Gorillapod fume extractor!
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:00 am
I know the DIY community generally doesn't do the whole "fume extraction" thing, but I know after a couple of days of heavy soldering I felt prettttty awful and it stopped once I got a fume extractor.
Alas, it's huge and loud and despite its size, doesn't work well on things up in the vise that are too far away. So I made this!
Gorillapod fume extractor! by McSpunckleFX, on Flickr
It can get up suuuuper close to the board when it's up in a 3rd hand or vise, and even bend over it. It's really just 2 50mm 5 volt fans (from Sparkfun), an MXR sized box, some filter material, a gorillapod, and a nut. And, of course, some way to power it. I used a 2.1mm jack, but being 5 volts, you could use batteries (4 AA or AAA-- 9V would work with a regulator, but wouldn't last as long), a wall wart (also available from Sparkfun), or even USB from your laptop. Cell phone chargers should work, but I cannibalized one and found it was -9V. Lammme.
One thing to note, you'll want to isolate the circular area of the fan. You can just use a bit of card stock or something, cut it to cover the bottom of the enclosure, and cut out circuits under the fans. (Just stick the fans in and run a pen knife around them). Alternatively, you could just not put any air holes anywhere other than the actual fan are in the first place. The areas around the fan tend to blow air, which is counterproductive, and blocking off those spots increases suction.
It only takes a couple of hours, and it's wayyy cute and functional. You could also easily build a smaller/bigger one with a big fan or whatever you want. So, yeah. Highly recommend some fume extraction if you build a good bit. Just from personal experience. : D
Here's the build photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51572438@N ... 521104961/
Alas, it's huge and loud and despite its size, doesn't work well on things up in the vise that are too far away. So I made this!
Gorillapod fume extractor! by McSpunckleFX, on Flickr
It can get up suuuuper close to the board when it's up in a 3rd hand or vise, and even bend over it. It's really just 2 50mm 5 volt fans (from Sparkfun), an MXR sized box, some filter material, a gorillapod, and a nut. And, of course, some way to power it. I used a 2.1mm jack, but being 5 volts, you could use batteries (4 AA or AAA-- 9V would work with a regulator, but wouldn't last as long), a wall wart (also available from Sparkfun), or even USB from your laptop. Cell phone chargers should work, but I cannibalized one and found it was -9V. Lammme.
One thing to note, you'll want to isolate the circular area of the fan. You can just use a bit of card stock or something, cut it to cover the bottom of the enclosure, and cut out circuits under the fans. (Just stick the fans in and run a pen knife around them). Alternatively, you could just not put any air holes anywhere other than the actual fan are in the first place. The areas around the fan tend to blow air, which is counterproductive, and blocking off those spots increases suction.
It only takes a couple of hours, and it's wayyy cute and functional. You could also easily build a smaller/bigger one with a big fan or whatever you want. So, yeah. Highly recommend some fume extraction if you build a good bit. Just from personal experience. : D
Here's the build photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51572438@N ... 521104961/
