Solder Reel Holder - MKII (Unified Base)

Yet another solder reel holder!

This one however, is what I normally use at work as an Electro-Mech assembler.

What I found so frustrating was that just having a solder reel on its own meant pulling the wire vertically from the reel, resulting in a rather messy coil of solder wire which then had to be straightened before applying the solder to the joint - a lot of time wasted if you do the time & motion calcs on a lot of repetitive joints.

Cue the holder, which both keeps the solder tidy (no messy coils), straight as it's pulled from the holder through the hole in the tiara - and thus always readily accessible from the same location to then feed into the joint.

It also avoids the reel rolling off the tabe and onto the floor!.

There is a cavity (63mmx10mm) in the base which can house a weight such as a metal disc or waste solder deposits with the spindle being glued into place and the cavity sealed closed, lowering the holder's centre of gravity to avoid being toppled over.

Surrounding the spindle, there is a small ridge which helps reduce rotational friction so that small diameter solder is less likely to break off from the reel when pulled.

If the internal diameter of a solder reel is a little on the small side for the 20mm spindle, the hole in the reel can be widened by rotating a pair of scissors or suitably tapered long-nosed pliers to ream the hole a little wider.

To avoid being dragged, I've used 3x 20mmx2mm flat 'bumpons' etc. located on the points of an equalateral triangle around the underside edge of the body.

When the soldering is done, any excess solder wire can simply be reeled back onto the reel by rotating it in reverse with the tip of a finger on the top of the reel.

There are both PETG and PLA variations of gcode files, the PETG obviously incurring more electricity costs due to the higher temperature settings required, but is more resilient than PLA which tends to shatter if/when dropped.

The base with the 76mm Dia well is available for those who wish to create a heavier base for even greater stability/ lower center of gravity. This may reduce printing costs somewhat, but the 76mm metal disc will also cost a little more to buy. In this case, I would suggest using something like waste solder or lead pieces which can be compacted in a same-sized mould and then sealed in.

The dust cap (optional) is there should the solder be left unused for extended periods, or if the solder itself is likely to be damaged by other tools e.g. if it's kept in a busy toolbox.

For an ESD-critical environment, it is however prudent to use something like PETG-ESD filament, although there is usually a higher price, e.g. +GBP50 per 1kg roll for such a more specialized filament.

UPDATE: New spindle .stl and gcode files uploaded, for anyone who has difficulty in matching a standard reel 20mm dia inner hole with the original spindle - the updated version now has a 19mm core.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Prusa

Printer: 

i3 MK3S+

Supports:

Doesn't Matter

Resolution: 

0.2mm

Infill:

10-20%

Filament:

Generic PLA or PETG (for durability) 

Colour to suit

Category: Hand Tools