Soldering iron from an ordinary soldering iron (life hack). Basic methods for making a blow dryer at home A simple do-it-yourself blow dryer

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

To date, a huge number of models are offered that meet all high requirements and standards. These professional hair dryers are capable of a lot. But their price is quite high, and therefore a do-it-yourself hot air gun for soldering looks much more preferable for most people.

Hot air gun design

The hot air gun belongs to devices for soldering fusible materials with a hot air jet. In addition to its main function of soldering materials, this device can be used for heat treatment of materials for other purposes, such as removing paint or heating a product, such as a pipe, during bending.

The design of the hot air gun has a body with high temperature resistance, devices for forcing the air flow and a heating element. The air in the hair dryer is heated to 600-750 degrees. To ensure this heating, the power of the heating part must be more than 1.7 kW. An important element of industrial hot air guns is the ability to control the temperature, most often it is stepped, 350 and 550 C. The temperature that reaches the surface of the materials to be soldered can also be adjusted by the distance from the hot air nozzle to the material. The main number of hair dryers is adjusted in such a way that when the device is 6-7 cm away from the material, the temperature of the air flow and decreases by 2 times.

Today, these dryers are widely used to remove old paint, which is especially true for wooden surfaces. In this case, the maximum temperature of the air flow is required, not less than 550 C. With this heating, the paint becomes elastic and moves away from the tree. Today, the artificial aging of wood coatings is in demand. The hot air gun perfectly copes with this task at a temperature of 550 degrees and a distance of the nozzle of the device by 1 cm and from the material. Warm air (at the lower control level) is used to dry the coatings.

Features of making a hot air gun with your own hands

The main requirement for a homemade hot air gun can be described as follows: 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 the elements of this hair dryer must be inexpensive and affordable. Simple household hair dryers do not meet this requirement either in terms of power or temperature.

Most often the design two types are selected:

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

A stationary hair dryer is easier to make, because the size of the device is not limited and you do not need to think about the temperature on the handle. But in this embodiment, the hair dryer (in this case, a kind of soldering iron) is fixed motionless, and the part must be moved. This circumstance greatly complicates soldering. The most promising, albeit more difficult, mobile hand-held design, it should be small and allow you to hold it with your bare hands.

One of the main issues is the heating element. In household appliances (soldering iron, hair dryers), heaters are not suitable in terms of power. The necessary heating element must be made by hand from nichrome wire with a cross section of 0.4-0.8 mm. Larger nichrome is able to create more power, but it will be much more difficult to achieve the required temperature. For a compact arrangement of the heating element from the wire, it will be necessary to make a spiral diameter 4-8 mm.

The spiral should be placed on some kind of base in the form of a cylinder (in the form of a hollow cone or tube) from a material that has a 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, however, it is recommended to use a quartz insulator for halogen tube spotlights with a power of 2.3-2.6 kW. If you find such a non-working lamp, then this element of a home-made hot air gun will cost you for free.

As a blowing element, a standard fan of small dimensions is required. When assembling a hair dryer with your own hands, this part will cost you the most. The blower can be removed from any powerful household hair dryer. From household fans, we can recommend the BAKU 8032 model with a capacity of 30 liters per minute. This fan is powered by 220 volts and has power about 420 watts.

The cheapest and easiest option that can meet all requirements is a small aquarium fish compressor. It must be installed with a receiver, that is, with an air drive. Any small plastic bottle is suitable for this, since there is no heating in the area of ​​​​its installation, and the hot air flow is directed in the other direction. And the air blower itself is not subject to thermal action.

In the manufacture of the body of the hair dryer, several options are possible:

• 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 distribution channel of the heating element and hot flow. In this case, the body material is not subject to temperature effects, with the exception of the area that is adjacent to the nozzle of the hair dryer.

In the role of the main part of the body (including the handle), you can choose a body from any unnecessary household hair dryer of large sizes (the older the year of manufacture, the better). Case spout, that is, the place of the nozzle, must be made of a thermally insulating material, which itself can withstand a temperature of about 800C and at the same time isolates the rest of the body from the action of this temperature. The nozzle of the heat gun itself must be made of metal in order to take into account the probable 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, a special heat resistant adhesive.

In the design of a dryer for soldering with your own hands, it is necessary to provide:

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

Why must be installed smooth regulators - rheostats. The power control system can be used from unnecessary household electrical appliances, if these elements are still in good condition. In the role of the starting switch, you can install a keyboard or push-button mechanism.

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 rope 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 during the soldering of linoleum when laying on the floor. The hot air gun greatly simplifies the task of bending plastic pipes, sheets and profiles. Heating during plastic bending is provided in the temperature range of 350-450C at a reduced air flow rate. heating plastic must be gradual and slow.

Assembling a hot air gun with your own hands begins with the creation of a spiral of the heating part. The spiral is wound onto a steel wire with a cross section of 4-7 mm with a stretch. It is desirable to wind the spiral with a 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 wrapped on a tubular base from a halogen lamp for a spotlight or a soldering iron (for example, an EPSN100 soldering iron). The coils of the spiral are laid evenly over all areas of the base with a small gap (contact of the coils 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 fixed with a heat-resistant adhesive. After that, a heat-insulating tube (quartz glass, ceramics, porcelain, and so on) is put on a layer of glue. The ends of the spiral must be brought out. In this case, the ends of the heating element and the output areas are best treated with heat-resistant glue.

The assembled heating element is installed in the internal hot air gun body channel. But first you need to lay the installation site with quartz plates, mica or asbestos, for additional thermal insulation. The outputs of the spiral, with the help of a screw fastening, are connected to the electric power wire. This electrical wire must have heat-resistant insulation - fibrous insulation or fluoroplastic. The wire must be laid through the starting switch and the rheostat to regulate the voltage that is supplied to the spiral.

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

From the supercharger, wires for electrical power are output, which are connected to the wire for the heater so that the switch can simultaneously control the power to two elements. The air flow control rheostat must be inserted into the blower wiring circuit - its operation is independent of from turning on the heater.

The power supply wire is brought out at the bottom of the body handle, and the key or button of the switch and the levers of the rheostats are mounted in a convenient place for you on the outside of the body. After the halves of the body are connected and attached to each other. The end part of the thermal insulation material is mounted in the form of a cone or cylinder. A metal nozzle is attached. In the design, it is best to provide for interchangeable nozzles with different outlet diameters.

The principle of operation of the hot air gun

A do-it-yourself soldering dryer works this way. When the shutter button is pressed, 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 to be joined. Thus, soldering of parts occurs.

Soldering microcircuits

If there is a desire to use a hair dryer as a soldering iron for small parts, for example, microcircuits, then the temperature of the air flow must be increase to 750-800C. The heated air must melt the solder and at the same time heat the metal of the soldered part almost red-hot. The air flow must have a narrowly directed shape. For this hot air gun, the power of the heating part must be increased to 2.3-2.6 kW.

The requirement for the thermal stability of the material of the body of the device is greatly increased, and the handle must have a temperature that is comfortable for human hands so that the soldering does not turn into flour. In some designs of hair dryers, for ease of use and as an additional thermal protection, a rubber coating of the handle is installed.

Hot air gun assembly tool

During the manufacture of a hair dryer with your own hands will you need this tool:

A hot air gun can help in many jobs that connected with the soldering of microcircuits and small details. With it, you can solder linoleum, polymer films and do many more useful things. A hot air gun can be assembled with your own hands at little cost.

For a radio amateur, you always need a hot air gun for soldering microcircuits with your own hands. This article will look at various options for soldering iron assemblies.

Homemade

From Chinese rubbish

You can make the simplest soldering iron with your own hands from unnecessary parts that are always on the farm.

The most difficult part of the hair dryer to manufacture is a metal case with electronic filling. The control circuit is assembled from such parts as:

• 50 W transformer from a burnt-out lamp;
• transformer purge cooler;
• LM series chip;
• variable resistor that regulates speed;
• heating controller;
• 12 V power supply from any Chinese device.

For the case, you can make a do-it-yourself box from a composite panel used for covering the ventilation facade and a piece of laminate for the base of the case.

For information. To get strong connections to the walls of the case, the first step is to drill holes with a smaller drill, and then a larger one. When drilling thin-walled parts, drills with zivenbor sharpening are used.

Wires go from the body to the soldering iron itself, which consists of two elements:

• fan-wind blower;
• heating element.

The heating element, as a rule, includes two parallel spirals of 2.5-3 ohms. They are placed in a special tube. The latter in this version is a piece of a sawn-off cornice, specially charred over a gas stove. To assemble the soldering iron are also used:

• an ordinary bottle of kefir;
• automobile clamp;
• thermal insulating fiberglass fabric for laying between plastic and iron.

The moving air jet from the fan heats up, which is used for soldering.

In this version of the hot air gun assembly, you only need to purchase a single part - a seven-story regulator for lighting. The device turns out to be useful and absolutely viable, albeit made from unnecessary trash. The total cost will not amount to 500 rubles.

For information. It should be borne in mind that when using a non-standard-shaped bottle, you will have to adjust the dimensions of the threaded connection. This also applies to the clamp for fixing the fan, the length of which depends on the dimensions of the fan used.

From a curling iron

According to the same scheme, you can quickly assemble a hot air gun from other parts. For example, the box itself may be metal, and the filling of the box can be assembled from such parts as:

• 12 V transformer;
• low power fan;
• diode bridge for the fan;
• tuning resistor for fan speed;
• dimmer on the switch to adjust the temperature of the hair dryer.

The tube for the soldering iron itself is taken from the curling iron, inside it a spiral is wound onto a special plate. If the spiral is not selected for 220 V, then the current must be supplied using the temperature controller, not brought to the maximum, otherwise the device will burn out.

The fan should not spin quickly so that the spiral gives the necessary heat, and it is possible to solder. The process is controlled by controlling the speed of the motor.

Important! To prevent short circuiting of the coils of the heater with the housing, a piece of mica or micanite rolled into a tube is placed inside the glass.

From a computer cooler

Sometimes you urgently need a hot air gun for soldering, but there is nowhere to buy it, or you just don’t have enough time to go shopping.

A soldering device can be built in haste from improvised means, such as:

• computer cooler;
• the neck of a plastic bottle;
• universal power supply for the cooler;
• soldering iron without holes for cooling;
• hot glue;
• dropper;
• audio plug Jack 6 mm;
• insulating tape;
• heat shrink;
• the wire;
• scissors.

The assembly begins with extending the wires on the cooler to connect it to the power supply. In order to direct the air towards the soldering iron, a hole is cut in the end of the cooler. The neck of a plastic bottle is glued to it. On the side, the cooler is closed with cutouts made in the shape of its sides from a plastic lid of a large yogurt. After that, the power of the wind flow from the glued neck is checked.

The blower system is attached to the handle of the soldering iron with electrical tape. Instead of a soldering iron tip, an audio plug is installed. The copper wire is wound around the tip of the soldering iron so that the fixing ring sits tightly. The result is a homemade workable hair dryer.

From a cheap soldering iron "All for 50"

You can make your own hot air gun on the basis of a regular hair dryer. This is done easily from the following details:

• polyethylene bottle;
• from a hair dryer, a heating element with good heat and a fan;
• lithium-ion battery from a screwdriver 18 V;
• new or used button and connector;
• flashlight parts.

The manufacturing scheme is quite simple. First, a plastic bottle is cut off. Then a soldering iron is inserted into the neck like a clamping cartridge, and a fan is placed on the reverse side of the plastic funnel.

The device is convenient to use when soldering parts in microcircuits, mini USB sockets. During its operation, the solder quickly begins to melt.

The costs are minimal - only 50 rubles for the purchase of a soldering iron.

From a used hair dryer

In order to independently assemble a soldering dryer, it is enough:

• buy a new thick 1 kW coil and a used hair dryer on the market;
• think about how to attach a tube with a nichrome spiral inside to it.

First you need to disassemble the hair dryer, take out of it a motor with a diode rectifier and thin mica. Then it is necessary to insert the heating element into the pipe, which is necessarily a poor conductor of heat. The body of the hair dryer is not suitable for this, as the plastic can melt from high temperatures.

For information. You can use an old thin hair dryer coil. But the length of the heating piece must be calculated. The resistance of the hair dryer spiral is calculated by the formula R=U2/P, where P is the power of the hair dryer, U is the power supply of 220 V.

In an aluminum pipe, poorly conducting heat plates are placed in a cross, and a nichrome spiral is placed on them. Then all this is covered on top with a thin lamellar mica taken from a hair dryer. Thus, the spiral will not come into contact with aluminum and will not "close".

For information. The spiral is placed in the tube so that the part adjacent to the fan does not heat up.

The connection of the components (hair dryer and pipes) is carried out using a large-diameter threaded base from a Maxus light bulb. The dimensions of the hair dryer and this base are perfect for each other. In addition, the base of the light bulb can withstand the desired temperature.

Wires in fiberglass tubes are connected to the heating element to supply energy. Wire insulation is important to prevent short circuits.

Important! It is necessary to try so that nothing is bridged anywhere, and the design is sufficiently tight.

Power is supplied, as in previous versions of the assembly of soldering irons, from a transformer.

Important! To assemble a soldering iron, you must have knowledge of electrical safety. Because if something is done wrong, then at least the assembled product can melt, and at the maximum, a short circuit will occur.

For the manufacture of a soldering iron, you can choose a simple scheme on the Internet, there are a lot of used options. Using a homemade device, you can easily solder the components of various boards and microcircuits.

Video

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 consists in blowing a heated spiral with a stream of air. 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 a little more than that which is formed 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 decreases.

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

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

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

Advice: it is best to use purchased nozzles, but you can turn them on a lathe.

Popular misconceptions when assembling a hot air gun for soldering

Many are sure that if there is 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 just has 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 will not heat the tin until it melts, but in order to raise the temperature, you will have to:

1. reduce engine speed;
2. reduce the outlet gauge.

Let's consider these options.

The first option will cause the coil to overheat and break or turn off due to overheating.

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

There is another option - a decrease in the spiral, but it is hardly worth talking about it. The result will be the same.

Homemade hot air gun for soldering

The lightest and most working 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 on a wooden boss with an attached cord.

Details for assembling a hot air gun:

• heater - spiral on the boss;
• case - a tin can with a lid;
• adapter;
• adapter for a vacuum cleaner.

The structure goes 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 for air supply must be drilled.
3. On the other side of the cover, an adapter for a vacuum cleaner pipe or hose is strengthened.
4. A hole is cut in the bottom of the jar.
5. A nozzle is fixed on the bottom - a hollow thick-walled copper cone.

Advice: on the hose or pipe of the vacuum cleaner, fix the tap to adjust the pressure and air speed.

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

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

Hot air gun for soldering chips

1. heater:

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

1. supercharger:

• an ordinary cooler from a computer 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 a hose),
• the neck of a plastic bottle or bottle with a cap;

1. nutrition.

For a fan, it is best to use a transformer power supply for 5–22 volts (adjustable). It is easy to build it yourself, for example, if you know the impulse technique, you can use an old computer unit, having finished it a little.

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

Construction and assembly

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

Making a heater with a handle

• Cut the coil to about 12 cm, after measuring its resistance. It should be in the range of 40-45 ohms.
• Insert the spiral into the tube that needs to be cut on the grinder so that about 5-7 cm remain unoccupied. This is necessary to create a temperature difference between the heated part and the place of attachment to the cooler, as well as to strengthen the handle on a place free from the spiral.
• Saw a handle out of wood or take a ready-made one, for example, from a damaged drill or a children's gun.
• On the top of the handle, fasten two clamps coaxially, which will serve to secure the tube and as contacts.
• Straighten and bend the ends of the spiral so that they can be screwed to the clamps. The front should be a straight long piece.
• At the attachment points, wrap the spiral with mica and varnished cloth.
• Fix the tube in the clamps by connecting the installation wire to them.
• Melt or glue the end of the tube into the vial cap.

Supercharger manufacturing

There are two manufacturing methods.

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

The ends of the fan wires are lengthened, strengthened, passed through the handle, in which the switch for the spiral or the switch with the temperature controller is located.

It remains to screw the resulting supercharger onto the heater (the lid and neck of the bottle used 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 power cords of the cooler and coils together or wrap them with tape in several places.

When heat treating at home, it is not always possible to use professional welding equipment. A soldering iron is a special device that allows you to quickly connect various metal parts and circuit elements.

How to choose

A soldering iron is a modern electrical device that allows you to heat metal bends to a certain temperature in a relatively short time. Thanks to the simple principle of operation and high-quality assembly, this device can be used by both beginners and professional welders. It is worth noting that it is rarely used as an independent device, because in addition to heating the part, precise direction is required. Therefore, most craftsmen prefer to use soldering stations in practice.

A soldering station with a hot air gun is a semi-professional heating device, which is a welding heater with a soldering iron. It is designed to work with various circuit elements, electrical network components or minor heat treatments of parts.

In order to choose a soldering dryer, you need to decide on the type of work performed. There are different diameters of the soldering iron, they can vary from 2 millimeters to 5. Many manufacturers offer to purchase a set of nozzles for a heating device.

Consider the characteristics of well-known soldering guns to make the right choice:

Lead-free soldering station AOYUE 2703A (you can solder both radioelements and small tubular parts):

Soldering hot air dryer Element 858D (Element):

Station KADA 852D:

Hand block Yaxun YX8032 (УХ-8032). This is the best option for home use:

Infrared soldering iron ACHI IR-6500. This is a universal repair complex, designed both for working with various boards and electronic circuits, and for connecting metal components of a relatively large diameter. Specifications:

Digital heat gun Lukey 852D with built-in soldering iron:

The manufacturer, complete with this soldering dryer, also offers 4 nozzles for convenient work on various objects.

How to DIY

If you don’t want to buy an expensive device or, on the contrary, order a blow dryer from China, then you can make this device yourself.

In order to make a simple soldering dryer yourself, you will need drawings and some details. A diagram of a small device is shown below:

Details that may be needed in the implementation of the project are in almost every home. You can also buy them at your nearest electronics store. A fan from a personal computer will be used to pump air. To prevent the wire from coming off the part during work, it must be attached to the block. The heating element spiral is recommended to be made of nichrome wire. To do this, simply wind the wire around the cylinder of the desired size. Please note that one lead must pass through the tube.

For the case you will need a 10 watt resistor. Its size allows you to equip a small heating device, you just need to free the tube from the internal elements. Be sure to isolate the metal case from heating and conductive elements. You can use any available insulation for this, but mica has proven itself the best.

Video instruction on how to make a soldering iron with your own hands.

The air duct will require a simple tin can, it is cut out of the container. The edges need to be trimmed so that when working they do not harm with sharp ends. To prevent heating of the air duct, it is recommended to wrap it with fiberglass - for this you need to make 3 layers. The handle can be made from a syringe tube. Terminal blocks are used to connect the cable and the heater, they are selected according to the size of the wire.

Considering that the air duct is the most complex part of the structure, its development must be specified step by step:

1. The location of this part of the device must be such that the fan tube is connected to the heating coil;
2. In order to choose the dimensions, you need to use the duct sweep drawing. Figure duct sweep
3. For accurate execution, it is desirable to print this drawing and use it to make a template according to a pre-prepared jar. You can cut with simple scissors for metal, slight deviations are allowed;
4. Further, the assembly resembles a constructor. You need to make holes in the tin, and then stretch the power wire through it. It will later be connected to the heater coil;
5. After that, it remains only to assemble a home-made soldering iron according to the drawing and check its performance.

Such a hot air gun is a cheap and simple option that even a novice radio amateur can make. You can also simply assemble the finished circuit on the Atmega board according to a similar drawing. Instead of a body, you can use a blank from a regular hair dryer to dry your hair.

Price overview

You can buy a soldering iron at any electrical shop, its price depends on the brand and type of device. Consider how much the LUKEY 852D+ station costs:

Payment, depending on the manufacturer and seller, can be cash on delivery, cashless or installment.

Prologue

When testing the predecessor hair dryer, it turned out that its 100-watt power is not enough to quickly dismantle large radio components. Then it was decided to make a soldering 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 have no time to read.

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

Soldering iron power supply diagram

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

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

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

From exceeding the maximum allowable voltage, the fan is protected by fuse FU1 and a 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, then the peak voltage of the power supply may exceed the maximum allowable voltage for most inexpensive microcircuits. For example, at a voltage of 30 volts, the peak will be:

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

And this is the assembled hair dryer fan power board.

Since the regulator transistor can dissipate up to 24 watts of power, it is mounted on a heatsink. The heatsink can be made from an aluminum alloy sheet, such as an aluminum can. The total thickness of the set of radiator fins must be at least 1.5mm. A layer of thermally conductive paste must be applied between the transistor and 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?

We calculate the heating element for a hair dryer with a power of 300 watts and a supply voltage of 24 volts. I chose such a supply voltage so that, if necessary, obtaining more power, I could stay within 36 Volts - a conditionally safe voltage for life.

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

R = U²/P, where:

R - resistance in ohms,

U - supply voltage in Volts,

P is the power of the heater 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 the nichrome wire using an ohmmeter. I got about 1100mm. You can measure the pieces of wire and simply wind them on the mandrel, or you can calculate the length of the winding.

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

1100 – 50 = 1050 (mm)

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

H = L / π / (D+d) * D, where:

H - winding length (turn to turn),

L is the length of the wire,

π - Pi number (3.14),

D is the diameter of the mandrel,

d is the wire diameter.

H \u003d 1050 / 3.14 / (4 + 0.4) * 0.4 ≈ 30(mm)

Heating element of soldering iron

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

To prevent the occurrence of an arc discharge, the internal leads of the spirals were placed in a ceramic tube borrowed from the delay line of an old Soviet TV. You can release the ceramic tube from the compound, leads and wires using a gas burner. But, it is better to do it outside or in a well-ventilated area.

Another source of ceramic insulators can be tubular ceramic capacitors,

If you've ever dismantled burnt soldering irons, then you could have such mica tubes lying around. They can also be used to insulate the center leads of the heater.

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

The same spools from the sewing machine from the seller were filled with wire of a different diameter.

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 fixed on the shaft.

Heating element housing

The most complex assembly unit of a soldering iron is the body of the heating element. 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 a 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 for at a computer workshop. If somewhere in the radio market or flea market a whole battery from a laptop comes across, then here

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

Although, if you are not so scrupulous, you can rivet the heater case from tin from a can, after making sure with a magnet that the can is steel. Of all the metals that a do-it-yourselfer might have on 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 end of the tube is shown in the video.

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

Hair dryer body

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

The body of the heating element is fastened to the body of the hair dryer using a four-leaf collet clamp. To do this, the screw part of the neck of the bottle was cut into four parts with 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 into it with a sharp knife for installing a fan power switch.

Fan assembly

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

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

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

Mounting unit for heater body

In order to protect the neck of the PET bottle from overheating, the heater body was insulated with several dozen layers of fiberglass. For additional protection of the body of the hair dryer from overheating, an aluminum heat shield 0.5 mm thick was used. The screen petals bent inside the case are blown by an air stream. This design reduces the transfer of heat 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 needed to assemble a hair dryer. Below the preview is an image for printing in A4 format, 300dpi.

Hair dryer assembled

And this is a homemade soldering iron assembled.

The difference between a soldering iron and a conventional hygienic one is limited by its rough, heavy construction. Temperatures inside reach 800 degrees Celsius, but 250 is enough for soldering. A hair dryer won't do that. The idea is to copy the design. Do-it-yourself soldering dryer is assembled from a hygienic one designed for drying hair. The heating element undergoes the greatest modernization. Get ready to add a couple of functional elements. The idea remains the same: the air blown by the fan passes through the heating element (coil), acquiring a considerable temperature that can melt the flux when soldering and desoldering board elements. A novice radio amateur who is passionate about processor technology will come in handy.

The design of the blow dryer

A used hair dryer would be useful to the design business. Stores sell for a maximum of 200 rubles, perhaps there is a free one at home. For comparison, the construction costs 800 rubles, God knows whether it is suitable for soldering. Try. Whether it is worth saving pennies, decide for yourself. The review is considered an experiment, for fun. Winning $15, wasting a lot of time, losing in terms of security is a dubious benefit. The experience is interesting, if there is nothing to do, let's get started.

Construction and hygiene hair dryers

In the commercials, craftsmen created hair dryers, took a steel tube. Beware of aluminum, copper is too heavy (relative to steel). The disadvantage is the same: it is not possible to hold a massive device. They wrote about induction heating machines. It was said: high temperatures spoil the copper inductor. Caused by secondary heat given off by the melted part by infrared, convection. A ceramic heat-resistant fabric was mentioned that can withstand temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius without damage. In parallel, a list of materials used that are not afraid of heating was given.

With a soldering gun, the situation is similar. The metal will become red hot - how to hold it with one hand? In amateur videos, the soldering iron lay motionless on the rack, the board with attachments moved relative to it. Anyone familiar with amateur radio will guess the inconvenience of the technique. It is clear that I wanted to feel something better at hand ... If readers are lucky enough to get heat-resistant fabric - the most useless specimens keep the temperature of 800 degrees Celsius - the problem will be largely solved. Recall: in induction melting installations, the fabric covers the spiral, protecting it from a red-hot billet. The material is laid outside, it will not carry a large load. A few layers are enough to fit a homemade oven mitt on top to hold the appliance.

What is good for designing an old hair dryer? In simple cheap models we find mica plates that easily keep the temperature. The spirals of the soldering dryer are red-hot, therefore, a solid base is sought that is not afraid of the load. Suitable standing under a high-resistance wire. The spirals are connected by a cross - great. A few words about spirals: we use soft nichrome (hard fechral), which we need to purchase. Not a problem - the network is full of shops. Fechral is tougher, out of place for the occasion.

There was a question of definition of power. Too much heat will melt the flux and may burn the chips. A radio amateur knows: an overly powerful soldering iron is the worst enemy of electronic components, competing with static electricity. With inept hands, the sting becomes a real tool for killing microcircuits, attachments. Complex components have an incredible number of legs, melting the flux takes time.

The question was inspired by a YouTube video: a novice radio amateur describes the first experience of making a soldering gun as unsuccessful, there was not enough power, he had to wait a minute for the flux to melt. It is clear that a rare individual is ready to pass the test, you have to hold the circuit with your bare hands near a stationary soldering gun. We invite readers to study the market, determine what power is characteristic of the designed class of devices, find the resistivity of nichrome, calculate the Joule-Lenz effect in order to avoid boredom, we will partially do the work.

Measuring the temperature of the hair dryer with a tester

Choosing the characteristics of a homemade soldering dryer

We tend to think: a home-made soldering dryer should look more like a purchased one. We stumbled upon BAKU 8032, which costs 900 rubles, although it is more expensive on average in the markets of the capital. Technical characteristics are laid out by a resource where the price is increased. That's right - market competition requires a competent approach. The soldering iron has the following characteristics:

1. The power consumed by the 230 volt (50 Hz) network is 450 watts.
2. Fan capacity - 30 liters per minute (maximum).
3. Temperature range 100-500 degrees.

The lion's share of the power is consumed by the spiral. They are deprived of the opportunity to measure the resistance themselves, let's say from experience - about 97 ohms will come out.

Left:

• find nichrome wire suitable for winding spirals;
• find out the characteristics (resistivity per meter);
• calculate the length necessary to get 97 ohms;
• make sure that the estimate is correct by measuring the resistance of the spiral of the future soldering dryer with a tester.

As far as performance is concerned, nothing is easier than measuring. You will need a large package. Take and inflate with the original hair dryer at maximum speed a plastic container from which air has been released. You can estimate in advance how much cellophane. At home, buckets, tubs, tubs, basins will serve as the standard of measure - compare. Now we can relatively easily measure the performance of the future soldering iron in terms of hot air production. Discussed is enough to obtain a workable soldering dryer, issuing a jet at a temperature of 450 degrees Celsius.

Let us explain the device of the soldering dryer in addition. Many are interested in how we quickly determined how many ohms to take the spiral. Just really. A typical storage water heater spiral is produced with a capacity of 2 kW. In this case, the resistance is in the region of 25 ohms. If you take four times the large spiral, you get a power of about 500 watts, the resistance will reach 97 ohms. The calculation is made on the fingers, if you wish, substitute the value into the Joule-Lenz law. Paradoxically: the more we wind the wires, the less the thermal effect. This follows from the law. Power is found by dividing the square of the voltage by the resistance.

It is easy to verify that the conclusions are correct. What to do if the spiral is too long. Put up with a lot of soldering iron consumption, as well as the danger of damaging parts. The temperature will rise too quickly, and the designers of a professional company have calculated safe modes in advance (isn't it better to buy ready-made?). It is not recommended to exceed. And one more option. Try to find an alloy whose resistivity is higher than nichrome. A difficult path, for sure, the creators of household appliances are not so stupid, they stubbornly continue to use nichrome and fechral in products, therefore, they will not get much benefit from this.

You see that it is difficult to make a soldering iron with your own hands. And vice versa, it is easy to ruin microcircuits with an incorrect design. We frankly believe that 1000 rubles is not the money that you need to fight for for the sake of an idea. It is clear that professional stations cost more than 3,000 rubles, but at home, creating such a miracle is beyond the power of the next hundred years. That is why, we emphasize, the review is rather introductory.

Concluding remarks on the design of the soldering iron

Perhaps someone will say, we have not indicated exactly how to make a blow dryer. We just think everything is clear:

1. We remove the spiral from the original hair dryer along with the quartz carrier.
2. We cut off the pipe, leaving a small branch for attaching new elements.
3. Inside the steel tube we insert the base with a spiral. The wires go inside, wrapped in fireproof cloth, which you will find in household heating appliances.
4. The body of the hair dryer is made of plastic and will not withstand the high temperatures of a steel tube ... we put it on heat-resistant glue through a ceramic adapter. You can cut off the grinder from the pole insulators of high-voltage lines (sold in the store).
5. We glue ceramics on the same composition to the body.

Actually, the principle of operation of the soldering iron is fully implemented. Start working. We believe that few really need a soldering dryer. The weapon of professional craftsmen and repairmen, which has been gathering dust on the shelf for years for the life of an ordinary citizen. We add that the soldering of planar microcircuits requires strict adherence to temperature conditions.

A building hair dryer can be attributed to the category of tools that are not among the essential tools, for sure. Just think, a hair dryer is like a hair dryer, what is the use of it - it is expensive, but all it does is heat the air. Some girly fun. But let's not jump to conclusions.

What can a building hair dryer do?

Most likely, each of us has already encountered a situation where the best device that could solve the problem would be a hair dryer. Out of ignorance, we sometimes do a whole bunch of extra gestures, and a hair dryer would help solve everything in a matter of minutes. After reading the article, we hope that many will change their attitude towards the device. It may well be that they will even think about how to make a building hair dryer with their own hands. Our task is to provide an evidence base that every decent owner should have a building hair dryer at hand.

Having learned about its capabilities and areas of application, it is impossible not to change your mind about a hair dryer as an essential household appliance. Let's start with the practical scope, but it will be very difficult to form a complete list. So, a hair dryer will help:

And fire up the grill. Earnestly? That's the same. These are far from all areas and ways of using a building hair dryer - only when repairing a car can it be used in almost all operations, from decorating to soldering plastic bumpers and body kits.

The theoretical choice of building hair dryer

If we managed to convince you of the need to buy or make a building hair dryer with your own hands, then you should know some features of choosing this useful device in terms of parameters, characteristics and design.

In addition to the power and the generated temperature, it is no different from a household hair dryer. Its main working bodies are the fan, the heating element and the nozzle itself, which must be equipped with a large number of interchangeable nozzles. The more, the wider will be its scope.

The hair dryer should also have several temperature settings for different types of surfaces and different jobs. It is desirable to have smooth temperature change modes, since each material requires its own temperature at which it is processed. Many models have overheating protection systems, they are quite simple and consist of a temperature sensor that turns off the heating element when the set heating temperature is exceeded.

Nozzles are the main working body of the hair dryer and an indicator of its functionality. Special nozzles are used for

• simple distribution of air in a given plane;
• protection of glass from overheating;
• reflections of warm air;
• decrease in air temperature.

This is the minimum universal set of nozzles, but there are many more, as you can see from the photos that we have selected for you. Now about the main thing.

We disassemble the household hair dryer and carry out its modernization. We remove all plastic parts that can undergo melting, replacing them with ebonite or textolite. We remove the old heating element and wind a new nichrome spiral - the more turns, the higher the temperature will be.

Nichrome is not soldered, so we fasten the ends of the spiral to the transformer wire and isolate them well. In this case, it is necessary to make sure that the airflow is turned on first, and then the heating element. We collect all this in a case and be sure to put a heat insulator on the handle of the device. Now you can take construction gloves and bench test the hair dryer.

Of course, we will not succeed in such a hair dryer as Makita, Bosch or Skil sell, but our home-made device will definitely have minimal functions.

Today, many are faced with such a problem when radio equipment fails for various reasons. To perform complex work on the repair of 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 a do-it-yourself soldering station with a hairdryer can be made from available parts at home. There is nothing complicated in this, but, which will be described below, will help you with this.

Soldering gun: what is it?

A soldering station is a special equipment capable of heating up to very high temperatures and allowing metal bends to be heated very quickly. This device has a very primitive design, so not only a professional, but also a beginner radio amateur can deal with it.

At the same time, soldering guns are used in conjunction with other equipment, since when working with the device it must be directed with millimeter accuracy. In this case, a soldering station with a hairdryer will be an excellent solution, which you can do 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 various 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 is not difficult to make a soldering iron from a hair dryer with your own hands. According to its technical characteristics, it will be absolutely identical to the factory counterparts, among which the main ones are:

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

These characteristics determine how well a home-made soldering station with a hairdryer will work, so they should be given special attention.

Design features

Soldering dryers 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 a do-it-yourself soldering station with a hairdryer be created from? Atmega328, for example, like any other similar device, consists of the following elements:

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

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

Making a soldering station from improvised means

Every person with even a little knowledge in the field of electronics will be able to make such a device as a homemade soldering station with a hairdryer. It is not difficult to create it with your own hands from improvised means. Any old or non-working devices, as well as a steel tube, are suitable for the role of the case. In the process of working with the equipment, the case will heat up to critical temperatures, therefore, 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 in 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 the heating coils, any that are made of soft metal will do. The best option would be nichrome.

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 and does not damage the microcircuit. Also, the power regulator of the soldering station hair dryer will help solve the problem. With your own hands, it will be possible to manually adjust the temperature regime of the equipment.

Soldering station from a soldering iron

An excellent alternative for the body of the device will 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 on the glass, resulting in a tube, on one end of which a technological nipple is put on, and a hole for the heater is already made in it. A nichrome plate will act as a heating element in the equipment. Its thickness should be no more than 0.7 mm, otherwise the soldering station with a hair dryer will cool down for a very long time.

Do-it-yourself device is cheaper to make, but you need to follow a certain sequence of actions:

• The quartz insulator is carefully placed in the coil.
• 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 fixed with a wire from the side of the handle.
• A previously prepared structure is also placed here, which is pre-wound with an asbestos cord, which provides it with a better fit in the case.
• The handle contains a hose responsible for supplying air, which is connected to the compressor.

That, in fact, is all - an analog soldering station with a do-it-yourself hairdryer is completely ready for use.

What mistakes should be avoided in the build 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, let alone harder metals.

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

Varieties of soldering stations

All devices are divided into two types:

• A do-it-yourself turbine soldering station with a hairdryer is created quickly enough. In it, an electric motor is responsible for the movement of air.
• 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 in a more directed direction, which makes it possible to use various nozzles. According to their principle of operation, 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 improvised 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 case. 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 on the handle of the hair dryer.

For the manufacture of a spiral, a 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, it is necessary to leave a few centimeters free on the base. This place will need to be wrapped with a heat-resistant cloth so that you can take the soldering station in your hands while working with it. It is best to choose a ceramic or porcelain nozzle, and thermal protection is created to increase efficiency.

After the assembly is completed, the soldering iron will be somewhat reminiscent of a gun. To increase the convenience of using the device, it can be attached to a special holder. In order for a homemade soldering iron to comply with all safety rules, all bare wires must be insulated. At the very end, a switch is installed and a network wire is connected, after which you can start testing the equipment. As it turned out, making a soldering station at home is easy. The most important thing is to follow the instructions and observe safety precautions.

In connection with the improvement of assembly technologies for various kinds of products assembled from small metal parts (electronic microcircuits), their manual soldering causes more and more difficulties.

A homemade soldering dryer will allow the operator to cope with the difficulties that arise in these situations without any special complications and eliminate the risks arising from this.

So, with the help of a do-it-yourself assembly, anyone can assemble and dismantle parts without the threat of damage to fragile electronic elements located near the soldering point. One of the possible options for solving this problem allows you to make a hot air gun from a soldering iron that is available in the household kit of any home craftsman.

The principle of operation is quite simple and is as follows.

The air dispersed by means of a fan or compressor is forced into a special channel, made in the form of a tube with an electric spiral. Passing through this channel, the flow is heated to the required temperature (from 100 to 800 degrees) and immediately enters a calibrated plastic nozzle that directs the hot jet to the workpiece.

In most industrial models of soldering irons, the main parameters of the heated jet (its temperature, direction of movement, and power) can be adjusted within certain limits.

Turbine and compressor type

The scheme of a do-it-yourself soldering station can be presented in the form of a main module and a terminal device (thermal hair dryer) that provides air heating in the soldering zone.

Before its manufacture, it is necessary to know that, according to the method of forming a forced air flow, such devices are divided into turbine and compressor type soldering devices.

In turbine units, air is supplied to the treatment area by means of a small electric motor with a fan built directly into the body of the hair dryer. In products of the second class, the air flow is formed using a special compressor located in the main module (controller for a soldering gun).

When choosing the required type of station for soldering small parts, they usually proceed from an assessment of the following multidirectional factors:

• fan soldering stations are able to generate a more powerful airflow, which is an obvious advantage of the hair dryer built into them. However, the flow created with their help hardly passes through nozzles that are too narrow;
• compressor dryers, on the contrary, are more effective when working with relatively narrow nozzles used when soldering parts located in hard-to-reach places.

The choice of the optimal variant of a soldering iron capable of working with this set of plastic nozzles is carried out taking into account the specific conditions of its operation.

Based on the cooler

Making a hair dryer with your own hands at home is easiest if you use the turbine principle of air injection, implemented using any small-sized fan suitable for this purpose.

A soldering hair dryer can be made by hand on the basis of a cooler that comes with the power supply of any desktop computer.

In this case, the fan is built into the handle of the thermal element from a refractory tube with an electric spiral, passing through which the air will heat up and then enter the soldering zone.

The outer part of the body of the soldering iron must be made airtight, which excludes the possibility of air being sucked into the surrounding space. To assemble the heater, you will need a nichrome wire wound in a spiral around a ceramic tube.

The total length of the winding is selected so that the resistance of the entire wire segment is about 70-90 ohms.

Separate turns of a spiral wound on a ceramic base should be located at some distance from one another. For safe operation of the heater, this distance should be in the order of 1-2 mm.

From a soldering iron and a dropper

To make a soldered hair dryer with your own hands, you can use a simple soldering iron with the protective cover removed from it.

When taking it as the basis for the future heater, it is necessary to refine the design, which consists in the following:

• First, the tip is removed from the working part of the soldering iron, after which the mica tube with the nichrome winding placed under it is completely pulled out of the wooden holder handle.
• Then the network wires suitable for the heating element are disconnected and also pulled out of the wooden holder, but from the other side.
• After that, a hole of the required size is drilled in the side of the handle, into which the previously disconnected power cable is pulled (towards the working part).
• At the next step in the manufacture of a soldering dryer, a dropper is taken, from which the tip is cut off in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe rubber skirt. Then the bare part of the tube is inserted into the network hole of the wooden handle.
• Further, the rubberized sealant (skirt) of the dropper is pressed against the end part of the holder with force, ensuring reliable sealing of the docking area.
• Upon completion of these steps, the ends of the pulled power wire are reconnected to the nichrome winding and securely insulated.
• A piece of a telescopic antenna of a suitable diameter is inserted into the hole where the soldering iron tip was previously placed and carefully clamped with a locking screw.

The tightness of the inlet in the handle will ensure effective pumping with cold air coming from the compressor station.

At the final stage of assembling the soldering iron, the heating tube with the nichrome winding should be returned to its place, having previously wrapped it with several layers of aluminum foil.

Then the heater prepared in this way is sunk into a wooden handle and securely fixed by means of a flexible copper wire wound along the entire length of the protective coating.

Self-repair of industrial designs

Before repairing a soldering iron, first of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the connection diagram of the fan and heater to the electrical network (its other name is pinout).

Knowing this circuit allows you to check the correctness of the power supply to each of the main elements of the thermal module and make sure that they are in good condition.

Directly repairing a non-working soldering device comes down to replacing failed or damaged parts, which can be detected by the presence of characteristic traces of burning.

When operating a soldering iron, a sharp change in operating modes (heater temperature jumps, in particular) should be avoided. In addition, it is strictly forbidden to touch a working thermal element, as well as to replaceable nozzles.

Otherwise, the operator risks dangerous skin burns from hot air. It is allowed to change plastic nozzles only after the soldering iron is completely turned off and all its working parts have cooled down.