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FixHub - a dead project?

When I bought the FixHub soldering station, I hoped it was a project with a real future. Since it’s supposed to be a “hub,” I expected it wouldn’t stop at a single accessory and that new modules and tools would appear over time.

But even the existing ecosystem doesn’t seem to be evolving. There are no new soldering tips, and firmware updates mostly focus on fixing old bugs while introducing new ones.

Here are two suggestions for future development:

  • > the ability to adjust the temperature starting from 50°C
  • > a new tip designed for installing heat-set insert nuts
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First off - I have no interest in iFixit other than wanting products to be repairable which is the primary mission of iFixit and have the capital to fight for us all!

I love instant tea, but it still needed to be grown! Which takes years. Product development is a long process even for the simple stuff as you need to know if the sales are there which they may not at least in the hardware space, and it still takes time to code and test to make sure it works reliably. As someone who as been involved in development I can tell you it can take years! And a small company doesn't always have the deep pockets to take on a gamble.

Yes! I'm sure the team is looking at how to extend the usefulness of the product beyond what it can do today. But unlike many products, here you can extend it your self! It is based on standards and even the schematics are available.

I do agree a few more tip options are needed, press fits is a good one! With so many 3D printers out there it makes sense.

As far as lower temps 212 F/100 C is already quite low. I think you are looking at a hot air type of product to soften plastics to reshape them or to clean adhesive off surfaces. How about telling us how you would use a lower temp iron.

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I work in the automotive industry, so I’m fully aware of how long the development process can take, in this field it can easily stretch close to a decade. That’s exactly why I didn’t make this post a week after the product launch. Not even a year later.

And yes, I completely agree, the product documentation is exceptionally good. Honestly, it’s something you rarely see elsewhere. The availability of spare parts is also top-notch. But unfortunately, soldering tips are not something I can just make myself :)

I’m not sure where the 100°C figure came from, because mine has always allowed a minimum setting of 200°C. Only the idle temperature can be set lower.

Hot air works well for large surfaces, but it’s not suitable for precise point work.

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@pawel65058 - What are you working with that you need a lower temp?

I personal find it's not the temp it's more the banking of the heat within the tip so when it's called for there is a long enough time, as well if the joint is sizable I can quickly heat it to temp. That gets into the Wattage of the Iron besides the tip. But I was more involved with circuit boards when I was doing bench level work many years ago.

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I forgot to reply to the hot air point you raised: "Hot air works well for large surfaces, but it’s not suitable for precise point work."

I managed to work on some tight logic boards without difficulty using a nozzle reducer I even made my own which was smaller and at a more comfortable angle. I also use shields either metal or polymide tape to protect the areas I don't want to heat.

And lastly, the rework station options can help with variable air flow and heat.

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@danj that’s great, but does it actually change anything regarding Powerhub?

“Let’s not do anything because users are already managing with other tools” doesn’t sound like a strong argument.

At the end of the day, I’ll probably just spend $50 on some random USB soldering iron that can operate from 50°C upwards, plus another dozen or so dollars on hot insert tips.

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@pawel65058 - No, that wasn't what I was saying!

I really don't understand your use case here. Why do you need such a low temp?

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Thanks for the checkup! Fear not, continued development and support continues for FixHub and accessories. I don't want to make promises on timelines in case things go sideways, but we've been continuously releasing new firmware features ever since release (we just added PPS support on the Power Station last month), and later this year we've got a whole stack of new features we're planning to release, alongside a pretty major change in the architecture of the whole system.

Physically, we've got a bunch of new soldering iron tip shapes in production right now, with expected availability later this summer.

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FYI

"PPS is "Programmable Power Supply" and is an optional part of USB PD 3.0 and USB PD 3.1.

USB-C chargers that support USB PD may support PPS, but not all compliant USB-C with USB PD chargers support PPS.

Basically, "PPS" implies "USB PD", but "USB PD" does not automatically mean "PPS" is supported.

USB PD requires certain fixed PDOs, which implement fixed voltage levels of 5V, 9V, 15V, and 20V, all at +/- 5% tolerance.

PPS, on the other hand, allows you to have much finer grain voltage control along with current sourcing mode, which newer phones require for faster and more efficient battery charging."

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@danj You've got it exactly right, thanks for the explainer. In addition to allowing for certain phones to charge faster and more efficiently, it also allows for some _interesting_ accessories for the Power Station, so stay tuned for that.

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Paweł will be eternally grateful.