I have made a new YouTube video and a blog post with a second version of how to modify an ordinary plugin soldering iron to work with a PID temperature controller. This new version has some improvements since the first version back in April, 2015. The soldering iron in this new version gets hotter and heats up faster than the first one. It also uses a different PID controller that is capable of higher temperatures plus it uses an SSR instead of a built in relay.
Like the first version, a K-type thermocouple was mounted internally inside the soldering iron at the back of the heating element. Mounting the thermocouple internally has the advantage that it is out of the way. The video shows the unit being tested with a range of temperatures at 200°C, 250°C, 300°C and 350°C. A tip thermometer was used to compare the temperature of the soldering iron tip with the temperature controller.
The results were promising. The tip temperature coincided with the internal temperature pretty closely and varied by only a few degrees in most cases. Overall, it seemed like the thermocouple would register the temperature change a little bit faster than the soldering tip but after a few seconds the tip temperature would catch up with the thermocouple.
Here are the links:
Soldering Iron Temperature Controller Version 2:
https://youtu.be/Mx70POeGj-4 (https://youtu.be/Mx70POeGj-4)
Blog post with details:
https://pcbsmoke.wordpress.com/2015/08/ ... version-2/ (https://pcbsmoke.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/soldering-iron-temperature-controller-version-2/)
Follow up video on adjusting the thermocouple:
https://youtu.be/ztuiwR6sI1k (https://youtu.be/ztuiwR6sI1k)
Great project!
I wonder what kind of mains soldering irons could be used and the calibration process could be done easily.
I try to understand how these can work at mains electricity and others at just 24VAC. What's the working differences? How do they work in a different way?
I wonder what kind of mains soldering irons could be used...
It's largely hit and miss. So far I've been lucky. Mica tube heating elements seem to be pretty do-able. I haven't tried it with a ceramic heating element yet, but it might be possible. It just depends on the layout of the iron.
I try to understand how these can work at mains electricity and others at just 24VAC. What's the working differences?
24 volt soldering irons are for already existing soldering station controllers, so these irons should already have a sensor. There should be no need to modify them.
How do they work in a different way?
They don't work in a different way, just different voltage. For example the windings of a 220 volt mains heating element are different than those for a 24 volt heating element.
[quote author="pcbsmoke"]
I wonder what kind of mains soldering irons could be used...
It's largely hit and miss. So far I've been lucky. Mica tube heating elements seem to be pretty do-able. I haven't tried it with a ceramic heating element yet, but it might be possible. It just depends on the layout of the iron.
I try to understand how these can work at mains electricity and others at just 24VAC. What's the working differences?
24 volt soldering irons are for already existing soldering station controllers, so these irons should already have a sensor. There should be no need to modify them.
How do they work in a different way?
They don't work in a different way, just different voltage. For example the windings of a 220 volt mains heating element are different than those for a 24 volt heating element.[/quote]
I see.
So are they like resistors for 220vac instead 24vac. Right? Are 24v AC or DC?
I wonder if this can be made to the cheap JBC ones. As these are manufactured in Spain, they are quite popular here. Most people in my vocational school had no damn idea about what a soldering station is, didn't have the curiosity.
Even their English level is worse than mine, something still very common here. I'm slowly improving at listening and speaking because I watch YouTube videos to learn electronics, most of the good ones are in English, occasional English subtitles and automatic transcription (despite it fails a lot, it's able to transcript a good percentage and then I able to understand the rest) help me a lot to understand them.
[quote author="pcbsmoke"]
I wonder what kind of mains soldering irons could be used...
It's largely hit and miss. So far I've been lucky. Mica tube heating elements seem to be pretty do-able. I haven't tried it with a ceramic heating element yet, but it might be possible. It just depends on the layout of the iron.
I try to understand how these can work at mains electricity and others at just 24VAC. What's the working differences?
24 volt soldering irons are for already existing soldering station controllers, so these irons should already have a sensor. There should be no need to modify them.
How do they work in a different way?
They don't work in a different way, just different voltage. For example the windings of a 220 volt mains heating element are different than those for a 24 volt heating element.[/quote]
I see.
So are they like resistors for 220vac instead 24vac. Right? Are 24v AC or DC?
I wonder if this can be made to the cheap JBC ones. As these are manufactured in Spain, they are quite popular here. Most people in my vocational school had no damn idea about what a soldering station is, didn't have the curiosity.
Even their English level is worse than mine, something still very common here. I'm slowly improving at listening and speaking because I watch YouTube videos to learn electronics, most of the good ones are in English, occasional English subtitles and automatic transcription (despite it fails a lot, it's able to transcript a good percentage and then I able to understand the rest) help me a lot to understand them.
So are they like resistors for 220vac instead 24vac. Right?
Yes, I think so. To get the stated wattage from the iron you have to power it with the voltage for which it was intended. For example a 220v 60w iron will heat up to the expected 60w as long as it is powered with 220v. If it were to be powered by 110v I believe it would only heat up as if it was 30w.
Are 24v AC or DC?
Pretty sure it doesn't matter - either way will work. I saw another thread here at dangerousprototypes discussing this matter.
Re: JBC soldering irons. I live in the USA and I am not familiar with them. I was also unaware of what a soldering station was until about 2012 when I started experimenting with a temperature controller for a project I was working on.