Redesigning the soldering iron!

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solderotter
 
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Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by solderotter »

Hi, we’re a team of engineering undergrads hoping to redesign the soldering iron. Specifically, we’re looking at making it safer and more usable by younger teens and children.

We’re looking for any feedback or advice you might have, especially if you have kids, so if you can spare a few minutes to fill out our survey, that’d be awesome. Or if you have any questions, feel free to shoot us an email at: [email protected]. Thank you for your time and input!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14cAsPI ... w/viewform

also, does anyone know why there is so much metal exposed towards the tip?

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by Franklin97355 »

does anyone know why there is so much metal exposed towards the tip?
I'm thinking that is just the way irons were built and it has held over as the way irons should look. Most irons have the heaters in this area and want the irons to be slender and light for manageability but I think insulating the tip a bit would not be too much of a problem if you can regulate the thermal mass. Something like the thermal tiles on the space shuttle might work. Children, properly supervised and trained should be able to use small light irons without too much trouble. Improvements are nice but please don't try to design a safe iron that no one would want to use.

1chicagodave
 
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Re: Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by 1chicagodave »

For anyone designing something that people will be touching, I highly recommend this book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Measure-Man-W ... 0471099554

Good luck!

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neslekkim
 
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Re: Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by neslekkim »

I think Franklin is onto it, if you look at the various solderpens, you want the hot end away from where you hold, so you don't need so thick handle.
If you look at hakko fx951 and jbc stations, the heating element is inside the tip, and especially on the jbc the heating element is concentrated more in the tip, which gives an small handle, and the tip cools of rather fast when you turn it off (good when swapping tips.)
But, if you use the iron for long time, without pauses, the handle starts to get hot, because the metal leads the heat up, but the jbc's station is very good at turning down the tip temperature as soon as you put it in the holder, so it will not be a problem for normal use.

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jcgoodman
 
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Re: Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by jcgoodman »

solderotter wrote:Hi, we’re a team of engineering undergrads hoping to redesign the soldering iron. Specifically, we’re looking at making it safer and more usable by younger teens and children.
Not to rain on your parade, but I think the soldering iron is exactly the right amount of unsafe for older kids and young teens. Any tool that heats or cuts is unavoidably dangerous. It's easy to hurt yourself with a soldering iron, but it's difficult to be maimed or killed by one. The obvious danger of holding a blistering hot thing in their hand teaches young people to respect dangerous tools, providing safety consciousness they can use with truly lethal tools in the future.

A first-degree burn from a soldering iron today may prevent an amputation from a table saw tomorrow.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Redesigning the soldering iron!

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

solderotter wrote:also, does anyone know why there is so much metal exposed towards the tip?
That's where the heating element lives. You have to surround it with metal because plastics can't survive the heat.

WRT why the metal is exposed, have your team spend an hour brainstorming an enclosure that will cover the metal on an existing iron down to within 1" of the tip. That design exercise will probably give you more insight into the issue than anything I could tell you. ;-)

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