larryd:
Yes my wife is quite tolerant, good thing for me
The hot glue gun is a great idea.
They are inexpensive, you could have one dedicated to Thermo-Loc.
I have 3 variacs, one might be good to use for temperature adjustment.
The smaller filaments could be used as welding rods of a sort.
Hot glue guns operate at 120oC and above, so a variac will be necessary to prevent overheating the Thermo-Loc, unless you modify the gun to have thermistor control of the heating element.
If you're artistic (I'm not) you could use the extrusion from the gun to hand write signs, etc. or, as you said, hand 3D printing. It's a pity it doesn't come in different colours.
Another thing I thought of to produce filaments is a spaghetti roller, but the metal parts will probably cool the Thermo-Loc too quickly. You may be able to use one to produce sheets (Lasagne) of Thermo-Loc. These can be remoulded around a rod to produce tubes (Cannelloni). The possibilities are endless.
Another use could be for what I call reverse moulding. Make a wooden mould of a box and mould the Thermo-Loc into the inside in a thin layer. When the Thermo-Loc had cooled you have the base of a plastic box. Make the top in the same way. DO NOT USE TO STORE HOT OBJECTS!!!
RudiAhlers:
Why should I always use distilled water on my soldering sponge ?
As non-distilled water evaporates, it leaves behind all the minerals dissolved in the water. It does not take many cycles of this to create a buildup on the sponge giving it a crust that decreases the cleaning effect.
If you run a dehumidifier or window air conditioner, you have a free source of distilled water.
vinceherman:
As non-distilled water evaporates, it leaves behind all the minerals dissolved in the water. It does not take many cycles of this to create a buildup on the sponge giving it a crust that decreases the cleaning effect.
If you run a dehumidifier or window air conditioner, you have a free source of distilled water.
You can make your own pads by cutting segments of copper clad board at appropriate sizes, tin snips work for this.
Here I used a hole punch, it produces round plugs.
Glue the plugs in place, after the glue dries, solder components to the plugs/pads.
Note: Purified water is NOT distilled. It has just had the living stuff in it killed. You need to use either steam distilled or reverse-osmosis filtered water.
Just get a gallon of the stuff meant for steam irons.
I'm building an inclinometer based on the measurement of the capacitance between several electrodes in a high dielectric constant fluid. Deionised water at Er ~ 71 would do, though an old chemist friend of mine pointed out that HCN would be better - Er of ~120.
Bit of a low boiling point, I replied, apart from other minor problems....
When I was young my father had me cleaning pipettes. He had me sucking chromic acid into them like a kid uses a soda straw. Being a curious young lad, after I had finished, I asked, "What would happen if I sucked some of that into my mouth?" He replied, "I cannot get you to the hospital fast enough to save your life. So don't do that."
Hi,
I had to replace a SOIC TL074 today that was situated in the middle of a 28pin DIL socket, it was the buffer amp for the 4ch DAC IC that plugs into the DIP socket.
A bit confined getting the SOIC in position.
I had used my pick-up magnet to pull the pins, that when I cut off the old SOIC, had to float off the solder pads.
The IC had just enough metal in it for the pick-up magnet to hold the IC and become a put-down magnet.
An aluminum channel can be used to mount all kinds of motors, solenoids etc.
If your work piece has a parallel body, this technique can be used.
These channels come in different dimensions; select the appropriate size for mounting.
You need a hose clamp to compress the work against the edges of the channel.
Make two slots in the aluminum, the width of the hose clamp, see the image below.
Your work is clamped as seen, two clamps maybe need, one is often enough.
The channel can be attached to a secondary surface using screws.
Tools such as a Foredom handpiece or other hand held rotary cutters are held securely, freeing up both hands.
You can tune your itemβs position by sliding it on the channel, then tighten the clamp.
All it takes to remove your work is a screwdriver or a hex socket/wrench.