ESP12 Pogo Adapter

thingiverse

This ESP12 Pogo Adapter allows you to connect an ESP12 into your circuit without the need for soldering it. You can also quickly switch ESP12's with different software. The adapter consists of a body and a lid. The lid has an internal ramp which pushes and holds the ESP12 on top of the pogo sticks while exerting enough contact force The pogo sticks I used were 33mm length, 1.35mm diameter. I used Tinkercad. The holes for the pins were made by taking 8 cylinders(holes) of 50mm and 1.65mm dia The center of the holes sit exactly 2mm apart, the pitch of the ESP12 contacts. I printed multiple bodies on my Ender3 and all came out fine, so the design is repeatable. I printed the lid from natural color PLA, so i can still observe the blue LED... You may need to widen the bottom side of the holes a bit because of first layer compression. You can push the pogo stick in the hole a bit, and then grip it horizontally just above the brass casing, then you can exert a lot of force to push the pin through without damage. (they must be a little snug) I assembled the body with the pins sticking out at the bottom. In order to solder it to a PCB, put an ESP12 in, close the lid so pressure is exerted and clamp the adapter with the PCB sideways in a vise. This also neatly aligns the pins, make sure they sit exactly above the ESP12 pads on de PCB. Solder with a 25W soldering iron with a 2mm (!!) point. A thinner point fails to conduct enough heat into the brass pins, a wider point fails because of the very small distances involved. You should solder pins from outside in, first one on the left, then on the right to prevent heating the plastic too much. let it cool a bit. Then turn around in the vise for the other side