UFS-073 TS100 Mini Stand & Tip Guard

thingiverse

This stand is straightforward and practical, but its design isn't entirely user-friendly for 3D printing. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3598559 The creator incorporated a deliberate 3-degree curvature in the part. This curvature tilts the soldering iron so that its tip rests higher off the surface. Due to this curvature, the part is not flat and requires supports during printing. It's puzzling why the creator bent the part when they could simply angle the base of the part instead. This approach would have allowed for a flat print without any support issues. In fact, using a 5-degree angle instead of 3 would make it even more straightforward. While we're on the subject, there's a fundamental design flaw in the TS-100 that needs addressing: there is no protective barrier to prevent fingers from sliding down toward the tip. To rectify this issue, I designed an alternative version with a slightly larger frame to create a small guard. I was careful not to make it too large so as to still fit within standard storage boxes available on Thingiverse. Incidentally, I chose this modified design for my case (www.thingiverse.com/thing:3511257), which is itself a remix of a remix. It's not uncommon for multiple iterations to lead to a superior product. The original idea behind it can be found at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2055299.