JBC Soldering Station
First of all, I would like to thank every active member of this discord server that has helped, special thanks to @robherc , @Taire , toesis and MaderDash.
A couple months ago I started looking for a new soldering iron, when I saw that while there were some promising Chinese models, most of them had design flaws and other kind of drawbacks. Just looking at the prices of reputable name-brand irons made me sick so I decided to design my own. I started my research with opamps, high and low side switching for high power loads (10A at 24V), then moved onto all the details features that the real one has. The soldering is not the nicest, I had no solder paste so I first added solder via my iron and then reflowed it, but by that time too much oxidation was on the surface
Things to do:
-PID control
-Voltage-Power adjustment to compensate for lower supply voltages
-Tip detection for automatically changing the settings (duty%) for C115, C210, and C245 tips (9, 12, 24V rated)
-Designing and 3D printing an enclousure
-Resoldering the input cables and changing them for thicker ones
-Reintroducing the power bar


503 Replies

Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Because of slight temp fluctuations?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
okΓ© fam just made what I spend 1k for
other then that looks good however I believe you could shove more volts tru the tip atleast for thr heating coil that would make it heat faster but happy we could be of help. and happy to see that my knowledge is being put to use by others in this community
I belive that with PID in place the warm up will be much faster. Happy that you like it
fair enough I always look at issues with a hardware look
I'll might increased the refresh timers value... or just add some extra smoothing to the displayed value but I don't want it to be fake either like some of those knock-off equipment
the real one doesn't update to often but it does have a power indicator
I have that aswell, a power bar on the bottom that will have to be reintroduced. It was causing some display glitches. Here you can see it working https://discord.com/channels/420594746990526466/720118233276874822/1314922358338883655 . Plus an LED that you can see blinking in the video on the other side xD
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Well, with a better control algorithm I'm looking for a 2 sec warm up time so... I'll consider your suggestion and work on part.
By the way, by any chance could you help me with the RMS calculations and duty% for the lower voltage tips. Perhaps something like
βTonΒ² * ToffΒ²
or am I completely off?Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thanks!
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
How did I miss that?! Thanks for looking over my schematic, guess I won't be reinstalling it afterall
Was my idea at least semi-correct? The voltage divider like driving setup is because of the relatively small max Vgs of the mosfet. That was causing quite some confusion today in the voice chat when showing my design
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Actually, that zener was changed to a 12V one by empirical agreement xD Forgot to update the datasheet. Are you telling me that that 3k transistor could be decreased significantly as well as the gate pullup resistor?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
1W so 1/12 -> 83mA?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
0.25W is the resistors
I can stack them on top of eachother tho xD. Did that today to get a specific value for the opamp
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yep and the zener pulls it up to 12V?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
24V-9,6V > 12Vzener
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But since its only 9,6V, the zener literally has no reason to exist since as long as its above 4V its fine
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
ahhhhh
Got it
Thought it was the other way around, 9,6V above gnd
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Replaced the resistors with smaller values, R9=270, R14=510, R11=3k ohm. The on and off times were reduced to 1/5 of the original value so now it has a 7,5ns turn on time and 20ns off time. R11 might need to be smaller, I'll check the datasheet at my PC to calculate the gain.

Also got PID control running. If anyone knows how hard it is to solder those thick power planes with extra wires and solder
IDK if you remember but my switching used to look like a sawtooth/sine wave when starting this project π
Also added the 1000uF bulk (C6) capacitor since the switching was causing very big power drops (15V peak to peak), it's now pretty much noise free
(input voltage drops and noise before the capacitor was installed)
@Misty Cloud
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Just a simple ATmega328PB. No module involved. Both SPI and serial programming pins are broken out for uploading
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I was considering SMT32 for this, even ported the code and got it sort of working with some of the features but after finding out that I have just enough analog pins on the ATmega, I settled on that for simplicity
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Would be cool, the only problem is that the temp measurements of the tip must (at least as far as I know) be done when the heating element is turned off. So it can't run entirely separately, must be done in the correct sequence
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I haven't hit any speed related limitations so far. The PWM is 4khz, 11bit. The I2C screen is limited by the screen itself, but I've hit quite high framerates, especially when only updating a few elements. There is an opamp that amplifies the 20mV signal for the ATmega, got a quite accurate result
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
BUT, I am running out of program space, have hit 94-96% ram before, now at 84% but it'd be cool to add some graphics to the screen and stuff. A new, a 21st century MCU would be definitely a better choice if I was making this for production
What do you mean? Sorry
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yeah, especially since it's Arduino compatible as far as I know
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I'd rather solder the IC itself π
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Would you like to come to talk about it in voice chat?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Which continent do you live on?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Europe
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Same, still cheaper than the shipping between USA and here
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ahh yeah, I haven't started that. I've only designed and printed a holder with sleep sensing mode for it.
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
That's amazing
I just use my ender 3. Just upgraded to a new Mobo
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Cool. So about the buttons, I use a rotary encoder to change the values, hold the encoder's shaft button to make the increments 5 or 10. Short press to change between settings and 10 sec hold to save all the settings to EEPROM.
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
It can change between 3 types of handles and tips, has hardware support for automatically detecting their kind: JBC c115, c210 and c245. Different sizes and power values, it adjusts for that in code, aswellas tries to compensate for lower input voltages
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
You should see my other 3d enclosures for my PCBs that are designed to be waterproof
The screen, mainly that. Also the PID library but now that's fixed
A touch screen would probably 2x the cost for limited advantages. I don't want to smear it with my flux or grease covered fingers
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yeah but it's very cute. Would be amazing for students to learn on
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And the quality seems good aswell
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yeah, they do. This PCB of mine turned out horrendous. I have no usable solder paste and tried to tin the pads with solder wire before reflowing them but they oxidized too much
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
yeah, kester
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Do you not use solder paste?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And do you reflow solder?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
yeah yeah. The oxidation was cause the hotplate was too hot but as you can see, there quite large copper pads on the PCB and my store bough soldering station is sh*t.
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Btw I made the hotplate as well, its from an old clothes iron and a relay to control it. π
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
mine is faster, got 2000 watts xD
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh you don't want that. I only put it together in a single afternoon with all the code and stuff included because I needed it for a project. https://discord.com/channels/420594746990526466/556594862502182914/1274367028181991537
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I'll add an actual thermocouple made for those temps not just an NTC. Also PID because it overshoots. Can't really do linear regulation with relays π
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Reliability and ease of use. When you have something that "works", why move away? That's all I can think of.
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Also the 328P has quite a low power consumption, got 4uA in sleep mode for my whole project with a couple extra parts, cut power to those with a mosfet.
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Both could work. 2x server PSUs in series to get 24V in my case. This supplies my whole bench PSU setup aswell. The electronics are hidden under my table, only the UI is visible https://discord.com/channels/420594746990526466/556594862502182914/1301958033940676659
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Which I 3D printed :D. 600W 0-50V (Ithink) output
Didn't make sense to add power electronics to the design since I already have a nice stable, well regulated source
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I'm trying to build up my workstation step by step. I'm kind of a cheap guy aswell and I like learning while making my own tools
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
10A is the max consumption, laptop chargers usually don't go that high but using a lower voltage -> power will work just as well, just a slower heating time
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Also using the C210 or C115 would require significantly less power, those can/should be able to be used with any voltage between 9-24V but the C245 works at 12V quite well
I'll buy a C115 to test that feature, using an oscilloscope and the C245 it seems to be outputting the right power values which I get from RMS calculations. Duty cycle + ohms law give the same result xD
But RMS calculations sounds more scientific
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
You don't need to see it? You set the temp once, it heats up when you remove it from the holder and cools down when you insert it
That would be great if I wanted to sell it in the future
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
No, the heating element is 2,5ohms
The amp goes down as the voltage goes down
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I can compensate for the PWM outputs on the lower end at most but can't change the incoming power regardless xD
The original chinese handle uses some very thin wires, the official one as well so as long as its thicker than that
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh it sure needs a TON of that
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I only do that when necessary
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
π So optimizing the code is writing it into C++
Well, loosing the arduino parts
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ahh you used numbers and not bits
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
was supposed to be a bad joke. Anyway, now I'm afraid to show you my mess
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Where shall I send it to you? it has 2 files
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Tell me if that doesn't work for you or want me to use something else. Thought it would be easier cuz of the include
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Sorry. Now it should be fine
Thanks for your time!
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
There is quite a lot of stuff commented out that isn't needed anymore. Only important part is with the limit value and the last part of the code where I print the datablock test1 and test2
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
It calls 2x because I wanted to "flush" the ADC. Probably the compiler leaves that out xD
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Because those values have changed their signs since in different versions of the hardware xD
Yeah, I never learned any coding formally, only learning it on the way and going with the solutions that work
I admit that it needs work, that's why I'm here in the first place, to learn
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Right, and you only used things that I already know about. No excuse about that
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But I only learned about constrain after I finished that part soo xD
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Okay. This part also used to have some extra values but now it does look odd, right
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Like multiplying by 20 to divide by 7 to get a fractional division with the ints
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I'm printing, calculating, doing everything in there
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yes
I've heard about that but didn't know it was that bad
Have you found where so much ram is going?
Except from a couple stray values that I haven't removed since I just got this version running
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Both π
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh noo
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I lost my latest changes to the code
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
whats the difference between constexpr and const? I have deleted that value aswell... I'll try to figure out where the latest version went
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Okay. Will keep that in mind and add these changes to the code.
Could you please take a look at that very last part where the 'teszt' would be printed? It used to work when I first added it (power bar on the bottom of the screen) but was glitching when I used doubles, now it hasn't been reintroduced
I'll reread all of your messages tomorrow and reply to them. It's getting late for me, thanks again
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
It really is just a simple line of black then white line but I found that to be faster since the datablock can be written in a single block? My logic might be flawed and I m probably not right
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
In the oledturbo.h file
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Sorry I shut down my PC and in bed
I can tomorrow
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Doing it one value at a time could be faster since I could update only the changing values
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Right
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
That is different now, sorry it was already late when I sent you the code and messed things up
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
The real values are like 500 for Kp, 300for Ki and 50 for Kd
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Quite aggressive to make sure that it responds fast to temp changes due to soldering thick planes
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
xD
When I write a single 0x7E, do you know how many pixels that changes?
8?
Or 4?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
128x64
There are 8 rows so 64/8=8
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yes
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
So a line
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I will introduce a previous power variable to get the difference between the two and only update those pixels
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yes, i2c
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Already doing that change checking thing for the other stuff
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh nooo
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
When the values change, I rewrite them
I have the printflags and stuff
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Idk at this point
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yes, exactly. I might decrease that 100fps tho. I've fixed the interrupt problem in the code aswell. Found that I was reading the screen WHILE the heater was off (which I have already fixed once, don't know what happened to that version, probable broke something else along the way and had to revert)
Now the tip should heat up much more effectively, around 2x faster
Do you know how can I set a delay of 0.5ms?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Found delayMicroseconds in the core. Unfortunately the interrupt fixing still needs some work. I got the original 128byte long bars to work, next will be writing the single rows of 8 bits
Doing this takes 2ms on avarage
While this takes 8ms
Where black, white, teszt and teszt2 are
So I'll probably have to take the difference between the previous power value into account and only change the pixels that need to be changed but at that point, it might be easier to just use the old version that takes up space
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
so memcpy is what we write to the screen since it has the character while I2CWrite... well writes it?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Mhmm
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
How do we do that?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
okay
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Okay
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
The first one is 2ms, the second one is 6ms
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thanks a lot! Amazing how it worked the first time
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Still great, many thanks
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
So this should mean that I need no backbuffer which means that π

Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Hope it doesn't break anything else. Now I can add so many things, especially some graphics
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Would you like anything? Maybe a sleeping icon, freezing or fire?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Great idea, other brands have that (tilt switches) included but with these JBC tips the idea is that you always set it back in the holder which auto sleeps it. You don't do that with other irons since they take long to heat up but these can do it in an instant
Adding a tilt switch could be easily done, I have the hardware support for that and/or an ID resistor for automatically detecting different handle types and adjusting the power
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thats already taken care of. The tip has a similar potential to GND and I have a pullup connected to the metal plate that holds the hot part of the tip
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thats kind of how the real station does it so I used that approach
Only a single wire to connect to the holder
I'll add some kind of connector to the case so the holder can be removed and the iron will work just as well without it's dedicated holder. More is that the original/Chinese clone stands can be used aswell with my unit
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
After calibrating the PID I ll have a more stable output power after reaching an equilibrium. If the equilibrium stays for x amount of time I know that the iron is not used
Or just a timer that asks you to but back the iron into the holder or just touch the holder every half an hour
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006603327794.html
One like this could be used @Icesythe7
@Taire Which connector does your unit use? The 6 hole one, right? From what I've found online its a Hirose RPC1 connector, for which I can't find male bases online, all but 1 site says that it is not manufactured anymore. If there is no better ideas I'll stick to the standard aviatory connectors I already have on it

Currently:

the 6 pin jcb one
So the one that isn't manufactured anymore...
hmm
no its still made
they come on all new handles still
we got a station at work from jbc so not a receller and they still come with the 6pin once
Ahh yes, what I meant is that they don't manufacture it for sale anymore (at least what those sites said). Perhaps JBC buys directly from a factory or they have a large stock
probbly direcly from factory
www.alibaba.com
Automotive Connectors New And Original Conn Rcpt Male 6p Silv Sldr ...
Automotive Connectors New And Original Conn Rcpt Male 6p Silv Sldr Cup Rpc1-12rb-6p(71) - Buy New And Original Rpc1-12rb-6p(71)
conn Rcpt Male 6p Silv Sldr Cup Rpc1-12rb-6p(71)
automotive Connectors Rpc1-12rb-6p(71) Product on Alibaba.com
was liiking forsomething else thought id just put in the connector you looking for and boom
send em a msg to have em send some picstures so you can validate its the right one first but this should be it
alibaba is a very powerfull place to source stuff like this always recommend looking there if you cant find it at a standard parts house
Thanks π I ve once ordered loadcells from Alibaba, forgot to look there. But at an 1$ price tag it's worth it to make it fully compatible with the original
yea like i said alibaba is like that place you only go when desperate
atleast it is for me
Ohh shoot. I pressed on inquiry and it did something like a global inquiry. Already got 13 messages xD
haha
rip your email
you should be able to remove it
Actually, its useful. One place has the connectors gold plated
Also one is made from EPDM while the others are nylon
But maybe thats just an incorrect chatbot response
ahh
always ask for pictures of the connector before purchace
and if you only need a few just ask for a sample if theres a bigg moq
afterwars jsut ghoastthe seller
I told them its for a prototyping a product xD
I'll buy like 15pcs
fair fa=ir
By the way I just measured it and the board is consuming 14mA on the 5V rail
So a simple voltage regulator should be able to take care of that even from 24V
19*14=0,266W
oh yea ez
take a look at the ap63205wu-7
they lovely and small and cheap
bout 3 buck for the entire reg

What about just a linear regulator?
i mean you cna but 24v to 5v is quite a big step so alot of heat loss imo
plus a very hot part witch has lower lifespan
This much
find a datasheet of a liniar one and you can calculate how much loss
personaly if the drop i need to do is more then say 1.5v i always pick switching regulators mostly for the heat aspect tho my boards are also alot more dense then the once you make
yeah, my bottom layer only has the display and rotary encoder. No actual parts
id stear away from parts on the bottom jsut from a cost standpoint also cus its a bitch to assamble
Oh okay.
So this only looks dense because the components I used (0805) are big?

The left side, I agree is not dense at all. Its only for long term usage heat dissipation
To prevent heat build up
0603 is good enough for moststuff
heck 0402 probbly is but thats just pain
Some parts had to be 0805, like caps, mosfet switching resistor, input filter
ye ye
But most were just cuz thats what I have
obiously but resistors are mostly fine with 0603
Sleep delay
Sleep temp
3 temp presets
What does hibernation delay mean?
time that it goes to no heat
sleep keeps it at some temp say 90
and if it doesnt get used after 2 minutes it turns heat of completely
Okay so a value measured in minutes
yes
sleep you enter once you put tool in holder and keeps tool warm ish so heatup time is slightly slower
First time creating an array for a proper menu. π

So how many settings do I need in total?
3x presets
Offset
Hibernation delay
Sleep failsafe delay
Sleep temp
Tip type and auto tip detection
that looks like it
Those might fit on a single page in a small font size π
But creating 2 pages shouldn't be a problem either
try not to go to small on fond size
or make make it a rolling menue
The one on the picture is the smallest I have
Looks better IRL, the pixels blend nicely
I took inspiration from my ender 3 haha
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Hey @Icesythe7 . So I've added a real menu, and while messing with the data I discovered that the library supports a bunch of extra characters like hearts, smileys, arrows, etc.
This is the code that produced that, just simple numbers from 0-7
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh ty. I forgot to ask my question, do you know how to decode the characters or how I could write out those special characters?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
The bitmaps?
Or the oledwritestring
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh it isnt defined. It comes out when something is written but I don't really know what
Somewhere in the font bitmap it should be there....
And I'm trying to find it
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View

Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
So its 3 characters
Maybe hex could work?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Printing 0-7
But that was either glitching or scrolling trough it
It seems like I found some of them. Smiley is 110, down arrow is 129, heart is 145. Some values didn't display anything

It seems to do something with octals, since 0156 also displays a smiley. 0156 in octal is 110 in decimal
I went down the rabbit hole of reading the docs and seeing how Adafruit GFX does it and found the solution

Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And here is the character set
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Let me see
I can do printf by default using the current core
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
For serial
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I undersand just thought that stardg was responsible for that, thats why I added it
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
got it
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Worked like a CHARM!
Thanks
I'll have to take a look at how it works.
And why you specify FONT_NORMAL why the other had me choose from 0,1 and 2
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ahh so you bypassed it basically
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Understood
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Yep, little late and my brain flipped it around, sorry
I swear I'm not that dense π
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
ohh I'm not a good coder, I'm just trying to stay afloat. While I do like improving and learning new skills, I know that my coding skills are pretty rudimentary
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thanks for teaching me
CP437 only seems to match up till some part of the code, probably only a fraction of it was included. Good enough for me. IDK what I will do with. Originally I was looking for a padlock π
Current status, the texts have to aligned/centered
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
This isn't LCD, but yeah, the principal is same
Looks very cool, unfortunately its using adafruit GFX, which I can't really afford to run in my program
However,
Sketch uses 27658 bytes (85%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32384 bytes.
With nothing else in the sketch :/Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
It could be made to work but I don't really think that there is a need for animations
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I could animate a loading thing or a fire character to indicate when it was heating but I already have the power bar for that
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Only because I'm not using a 21.st century MCU
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But what would you animate actually?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I still see no usecases for my project. Perhaps a whole new menu system
Thats already done
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But again, I will only use the menu like once a year xD
The blinking is only because of the phone camera
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But thats what the power bar currently looks like
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
@Taire added the presets, the sleep temp, nicely goes back to whatever value it previously had. Presets can be changed while in sleep, however it's currently forcing the sleep value so neither the sleep temp, or the working temp can be changed while in sleep mode. How is it on the real station?
Also added more filtering to the Temp and power display, the temp is slightly affected by the sleep detection, a larger value pull-up resistor will be installed for that so it doesn't affect it (as much). Was thinking around maybe (currently 5k) 25-100k value. It's basically an unshielded floating button so its subject to noise. Any suggestions?
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
So by design I have a week pull-up connected to the "sleep detection" in the stand. Whenever I place the iron in it, it pulls it down
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I have an extra resistor in series. I wasn't comfortable connecting a high power heating elements part to the GPIO directly
Unknown Userβ’6mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View


The collar makes contact with the J5 labeled "SLEEP"
What do you think? I know that its the same pin the thermocouple uses and such, which is not really great. But I can't change the design of the handles and probably JBC is using a similar technique. That's why I want to increase the resistance so it would probably doesn't affect the results at all.
The other I had would use capacitive sensing WHILE the tip is not in its "measurement stage". But I haven't used that method previously and I'm not really sure about it
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View

So I would use 2 pins for that anyway. Grounding it could change the results as well. What do you think about pulling it up through a larger value resistor connected to a GPIO? I could either float it or set it to Low for the measurements
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ahh so the thermocouple amplifiers input would be pulled to ground essentially, so the temp measurement would be 0 if it's in the holder?
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ahh yeah, I understood that part, sorry for not wording my question correctly. Sounds like plan!
Also this is amazing since the board already has the place for an N MOS. Added it for switching something like a fan but that isn't needed anyway
Unfortunately that didn't work out as we were hoping it would. I tested the theory but the temp measurement only changed by some margin, but definitely not enough to get a signal out of it
The idea was great, probably there is some resistance between the tip, the internals and the metal collar
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Sorry but I don't this would work. Too little resistance for that between GND and the thermocouple. Remember that its on basically ground potential and can be used to pull signals to LOW. I'd prefer another solution. Either 2 pins where one sends 5v pulses trough a resistor or just the current setup with a larger value resistor since right now it affects the temp readings by 10C. Around 3C would be acceptable by me. I could also compensate for some of the temp difference in code
@Icesythe7
I bought an RP pico and started messing with the screen and such. I was thinking about ways to make the code more robust and etc. If you have some ideas, some improvements to add, I could use the RP2040 in the next PCB.
Maybe a new screen so its easier to see? Only if others think its necessary. I personally belive that the small SSD1306 is enough for this application

Or another suggestion was touchscreens. Haven't really decided if I like the idea or not
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
We were talking about tip detection and pulling the tip low / high to read with the thermocouple IIRC
Through the holder ofc
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Anyway, the problem was fixed just by increasing the pullup resistors value π
I feel like that in a soldering station where you are working with all kinds of materials, I wouldn't want to use a touch screen
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Flux, alcohol, grime from old electronics. Stuff like that just kind of gets on your hand sometimes
A heat-pump as in... like a heating element?
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
OoooO. Didn't know about that
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I knew all about those except for the thermocouples and peltiers. I have never looked into peltiers, only know the basic idea. Didn't know it used the same effect. I will 100% look into it sometimes
Some receive antennas are illegal for transmitting with because of gain and such tho xD
What do you think about the screen dilemma? What size/kind of screen would you prefer on a station? I feel like with the touchscreen I could really stand out from all the different soldering stations if I wanted to make a product of this in the future but I also feel like it would add unnecessary complexity and settings are something you only change... Maybe every year or so thanks to the stored modifiable 'presets'. Checking the temp is also not really something because you just know its as much as you set it immediately.2.4 inch tft
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Rotary encoder β
Noted. Thanks for the input to all of you!
I personally prefer using tactile input, but you know, innovation and such xD. Right now I'm leaning towards just adding breakout pins for the screen so it could be added in the future while keeping the little OLED and encoder
But I will def buy the slightly larger version. 0.96" vs 1.3"
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
This process has been slightly refined but this is how it works @PenPengu right now
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Double clicking takes you to the settings menu. Setting up 20 stations could be done by writing to the EEPROM via the SPI pins if thats the need but this isn't really a factory spec unit
Thanks for the positive input :D. So you'd say its alright?
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
@PenPengu And would you rather have the encoder on the right or left side of the screen? Both have some advantages. Also about cables and connectors, what are your preferences?
I didn't really copy anything. I just started with 2 big elements, temp and set temp and kept adding stuff
Exactly. It displays the PWM output in regards to the kind of tip connected. Icesythe helped with optimizing that
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Below the screen is kind of hard to reach as its close the desk or the surface its on. Also I tried to fit the PCB into a standard size (100x50mm)
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And I don't really want a bigger than needed case, as it could be used as a mobile unit connected to a 12V battery, a laptop charger and such.
Note to myself: adding USB PD support xP
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
hmm
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
AI powered soldering station
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Standing station?
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I was thinking about knobs like this. Easy to install. We can also see the standing layout π


I think this is useful for this kind of portable enviroment. While it would look great for temp adjustment, I wouldn't want to force users to go trough the menues with just a mouse's scroll wheel but thanks for the idea :D. Might come handy in the future for a different version / something else
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Well, right now I have a big inductor which is supposed to act as a choke and an 1000uF cap on the backside, so apart from that it could be used for anything. The holes on the side are for inserting the metal support element and the slot on the top is for inserting an appropriately sized washer that grabs the collar of the iron. Brass and sponge holder underneath


The washer (and the support rod could as well) is connected to the sleep mode sensing pin on the PCB. The iron turns off and on automatically when you place it in the stand
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Just showing it in case someone might have ideas. Any kind of input is appreciated π
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I do plan on depressing the spong area because it just kind of falls out right now.
But wouldn't the spong sitting in/over water make it too damp? And could cause thermal schocks?
Or it would need to be in a way that it can't suck up that much
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Hmm. I don't know. I honestly never use the sponge. Too much hassle when I just have the brass wool in place. Gets it perfectly clean every time
But I will think about that. Kind of like this?

Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I did help a guy the other day along with Anon. We racked up around 500msg in a single evening π
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Great idea! The brass wouldn't fall out but everything would be covered in bits of solder around it without a cover. It's also detachable by the way
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Like the holder has a connector that I haven't really decided about. I bought some 'DC jacks' but I only need a single wire. I plan on adding some kind of rails on the side of the station so they could be slid together to form a single unit or be separated
Unknown Userβ’5mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
If that's a preference, wouldn't be hard to 3D printed. Least our improvements are paying off π
Dang that's a few more cables than expected for the C210

(the other one only has 3)
Ohh wait nevermind. Just a jumper that they made red for extra confusion π

@ACE ALIEN What are we thinking? Almost 10x10cm working area

6400mm of 1oz 1.2mm trace ~2.5Ohms at 20C. Comparable to the tip
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Why old and why gag?
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I didn't really look into the topic, just wanted to see how much wire/resistance/power could I possible produce for a usable size.
AAlien had an idea if I could connect a "hotplate module" to the station so I started looking for hotplates with similar characteristics as my tips have and couldn't find one
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Well, the desoldering part I was looking to solve with thermal relief cuts and not using too many components
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
What about using aluminium PCBs straight?
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
It wasn't that bad when I looked at it
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
That wouldn't be that big of a problem
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View

Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I only started 'working' on the idea because I thought that the station had all the electronics for running this
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Thats right, since I already made my own 2000W completely free hotplate I don't really need another one. A portable one would be great but, yeah. Might abondon the idea for now
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And I appreciate that. It was just an idea afterall that I tried to bring to life in a budget way. It might not possible/worth it
make em out or rogers, or ptfe board they should be able to handle the temp better
that is a expensive option but they should be able to reach the 230 ish C needed to melp most paste
especialy the seremic kinds tho it brings its own chalenges
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Went instantly from ~2for FR4 and 4 for Al to 90$ π
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
haha
Do you guys know if backfeeding can occur with the AP63205? The datasheets didn't really mention all that much. I plan on having accepting USB power for programming
@Taire @KD
define back feeding
Injecting 5V on the output, while there is no input voltage
I'm dumb, I could just place a diode on the input I think to prevent the whole problem π
this is what I always do, but I honestly don't know if it would back feed
I'll post a pick of how I usually set it up if I got multiple voltage rails
The circled part are just indicating LEDs. You might be right that the small cap shouldn't really be there

Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
That was one of my concerns π
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I could but the lowest input I'll ever be expecting is 9V. So wasting that 0.5V is not an issue
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
The purple highlight might make it look slightly worse than it is. It expands the part area quite significantly
I need to delete the decimal cords first, otherwise it keeps them even when snapping to grid?
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh my. That explains some things!
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
So you suggest a 0.5mm gap to be the minimum between component outlines?
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
On that new board they are 0603 and some 0402 as well, right?
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
this is doable twith tweasers and it keeps the switching loops small
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
When soldering up a board, I place the parts as usual with the tweezers while it's cold. Then when I heat it up for soldering I just poke on the components if needed.
Rework on the other hand... that sucks. Especially if THT parts are involved
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I can take as long as I want for that :P. My hand sometimes twitches tho, especially when I'm concentrating hard
But you know, there is even a traditional cure for that haha
How would you deal with these big connectors?
The 2x3 is for setting it into BOOT modes (could use DIP switches)
The 2x5 are programming pins, those are my main "conecrns"

1.27mm pitch it seems like
this or look at tag connect connectors they are small and super convenient for programming
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
But using 1.27mm pins an connectors could reduce the size. Especiall now if I add some more programming options π π
I looked at it, but that seems a little above my paygrade. Also if I ever needed to use these pins for debugging, then I have to hold it there, right?
yes correct
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Ohh right, with pogo pins I can just use the backside!
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
I'll think about this between the 1.27mm headers. Paired with one of these as my programmer connector


Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Heck no
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
12 pin FPC in comparison

Came to my mind but went over right then
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Not for me. We'll see how the design and layout goes and choose accordingly
But I'd rather have copper traces for heat dissipiation rather than some random connectors haha
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Too few pins
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
1.27mm headers will be fine... hopefully. Won't have much space for silkscreening even if it fits lol

Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
And this is even worse xD
hell yea then you truly wanna end it all
hdmi
tho make sure you got some 24v pins in there
imagine putting numbers there to begin with
just put them. on the assembly layer and then print that much cleaner
What migth RS mean for this SPI based screen?

The other screens have something like DC or data command that might be that pin
Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Not documentation, but I've seen it. Looked cool. Almost forgot about that
How do you draw up footprints so it all snaps to the right place? I used those lines and set their lengths to keep the dimensions. (too bad that had no data pins xD)

I have 4 of these drive circuits, if I lay one out, how can I copy the layout to the other components?

Do you like teardrops?

Unknown Userβ’4mo ago
Message Not Public
Sign In & Join Server To View
Don't look at the odd angles, this is just a very crude layout. Still trying to find out where all the different sections could go. Also mask π
Select pad -> properties -> connections (second tab) -> Enable teardrop, max width and length reduced, enabled rounded edges
I'm going to need to ask Dash about that. Nvm, just remember he is not on KiCad Would be nice if they could be mm accurate copies of eachother
I make my own modules
Is the PCB layout saved and inserted as well?
it can be yes
Would you advise me doing that? Unfortunately I cannot join voice, when I'm going to school in your time zones
its just something you kinda learn, and as far as I know kicad does not do it nativly.
Thanks, seems like there are some workarounds to do this in KiCad, I'll need to look into it