AC Soldering Fume Extractor

Update March 8th 2024

1. New recommended fan: the new one is much stronger and thus efficient at sucking these fumes away.
2. Updated tolerances: I reworked the tolerances of the assembly, it was way too tight before.
3. Additional heat insert: I added a heat insert on the bottom cover to help it stay flush
4. Changed cut-out for inlet plug: now with integrated support!

Soldering Fume Extractor - AC Version

Kind of the same but different

I stumbled across Paul Arden's fume extractor which I found very elegant. Even though I love the idea to combine a common PD-capable charger and one of the these incredible dirt-cheap PD voltage selector board, I wanted an even easier way deliver power to the fan.

After a quick search I found what I needed: an AC fan. This meant I just needed to find a power inlet plug and a switch and le tour est joué ;)

This is a remix of Paul's original extractor and it is released under the same license.

Don't worry about the noise, the fan I linked below is not loud at all yet powerful enough to really suck in the fumes. It is actually even nice to listen to! 

Listen and see for yourself: https://youtube.com/shorts/d3aR810tztc 
 

!!! WORD OF CAUTION !!!

You attempt to replicate the following project at your own risk. Working with 115/230V can be dangerous. Proceed only if you know what you do.

Check all your connections twice, make sure every wire is appropriately isolated. 

BOM

Printed parts

I printed all my parts in ABS with a 0.6mm nozzle and 0.2mm layer height because I wanted  to be quick. I guess there is neither a restriction to use other materials nor to print with a 0.4mm nozzle.  The integrated support in the stand requires a layer height of .2mm!

The .stl files are already oriented for printing.

You need to print:

• 1x fan housing
• 1x baffle
• 1x stand together with support (.3mf file)
• 1x cover
• 1x rear panel

Electronics and mechanical parts

In addition to the five printed parts, you will need the following:

Assembly

One The very first thing is to insert the M3 brass nuts using a soldering iron. There are two on the bottom of the fan housing, four on the rear panel, five on the bottom of the stand. There should seat a bit more than flushed.

Two Insert the fan into its housing. Thread the cables through the hole at the bottom of the housing. Mind the airflow direction… :)

Three Fasten the fan housing, the baffle and the rear panel together using the four M3x45mm screws.

Four Thread the fan's wires through the stand and then attach the later to the fan housing assembly with two M3x6mm screws.

Five Snap in the rocker switch and the C7 inlet into the stand. 

Let's start with the wiring…

!!! Unplug everything from mains before you touch the wiring !!!

Here a literal wiring schemas:

1. Crimp on terminal to one of the fan's two wires and connect it to either one of the C7 inlet connector
2. Crimp on side of the electrical wire and connect it to the second unconnected terminal of the C7 inlet
3. Thread the previous wire through the circular hole in the stand and cut it so that it is long enough to reach one of the switch's terminal
4. Crimp the cable you just cut and attach it to the rocker switch
5. Crimp the second fan wire and connect it to the second switch terminal
6. Make sure there are no frays that could cause shorts
7. Tuck all wires inside the stand

Six Install the cover with the rest of the M3x6mm screws and test your work. Watch your fingers!

Seven If the previous step is successful, place the rubber feet on the cover in a somewhat symmetrical fashion.

You're done!

Source files

This print was modelled in Onshape. You can access the source files from here:

• Soldering Fume Extractor AC - Onshape Document

These are also released under CC-BY-SA 4.0. If you need to adjust tolerances for your particular fan, modify the cut-outs for the switch and the inlet, etc.