Hot End repair holder by JobSmolders

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This holder makes working on your hot end easier.
If your hot end is clogged for instance, you can remove it from your printer to make it accessible again.
But it’s not very handy for heating the hot end up, with the cables still attached to the printer.
To make the hot end more accessible I made the “Hot End repair holder”.
Now you can remove your hot end from your printer and place it into the “Hot End repair holder”.
This holder also has the option of heating your hot end, so you can work on it in a hot state. This will come in handy for unclogging or assembly of your hot end.
The temperature of the hot end is regulated by an Arduino Nano. You can connect the NTC of the hot end to it and set a max temperature in the Arduino sketch that is included in the files. See picture of the screen where to set the maximum temperature in the sketch.
If the Arduino is connected to a computer, you can see the measured temperature in the serial monitor.
Also the Arduino can take its power from USB. If everything is ok, you do not need the computer anymore and there is an option to give power to the Arduino from the 12V that powers the heater of the hot end. See schematic, the red lines.
The heater of the hot end is powered by a 12V ATX power supply of an old computer and a FET.
This FET is triggered by an opta coupler, which is triggered by pin13 of the Arduino. See the schematic for more details.
The Arduino Nano is a bit hidden on the pictures, because my DIY PCB for the heater circuit is in front of it :-)
Next to the Arduino and the electronic parts, you also need 2X M3x10mm and nuts. If you use the little bracket to hold the Arduino in place, you also need a little “wood like” screw.