After a recent move to north Etobicoke, I thought I would check out the local Toronto Public Library near my home. To my delight they have a digital innovation hub, meaning green screen studios, computers with animation and design software and 3D printers. At the same time I was setting up my electronics workshop (we are trying to call it my “lab” but the name isn’t sticking) and needed a better way of dealing with solder fumes. Maker 101 exercises in popular how-to books show you how to build a solder fan out of a computer fan and a few other parts.
I wanted a way of adjusting the direction of the fan, and decided to add a 3D printed case that could be mounted on a flexible tripod since it would be about the same size as a camera and I already had a number of tripods sitting around the house. I picked up a fan at A-1 Electronic Parts which is an amazing treasure trove of random used electronics. Searching on Thingiverse, however, showed only plans for either the wrong size for what I bought, or were just not functional enough. So I designed my own in Tinkercad.
Tinkercad: https://www.tinkercad.com/users/j9jVvc6gZa2-jpindi
Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/jpindi/about
Taking the attitude of “measure 3 times, design 2 times, print once” I built a purely functional case, and the Library uses Cura to send the print job to the printer. I included a spot to insert a nut to allow me to attach the tripod. Basically I printed a hole the right size and used good jeweler’s glue to keep the nut in place.
I had an old Angry Birds toy that I took apart that held some of the connections for the fan, including the plug. It works well! I still wear a mask and protective eyewear just to make sure, but I see the fumes getting pulled into the carbon filter consistently well.
It was kind of long, with multiple visits to the library because I wanted to make sure I got all the pieces printed correctly. Unfortunately, that meant a slightly different shade of blue mid-way through, but you don’t really notice and since this is kind of a workhorse, aesthetics are not that important. Glad to have something at the end of the day that just works!
