SolderingToolHead

Soldering Tool Head

As a compliment to the Pick and Place Tool, this tool would automatically solder components into place. This is one of the trickiest parts of the process for novices. It would be wonderful if it could be experienced from your chair, looking into the viewing window of your build area.

To test: to see if solder paste can be melted with a heat gun and if so if it will work to solder a component to the board. Also, the components must all survive the heatgun heat with no problem. That may prove to be a deal breaker, but it remains to be seen.

If that fails, attempts could be made at a solder iron tipped print head. it might get tricky with component leads and stuff however.

-- Main.ZachSmith - 11 Feb 2007

Other approaches to automated soldering -- Automated Circuitry Making#Soldering -- such as the HotplateReflowTechnique -- seem to be easier to implement and work as well or better.