/diy/ - Do It Yourself

To be honest I don't often post here, but thought it would be a good time to do so see if anyone is interested in what I am doing.
I have a few projects going on, the first being a JBC soldering iron controller, which is not too uncommon, however all other examples on the internet use regular transformers with multiple taps. I chose to try and design one with a switch mode powersupply at the input.
Technically the lifetime of the tip would degrade due to DC electroplating effects, but I doubt these are more significant than the corrosive effects of (especially lead free) solder and flux.
For the user interface I chose to be lazy and use standard encoder and 7 segment modules. The display module proved to be more of a pain in the ass to get working, since the chinese chip on there has a super shitty datasheet to use to bit bang the interface.
The electronics and software I have got working now, and currently I am waiting on a 3D printer to arrive to print the case.
The Rev 1 PCB had gotten a bit messy due to a mistake in the timer pins of the STM, and forgetting to add reset to the SWD connector. Still, 4 bodges on the circuit board doesn’t seem too bad.
Next version I will forgo the switching regulator and go for a linear one for simplicity (current draw of the 3.3V line is lower than expected, because of the 24V input I chose a switching regulator to minimize wasted power).