July 22, 2020

JBC PD
Soldering Iron

I've wanted a JBC soldering station for while now, however as a student it's pretty hard to justify the cost.
So instead, I designed this. A PCB that can drive a JBC C245 handle/cartridge from a USB PD Power supply!
It also has lots of RGB because why not? :)

USB C all the things!
JBC soldering irons are often regarded as some of the best. Unfortunately this reputation also means that these irons come at a premium. Fortunately, JBC sells handles (C245) and replacement cartridges. I've designed a PCB that can act as the base station. The board, which is heavily inspired by Jan Henrik's Otter Iron Pro leverages USB PD to request 20V @ 5A from compatible supplies.

The device can be programmed using USB DFU, and has an STM32F072 microcontroller on board. For UI, there are 3 capacitive buttons that are backlit with a diffused RGB led. The buttons represent Up, Down and Enter to allow easy temperature control with a few simple touches. An OLED display is used show accurate temperature measurements and set-temp targets. Finally there is a 10 position LED strip to show status from the corner of ones eye. At a previous job I worked with Metcal soldering stations and learned to appreciate the "Power Output Bar" they have. This strip could also show the status of the iron without having to take your eyes off the work to check the OLED screen.

This board features:
- Microcontroller: STM32F072
- Input: USB Power Delivery
- Output: 12-20V
- Capacitive Touch Buttons with RGB backlight
- 0.69" Monochrome OLED
- 10 Position RGB indication bar
- Standard Hirose connector compatible with JBC irons
- Push-Pull Output MOSFET driver
- Current and Temperature Sensing

Star the Repo on GitHub