I tell parents,
It's not a matter of IF your child will burn themselves,
just a matter of when!!!
Like a previous member said, burn yourself once or twice then you learn to
BE MORE RESPONSIBLE !
Hats off to you though - it would be amazing if you could design a better
soldering iron!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about using induction heating at the tip?

 

How about using induction heating at the tip?

Not sure how that would work, actually, but basically thats how a soldering iron already works. An induction heater is basically a transformer and the workpiece is basically a shorted secondary. In a soldering iron is a transformer, with an effectively shorted secondary.

 

The big fault I see with soldering irons is that it's not just the tip that gets hot.

If only the tip itself got hot the iron would be enormously safer.

You could redesign the shank so instead of being hot metal it is an insulator. That improves energy consumption and makes the iron much safer.

Then thinking off the wall; you could blow a small amount of air down through the shank so not only is it insulated but it remains totally cool. That might also help disperse the flux fume from soldering so it is not a strong fume rising into the eyes or nose but instead is gently blown away from the user.

 

The big fault I see with soldering irons is that it's not just the tip that gets hot.

If only the tip itself got hot the iron would be enormously safer.

You could redesign the shank so instead of being hot metal it is an insulator. That improves energy consumption and makes the iron much safer.

Then thinking off the wall; you could blow a small amount of air down through the shank so not only is it insulated but it remains totally cool. That might also help disperse the flux fume from soldering so it is not a strong fume rising into the eyes or nose but instead is gently blown away from the user.

You are onto something there. Instead of blowing, aspirated it back through the unit and out along a second tube running parallel to the power cord.

I agree that most burns are not from the tip but from the useless 3" hot metal shaft. A ceramic cylinder would be a great addition. I'm going to try a ceramic bead from the craft store!

Add two or three small LEDs along the shaft to light the work area too.

Finally, I want a small close-up camera on the tip that broadcasts a live display onto my iPad. That way I don't need a magnefying lens.

 

It's beginning to sound like surgical equipment - like a heater for cauterizing a wound, at the end of an endoscope.

 

It's beginning to sound like surgical equipment - like a heater for cauterizing a wound, at the end of an endoscope.

The OP asked what I wanted...

 

i remember as a kid trying to solder some speakers together for a radio I built. I had carved my headboard with a cool psychadelic design, cut out holes on either side and had mounted a heathkit am/fm radio in the center. W00t! I was holding the wire to the speaker and reached for the soldering iron without looking at it. That was the last time I ever did that! From then on, I found a way to keep my hand off of the business end. The only thing I would like to see on a soldering iron is a shut down timer. My old GraLab timer from my extinct dark room is what I use for that now. I have my soldering iron stand mounter on the back wall right beside it in easy reach. I set the timer, click it "on", it lets me know when three minutes is up and then I start to solder.

I tried the cold soldering irons... I'm doing something wrong. Of course I was trying it when I was running a coax cable to the back up camera for my Sprinter van. Wires were kind of dangling and I just needed to get the darn thing done. I went with a butane soldering iron I've had for nigh on to twenty years. Now I can see when I back the beast up.

 

You are onto something there. Instead of blowing, aspirated it back through the unit and out along a second tube running parallel to the power cord.

Bringing the air and fumes back (maybe to the temperature controller box and then off to outside?) is a very good idea - the fumes are a problem and the air might cool the outer tube enough.

I also agree with adding LEDs, and maybe a camera with an automatic upload-to-youtube triggered by loud rude words??

A tip with a small hollow to put heat in a small circle around a pin/lead might be good.

The main problems I have are:
1. accidentally burning things (e.g. wires, hands, sides of the cabinet) with the shaft of the iron while I'm concentrating on what is going on at the tip or when working in confined spaces.
2. the tip slipping off the point where it is supposed to be when I apply a little too much pressure or am working in a difficult position (and trying to avoid problem #1!)
3. seeing what I'm working on.
4. fumes (not just the smell/chemical danger, but they make visibility worse, and so extractor fans sucking them up along the soldering iron might be just what is needed.
5. I don't change to a more appropriate tip as often as I should. It is too time-consuming (so I probably have more problems trying to make do with a sub-optimal one).
6. Holding solder and the soldering iron and pushing away wires, pets, etc that get in the way!

I'd love to see some new design thinking put into something that hasn't changed all that much for ages. I doubt a soldering iron can be totally idiot-proof (although having a label saying "hold by this end, not the hot end" might go some way...). Maybe if a better iron could make the job faster (perhaps with solder applied through the tip??) the amount of fumes and the risk of accidents would decrease.

 

maybe a camera with an automatic upload-to-youtube triggered by loud rude words??

So far this is the only idea worth the time it took to type.

 

Bringing the air and fumes back (maybe to the temperature controller box and then off to outside?) is a very good idea - the fumes are a problem and the air might cool the outer tube enough.
...

The reason I suggested the air flow down the shank and out is because it increases efficiency, it gives better cooling of the shank, and the waste heat is directed in the best direction towards the thing you are soldering. Also the air pump only needs to pass cool clean air.

GopherT's suggestion of reversing the air is interesting, and may be better for the user. But it negates those benefits I just mentioned and causes issues with filters and cleaning etc.

 

The OP asked what I wanted...

And there's nothing wrong with thinking about surgical equipment! Especially when you get into SMD, it begins to look a lot like micro surgery and some of the tools used for one might apply to the other application. Imagine being able to snake around a tiny PCB and zap solder joints with a laser.

Ooh, that's an idea. What if we had a soldering laser on a multi-axis mount. The operation would be hands free at that point, with the PCB held firmly in the soldering station. You'd drive the laser around and position it as needed, then fire the laser to do the soldering. Probably not going to be a $15 solution.

 

Like this Wayneh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyB9btlhS8

 

I have visions of kids with neatly bored holes through them if the laser option is used .

 

Overheard from a recent movie: "I want sharks with fricken soldering irons on their heads!"

 

Like this Wayneh?

Haha, yes exactly! That thing is sweet.

 

Like this Wayneh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyB9btlhS8

Is that similar to a wire feed MIG welder......only extremely small?

 

That was an intense video.

 

Like this Wayneh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyB9btlhS8

Calling Farnell right now to order mine!!