Soldering buddy for LED Strips and/or wires

Get ready to meet your new best friend for soldering LED strips and/or wires!

I had to find a suitable sidekick for my upcoming soldering marathon, so I printed and tested two models that seemed promising. But alas, they were too lightweight and finicky for my liking.

So I took matters into my own hands and designed a soldering aid that eliminates all those pesky disadvantages. And boy, is it a heavy lifter! Despite using relatively little filament, my buddy weighs a whopping 450 grams thanks to a sneaky trick - I filled the base with sand during a printing pause.

The clamps are easy to insert into the base from the top, and the slightly angled rods make sure your soldering parts are held tight and secure from the get-go.

No more struggling to make the pieces fit together nicely - this buddy has got your back (and your LED strips).

Printing information

Layer height: 0.20/0.40 mm (0.4/0.6 nozzle)
Infill base: Support Cubic 10%
Infill clamps: Gyroid 15%
Support: none

If you're printing the base, remember to pause the process at 46.60 mm in the slicer. Then, gently fill up the base with sand (or sugar or salt) until it's around 1 cm away from the top edge. Be careful not to add too much, or else you might end up with a sandstorm once the printer fan kicks in! Finally, make sure to clear away any sand or dust from the surface before resuming the print.

I finally glued a strip of metal foil to the base to protect it from dripping solder.

I am looking forward to your Makes! :-)

If you like this model, feel free to check out my others here.

The following filament was used in the pictures above:

• Extrudr PETG Black
• Extrudr PETG Gray