Introduction: Portable Soldering Station
I made a portable soldering station with a USB iron and a battery pack. I've 3D printed some sides for this plain stand that turns it into a storage box for the soldering iron and solder.
The TS80P smart soldering iron is super tiny but packs a ton of features. It’s got a little OLED screen, adjustable temperature, customizable firmware, and comes apart to get even tinier.
You need to power it with USB-C, either with an AC adapter or a beefy backup battery.
I picked a full-size soldering iron stand for three reasons:
- I am super clumsy and therefore never liked the mini stands, which leave the iron exposed not only to my flailing arms but to other things on the desk. I prefer an enclosed design to prevent burning myself or the things around me.
- The full-size stand has a brass sponge for cleaning the tip, which I’ve been spoiled by at home and therefore can’t live without.
- The open space in the middle will fit all the things I need to carry in a portable kit.
Supplies
You can get all these supplies, even the 3D printing filament, at Digi-Key, the sponsor of this project. They carry all kinds of soldering supplies, backup batteries, and other tools, and they ship super fast. Here are the specific items I used to build this project.
- TS80P mini soldering iron with USB-C cable
- Large-capacity USB-C battery pack
- Soldering iron stand with brass sponge
- 3D printer and PLA filament
- Small solder spool
- Solder wick
- USB-powered LED light (optional)
You can also find this project on Maker.io.
Step 1: Trace and 3D Model
I used Illustrator to trace a scanned pencil trace of the soldering iron stand itself, then did the rest of the modeling in Tinkercad, where you can download the file and make modifications if you wish.
Portable Soldering Station
Step 2: Enjoy!
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9 Comments
4 weeks ago
I’m nearly positive I saw your tiktok about this a couple day ago (though maybe it was a different platform), regardless, What a great model!! Thanks for sharing!
Reply 11 days ago
Yess!! 🙌
20 days ago
While I did like it, it's way tooooo costly. I have a butane soldering iron ($20.00) for 10 years now and it's my go to when soldering trailer light and other items out in the yard. Amazon has assorted cordless soldering irons and stations priced from $12.00 to a $100.00 and there is also a MILWAUKEE 12V soldering iron just over a $100.00. Sorry but I can't justify spending a few hundred dollars for a custom station. Maybe if you found cheaper prices instead of ordering everything from one company.
Reply 11 days ago
Sorry you feel that way! I hope you can take this concept and use it to inspire solutions that work for you and your preferred tools!
23 days ago
Hello I like your project but I dont see the point of making a soldering station why not use the wallsocket ones? Same thing
Reply 11 days ago
For soldering when there is no wall socket available! Although you could always plug this one into the wall if you wanted to, it can be practical to have a portable solution for vehicle wiring and other scenarios where an AC outlet is not handy.
4 weeks ago
Great and well documented video! I especially like your design process and details such as your mention of Bezier curves, single-piece folding design and also the holding mechanism. At first I thought - "How is she going to hold those sides? Some kind of clip?" But then you showed himself a rubber band. Brilliant! Thank you for sharing!
Reply 11 days ago
Thank you!!
4 weeks ago
Great job!