Recently I have built a Bambu Lab X1C Fume Filtering System which is based on Xiaomi air purifier (link) . It came out that this air purifier works perfectly – there’s zero smell & PM2.5 sensor shows the value of 0 (when printing with ABS for example). This project triggered me to design this DIY Soldering Fume Extractor ( I have quickly realized that air purifier would also work very well for filtering the soldering fumes ).
I was very motivated to build this extractor by myself mainly because of very high price of the commercial solutions (for example the JBC FAE1-2B costs about 1800 EUR !). This soldering fume extractor can be built for about 150 USD.
Main advantages of this solution over commercially available products:
- Very cheap to make when comparing to other commercial products,
- When the filter wears out you can buy a new one very easily & cheaply (it is not custom made filter that is sold only by one company for very high price),
- Easy customization for your needs,
MCAD DESIGN & 3D PRINTING
Mechanical parts were designed in Autodesk Inventor. All parts were optimized for FDM 3D printing.
To connect the suction funnel with the air purifier a 60 mm diameter PUR “spiral” suction hose was used. Link to similar part: https://tameson.com/products/hl-pur-l-60-antistatic-pur-pressure-and-suction-hose-60-mm-id-42-mm-br-1-m-x1 . It is very flexible and it holds its shape very well. I was able to buy 3 meter long one locally for only 12 USD.
In the GitHub repository (MCAD folder) you can find the following files:
- Autodesk Inventor project,
- Exported STL files for 3D printing,
- Exported STEP file of the whole assembly,
- Exported PDF file with assembly drawing, BOM and assembly instructions,
- Exported assembly renders,
Recommended printing settings:
- 0.2 mm layer height,
- PLA filament,
- 40 % rectilinear infill,
DESIGN DESCRIPTION
To collect the fumes I have designed a “suction funnel” that can be easily placed anywhere you want on your LAB bench. It was optimized to increase the air flow as much as possible. Additionally I have added a protective grid to ensure that anything important won’t get sucked into the hose.
The suction hose is attached to the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite with use of 3D printed “funnel”. You can add up to 2 suction hose ports (above 2 there might be not enough air flow to effectively collect soldering fumes). Unused suction hose port can be plugged with 3D printed TPU port cap to seal it off. The funnel is attached to the air purifier with use of M3 screws.
Ventilation holes around suction hose ports need to be sealed off with use of duct tape – air will be able to flow only through the suction hose.
Additionally I have used steel hose clamps to mount the suction hose firmly & with a good seal (on both ends).
RANGE TEST
I have performed a quick test with use of flux to check how far away from source this system can extract the soldering fumes.
The result is great ! – this DIY soldering fume extractor can easily do it’s job from over 20 cm away !
SUMMARY
I’m very satisfied with this project – it works and looks great ! There is absolutely zero smell and the PM2.5 sensor shows a value of 0 when using this extractor during soldering!
