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  • Author Author: adsicks
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DIY Soldering Station Part 3

adsicks

I made the clamp to hold my extra pair of hands in place yesterday. It took about an hour.

 

I started out measuring the base of my hands and making a 3D model in OpenScad.

 

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To start my cuts I set my blade to take out approximately half of the height of the base of the hands. I put a mark on a scrap board and used it to set my saw.

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Then a marked two scraps the same width as one of the legs...

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And cross cut them at the set depth (mindful of my thumb. I didn't want to chop it off today).

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Then I checked my depth against the base of my extra hands.

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I made adjustments to my saw depth and cut it until I got it flush. Next, I went back to my model and looked at the cut lay out.

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And marked my wood.

 

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I did the cross cut first. I used a long piece of wood because I like my thumbs.

 

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I went a little past the line to make sure my channels were deep enough. It is alright if they aren't as deep towards the line as I am about to cut the channel along the grain of the wood.

 

To mark the channel for the back of the base I line the back of my extra hands with the line, put a mark and marked it with a speed square.

 

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Then I cut the channel to my marks. It is important to have a square edge to work with for this step.

 

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I used one of the scraps from my first steps to check my depth with the extra hands.

 

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I cut out the top part from the edge. I turned it around and marked the hole for the neck. I adjusted the saw to the table for a full cut and notched out the neck hole. I used the full board to make this safer.

 

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I used a jig saw to finish out the notch. Then I cut my pieces out of the larger board and dry fitted it.

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It also helps to put the hands in it at this point to see if it fits the way you want it.

 

When I was satisfied I started the gluing process. First I glued the risers on the base with Gorilla Glue...

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And clamped.

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I only left it clamped for 30 minutes since I was clamping the top part along the same axis. Then I glued the top part with more Gorilla Glue and clamped.

 

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Then I drilled the hole to hold the front clamp on. The finished product holding the hands should look like this:

 

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Here is the open scad code for the exploded view:

 

//Base

rotate([180,0,180])

translate([-4,0,0])

difference(){

cube([4,2,0.75]);

translate([1,-0.01,-0.00005])    cube([0.5,2.01,0.375]);

   

translate([2.5,-0.01,-0.00005])    cube([0.5,2.01,0.375]);

translate([-0.05,1,-0.00005]) cube([4.1,1.1,0.375]);

    translate([2,0.5,0]) cylinder(r=0.1875);

    

}

 

 

// Front clamp

 

 

translate([0,-1,0])

difference(){

    cube([4,1,0.75]);

    translate([1,-0.01,-0.00005])    cube([0.5,2.01,0.375]);

   

translate([2.5,-0.01,-0.00005])    cube([0.5,2.01,0.3751]);

    translate([2,0.5,0]) cylinder(r=0.1875);

  }

 

 

// Back clamp

 

translate([0,2,1])

difference(){

    cube([4,1,0.75]);

    translate([-0.05,-0.05,-0.0001]) cube([4.1,1.1,0.375]);

    translate([1.5,0,0]) cube([1,0.5,0.75]);

  

}

 

 

translate([0,1.25,.5]) cube([1,1,0.75]);

 

 

translate([3,1.25,.5]) cube([1,1,0.75]);

 

 

Thanks to my helper, Paul, who took the action shots....

Parents Comment
  • in reply to adsicks

    I've seen far too much damage to electronic equipment due to uncontrolled ESD and I don't want to see you go through so much effort and risk damage to your projects.

    Compliant ESD bench matting is often available as cheap EOR (END OF ROLL) specials. And whilst you're at it purchase some ESD mat cleanser (apparently it is different to normal cleanser).

    Here's photo of some small mats that I use as ESD bench toppers.

    They're the perfect size!

    image

Children
  • in reply to COMPACT

    For one, where can I get this?

    For two, can you post a link to an actual test of the mat I have? I've seen the claims that this particular pad is not actually an ESD pad, but the manufacturer says otherwise.

    For three, If a component is placed on a surface by a technician wearing a wrist strap, how likely is a high amp ESD strike from the surface to the component to the hand to the 1 megaohm impedance to the ground?

     

    I mean, yeah, I could get so paranoid I paint this and my floors with ESD paint and wear ESD shoes like I did when we were working on Disc Drives and such, but $800 worth of paint to save what now amounts to 30 or 40 dollars worth of components. I can buy a large bottle of fabric softener and a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol  for a couple of dollars and keep it sprayed down and it will do basically the same thing.

     

    Plus, I have this StarTech mat for staging and assembly.
    image

     

    But it is about 24"X 24", doesn't have trays and doesn't have the heat tolerance I'm looking for.

     

    That all being said, it would be nice to incorporate an ESD test circuit in this project. It was part of the brainstorming, but I decided it would be a better add on later part. (I should build the workstation so I can better build the protection curcuit kind of thing).....

     

     

    But, heck, what I am doing in this post is open source. I don't have some paramilitary force that is going to come to your house and beat you into using a specific mat, design or saw, or wear special clothes or anything like that....

  • in reply to adsicks

    You don't have to go overboard but take a few common sense precautions.

    Using wood (and paper) is a great start because it is static neutral.

    Keeping insulators away from your workspace is another.

     

    I just don't want you to be in a situation where your silicone mat is causing problems.

     

    ESD measuring equipment is expensive due to its limited use.

    This link has quite a few common sense precautions.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbDwcGL3yAk

     

    Just try some ESD equipment distributors for offcuts and accessories.

     

    Good Luck!

  • in reply to COMPACT

    Re-watching that reminded me of a pressing question that I have always

    had -- where are the best suppliers of ESD bags. I've googled and

    searched suppliers and such but I haven't really found one and I've been

    looking for years. Especially now that PC's are $200 items I don't have

    spare ESD bags just lying around.....

  • in reply to COMPACT

    I've seen that video. That is one of the best ESD rundowns on YouTube....