Soldering Iron Adapter for the Milwaukee M18 Battery

thingiverse

A portable soldering iron can be very useful when you are away from a mains power source and still need to get that wiring done. There are many wonderful small, yet powerful portable soldering irons. My favourite is the Pinecil, and the new TS101 is worth a look, too. These portable irons deliver full heating power when their voltage is at 24V DC. To deliver this voltage, I take an 18V battery voltage and invert it to 24V with the aid of a high power buck inverter. Hence, this power adapter delivers more than enough power to run these irons at full spec. These irons heat quickly and sleep when idle (adjustable), which means they can run for several hours on a single battery charge. I designed a 3D printable case to house the electronics and power switch. The case clips onto a Milwaukee M18 battery which powers the soldering iron. The case is in two parts and held together by two 3.5mm x 20mm screws. The electrical terminals connections are reproduced using automotive 3mm red blade connectors. These connections are used without the red insulator (apply heat to soften the insulation for easy removal). The bare connection with a crimped or soldered to wire, then sandwiched between two parts that firmly secure the automotive connectors. The two printed parts sandwiching the connectors are held together by an M3 (3mm) x 8mm screw. The black electrical part attaches to the red battery mount part with two parallel M3 (3mm) x 15~17mm screws. See included photos for assembly details. My print is made in PLA+ 1.75mm eSUN black filament, with 0.2mm layer height and 30% infill on a PRUSA I3 MK3S printer. Print supports are recommended. I hope you can find this design useful, too. Remember to leave me some feedback or even a tip to keep me enthused to make more of these drawings.