I made a case for my TS-80 which has been great, but my Pinecil (v1) has been a bit neglected. The Pinecil works almost as well as my TS80, and is better in some ways (it supports PD where my TS80 only supports QC). The Pinecil also uses tips which are easier to find (since they are the same as what is used in the TS100). My TS-80 case has been very handy, so I used it as the basis for a case to hold my Pinecil. But I designed the TS-80 case with a constraint that it is able to fit into a Stanley case, which limits it somewhat. For my Pinecil soldering iron, I want to have a case that will contain the following things:
What I've come up with so far is the result of hacking and stretching my existing case design and adding some features to allow it to be more simply updated for different irons.
- 100W power bank
- Silicone USB-C cable
- At least one spool of solder
- A Mini-T stand
- A Pinecil with a M2x4mm thumbscrew (used to secure the tips)
What I've come up with so far is the result of hacking and stretching my existing case design and adding some features to allow it to be more simply updated for different irons.
I just received the 100W power bank, and need to do some testing with it to make sure it will work, but so far it seems like it will. The design feels like it is completed, but generally when I think a design is done, it just means I need to print it to find out where I screwed up :D
Thanks to Daniel Soussi at GrabCAD for the 3D model of the Pinecil iron. I use the model to help define a slightly larger cavity to set the iron into. The tray will also accommodate a Pincel with a thumbscrew to hold the tips (M2 x 4mm similar to these).
Update 2/18/2023 - I've printed a couple test parts and they fit, but I have a few more parts to test before I print the whole thing (and then will upload it to Printables if it works).
Update 2/24/2023 - I printed the base to test it out and the battery fits well. However I decided to get the Pinecil 1M USB cable, since my current silicone USB cable (though really nice) is just a bit too long to fit in the case without some alterations. I'm gonna wait until the Pinecil gets back in stock on Feb 27 before ordering the cable (it's a good deal for the cable, but the shipping is a bit much for just a cable, unless ordering a few things at the same time). I plan to design a small spool to hold the cable, which should fit inside the case.
Update 3/30/2023 - I received the 1M USB cable and have designed a spool to hold it, which will fit in the case. I uploaded the spool first as a separate item, since it can stand on it's own as a model which could be useful.
Update 3/31/2023 - After some helpful feedback on Reddit, the design is getting a do-over from the ground up, to hopefully increase the bend radius of the cable ends. This little cable spool seemed like a minor part of a larger project, and so I just roughly copied existing designs to avoid doing the actual work of designing it. As it turned out, what should have been a simple part is now a bit of a project in itself. But that's fine with me, since I hope the end design is an improvement, and worth the plastic. I left the current model up with the STEP file for now, but it will get updated with a Version 2 once I have it printed and tested. Below is a pic of Version 2, which is in the works (this is not the final design, since I'm still verifying the dimensions, but it will look similar).
Update 4/1/2023 - The new and improved USB-C spool holder is now uploaded to Printables and Thingiverse (actually three versions since I don't know when to stop sometimes). It was probably more trouble than it was worth, but I think the final version is much improved, thanks to the feedback on Reddit for the initial version.
Thanks to Daniel Soussi at GrabCAD for the 3D model of the Pinecil iron. I use the model to help define a slightly larger cavity to set the iron into. The tray will also accommodate a Pincel with a thumbscrew to hold the tips (M2 x 4mm similar to these).
Update 2/18/2023 - I've printed a couple test parts and they fit, but I have a few more parts to test before I print the whole thing (and then will upload it to Printables if it works).
Update 2/24/2023 - I printed the base to test it out and the battery fits well. However I decided to get the Pinecil 1M USB cable, since my current silicone USB cable (though really nice) is just a bit too long to fit in the case without some alterations. I'm gonna wait until the Pinecil gets back in stock on Feb 27 before ordering the cable (it's a good deal for the cable, but the shipping is a bit much for just a cable, unless ordering a few things at the same time). I plan to design a small spool to hold the cable, which should fit inside the case.
Update 3/30/2023 - I received the 1M USB cable and have designed a spool to hold it, which will fit in the case. I uploaded the spool first as a separate item, since it can stand on it's own as a model which could be useful.
Update 3/31/2023 - After some helpful feedback on Reddit, the design is getting a do-over from the ground up, to hopefully increase the bend radius of the cable ends. This little cable spool seemed like a minor part of a larger project, and so I just roughly copied existing designs to avoid doing the actual work of designing it. As it turned out, what should have been a simple part is now a bit of a project in itself. But that's fine with me, since I hope the end design is an improvement, and worth the plastic. I left the current model up with the STEP file for now, but it will get updated with a Version 2 once I have it printed and tested. Below is a pic of Version 2, which is in the works (this is not the final design, since I'm still verifying the dimensions, but it will look similar).
Update 4/1/2023 - The new and improved USB-C spool holder is now uploaded to Printables and Thingiverse (actually three versions since I don't know when to stop sometimes). It was probably more trouble than it was worth, but I think the final version is much improved, thanks to the feedback on Reddit for the initial version.
Now back to this project... I am re-printing the case again, to make sure everything fits and works together, but I feel the design is about 95% done. Anything left, will be related to the fit of the soldering iron and tips, the rest is tested and works. Fortunately the design is modular, so it is not hard to modify it to accommodate a different iron (as long as it fits), and I plan to make the STEP file available for the project so folks can remix it. Below are a couple pics from the latest iteration of the model (version 8G if that tells you something about how long this project has taken). Hopefully the next update will be the printed case with a link to download the STL's (and STEP files).
Update 5/1/2023: Quick update on this, the prototype was printed and mostly works, but for some reason the latch, which worked well in an earlier design, is not so great anymore. The latch therefore needs to be re-worked. I'm also re-considering the entire case design, and may try something else based on a ruggedized case, but will still hold everything. That's just a concept for now, and I have some other things going on which are further along so this project is sadly I cannot say when I can get back to this one.
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