Victor Schutte: Email victor@zerksus.com
Magnum Soldering Iron
Upgrade (2007/03/20)
See new picture below. More will be added on a regular basis.
If you are looking for a Magnum soldering station then you are kind-of at the right place. The owner and manufacturer of the Magnum soldering stations called me to say that this page is the no. 1 hit on the Ananzi search engine (for Magnum solder or soldering stations). So seeing that we have shared a few coffees together I will share my web hits as well. Either follow this link or send me an email and I will forward it to the right people. I have also been told that the picture below is ugly (and I agree) but have you ever seen a neat engineer before :-) I will add better pictures and sneak preview details as we progress. If you want to be ready for lead-free then this will be the product for you.
If you reached this page from a search engine then you can go to the home page at Zerksus
I am currently busy with the new Magnum soldering upgrade. Due to the new lead free solder requirements the temperature must be better controlled. My client requires a +- 4°C temperature control. So far I have had successes down to +- 2°C. Believe me that it is a dream to solder at such stable temperatures and should make the transition to lead free so much easier.
So a 'temperature controller' is a 'temperature controller' is a 'temperature controller'? No, not that easy. The time constant is very long, the variables dodgy and slapping a simple PID controller on to it won't make it work. In fact using standard ICs to do the job causes swings up to +- 30 °C. The drop in temperature causes solidifying of solder and eventual dry joints. The severe overshoots causes heavy oxidization and component damage, not to mention the reduction of the iron's lifespan. I have been busy for quite some time now just analysing data. The best I could do so far with normal control techniques was +- 10°C. I have consulted experts in math tools, surfed megabytes searching the internet for similar circuits and measured numerous time constants. After staring at the screen for many hours I came up with a hybrid of a number of control techniques that borders on AI (Artificial Intelligence).
My suggestion is that if you want to invest in a cost effective solution for a lead free solder station then wait for this product to hit the market.
You won't be able to buy this product directly from me but only through Magnum products/Lauren Manufacturing and their agents.
New prototype PCB
The crude lab setup. I am currently using the power supply from a standard 2004, some of the insides of a 3005 and fancy uC board. The final product will be a very small circuit containing a lot of punch.
Feel free to email any other questions to victor@zerksus.com
