Geoffs SMD Desoldering Tool - using USB Soldering Irons - Mk4

thingiverse

This updated and renamed version is essentially the same as my previous one (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2766715). I've added a slot to secure the soldering irons firmly in place. A helpful tip: if you find the grip too tight or too loose, use a hot air gun to soften the ABS and bend it into shape. I chose ABS for this project due to its proximity to the hot soldering iron tips, but PLA or PETG would also work well. Feel free to experiment with different nozzle sizes, support options, and raft settings. For PCB design, I'm using SMD components, which are now readily available in small quantities at a reasonable cost. I've found easyEDA's online tools to be ideal for schematic and PCB design, and the low-cost manufacturing process makes it an attractive option. Soldering with my normal iron and a tiny tip has been relatively straightforward (as shown in DIYODE magazine's December 2019 issue), but desoldering small SMD resistors and capacitors is a different story. The hot-air rework tool tends to overheat nearby components, causing them to fall off, which can be frustrating. In my search for a solution, I came across minipimmer's "3D-printed SMD soldering tweezers" (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1934731), but the irons kept falling out. Hence, this updated version was born. It has worked well for me when unsoldering small components and is easy to remove an iron for single-soldering-iron jobs. I prefer using these $15 USB irons over my temperature-controlled Hakko, as they heat up much faster - a feature that's not particularly useful for large soldering projects.