iron and the current temperature on it, the data is updated several times per second (0-480°C)

The bottom line is the set temperature of the hair dryer, the current temperature on it (0-480°C), as well as the rotation speed of the fan built into the hair dryer (0-99)

Board and circuit

You can download the printed circuit board (+ circuit diagram and firmware), everything is original, like the author.

A few tips for those who are too lazy to watch the videos (although I explained everything in some detail in them)

The dimensions of the printed circuit board have already been established; there is no need to mirror it either. It is advisable to replace the terminals through which the controls are connected to the board, that is, instead of terminals, use the usual method - take the wires and solder them into the corresponding holes on the board.

During etching, it is MANDATORY to check sections of the board with the template, since in some places the leads of SMD components can form a short circuit, all this is clearly visible in the photo

An ATMEGA328 type MK is the same microcontroller that is found on programmer boards with an arduino uno kit; in China it costs a penny, but with an MK you will need either a homemade programmer or a native arduino uno, as well as a 16 MHz quartz resonator.

The MK is fully responsible for controlling and outputting data to the LCD display. The control of the station is quite simple - 3 variable resistors of 10 kOhm (the most common, mono - 0.25 or 0.5 watts), the first is responsible for the temperature of the soldering iron, the second is the vein, the third increases or decreases the speed of the cooler built into the hair dryer.

The soldering iron is controlled by a powerful field-effect transistor, through which a current of up to 2 Amps will flow, therefore it will heat up, and the triac will also heat up - it, along with the transistor and a 12-volt stabilizer, was wired to a common heat sink, and the housings of these components were additionally insulated from the radiator.

Be sure to take 3mm LEDs with low consumption (20mA) due to the use of more powerful 5mm LEDs (70mA), my hair dryer did not work, or rather it did not heat up. The reason is that the LED on the board and the LED that is built into the optocoupler (it actually controls the entire heating unit of the hair dryer) are connected in series and there was simply not enough power for the LED in the optocoupler to light up.

Soldering iron

I myself took a Ya Xun soldering iron for stations of this type, 40 watts with a durable tip. The plug has 5 pins (contact holes), the pinout of the plug is below

Please note that the photo shows the pinout of the plug on the soldering iron itself.

The soldering iron has a built-in thermocouple, the data from which is received and decrypted by the station itself. You MUST need a soldering iron with a thermocouple, and not with a thermistor as a temperature sensor.

The thermocouple has polarity; if the thermocouple is connected incorrectly, the soldering iron will reach its maximum temperature after turning on and become uncontrollable.

In principle, the power can be from 350 to 700 watts, I advise no more than 400 watts,

That's enough for any needs. The hair dryer also has a built-in thermocouple as a temperature sensor. The hair dryer must have a built-in cooler. It has an 8-pin socket, the pinout of the socket on the hair dryer is presented below.

Inside the hair dryer there is a 220 Volt heater itself, a thermocouple, a fan and a reed switch, the latter can be immediately thrown away; it is not needed in this project.

The heater does not have polarity, but the thermocouple and cooler do, so be sure to observe the polarity of the connection, otherwise the motor will not spin, and the heater will reach its maximum temperature and become uncontrollable.

power unit

Any (preferably stabilized adapter) 24 Volts minimum 2 Amperes, I advise 4-5 Amps. Universal chargers for laptops are perfect, they have the ability to adjust the output voltage from 12 to 24 Volts, protection against short circuits and a stabilized output - and it costs a penny, I chose this one myself.

You can also use a low-power power supply for 24 Volt LED strips, available with a current of 1 Ampere.

You can also slightly modify the electronic transformer (as the most budget option) and implement it into the circuit; I explained in more detail about power supplies at the end of the video (part 1)

You can also use a transformer power supply - it may not be stabilized, but I repeat - it is desirable to have stabilization.

Installation and housing

The case is from a Chinese radio, the 16x2 display fits perfectly with it, all controls are installed on a separate plastic sheet and docked to the bottom of the radio.

The main power components are reinforced to the heat sink through additional insulating gaskets and plastic washers. The heat sink was taken from a non-working uninterruptible power supply.

It heats up, but only after using a hairdryer for a long time at high power, but all this is tolerable, by the way - the board provides an additional 12 Volt output for connecting a Cooper, so that you can blow off the radiator if there is a need for it.

Settings

In principle, to set up you need either a thermometer or a tester with a thermocouple and the ability to measure temperature.

First, you need to set a certain temperature on the soldering iron (for example, 400 degrees), then press the thermocouple to the soldering iron tip to understand the real temperature on the soldering iron tip, and then simply using a trimmer resistor on the board (slow rotation) we achieve to compare the real temperature on the soldering iron (which is displayed) with the one shown by the thermometer.

I’ve been dreaming about a soldering station for a long time, I wanted to go out and buy it, but somehow I couldn’t afford it. And I decided to do it myself. I bought a hair dryer from Luckey-702, and began to slowly assemble according to the diagram below. Why did you choose this particular electrical circuit? Because I saw photos of finished stations using it and decided that it was 100% working.

Schematic diagram of a homemade soldering station

The circuit is simple and works quite well, but there is a caveat - it is very sensitive to interference, so it is advisable to add more ceramics to the microcontroller power circuit. And if possible, make a board with a triac and an optocoupler on a separate printed circuit board. But I didn’t do that to save fiberglass. The circuit itself, firmware and seal are attached in the archive, only the firmware for the indicator with a common cathode. Fuses for MK Atmega8 in the photo below.

First, disassemble your hair dryer and determine what voltage your motor is set to, then connect all the wires to the board except the heater (the polarity of the thermocouple can be determined by connecting a tester). Approximate pinout of hair dryer wires Luckey 702 in the photo below, but I recommend taking your hair dryer apart and seeing what goes where, you understand - the Chinese are like that!

Then apply power to the board and use variable resistor R5 to adjust the indicator readings to room temperature, then unsolder the resistor to R35 and adjust the motor supply voltage using trimmer R34. And if you have it at 24 volts, then adjust the 24 volts. And after that, measure the voltage on the 28th leg of the MK - there should be 0.9 volts, if this is not the case, recalculate the divider R37/R36 (for a 24 volt motor the resistance ratio is 25/1, I have 1 kOhm and 25 kOhm), the voltage is 28 leg 0.4 volts - minimum speed, 0.9 volts maximum speed. After this, you can connect the heater and, if necessary, adjust the temperature using the R5 trimmer.

A little about management. There are three buttons for control: T+, T-, M. The first two change the temperature; by pressing the button once, the value changes by 1 degree; if you hold it, the values ​​begin to change quickly. The M - memory button allows you to remember three temperature values, standardly these are 200, 250 and 300 degrees, but you can change them as you wish. To do this, press the M button and hold it until you hear the beeper signal twice in a row, then you can use the T+ and T- buttons to change the temperature.

The firmware has a cooling function for the hair dryer; when you place the hair dryer on the stand, it starts to be cooled by the motor, while the heater turns off and the motor does not turn off until it cools down to 50 degrees. When the hair dryer is on the stand, when it is cold or the engine speed is less than normal (at the 28th leg less than 0.4 volts) - there will be three dashes on the display.

The stand should have a magnet, preferably a stronger one or neodymium (from a hard drive). Since the hair dryer has a reed switch that switches the hair dryer to cooling mode when it is on the stand. I haven't made the stand yet.

The hair dryer can be stopped in two ways - by placing it on the stand or by turning the motor speed to zero. Below is a photo of my finished soldering station.

Video of soldering station operation

In general, the scheme, as expected, is quite sensible - you can safely repeat it. Sincerely, AVG.

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