[quote|format=featured]- Non-replaceable usb-c ports on both the battery pack and iron
- Selector knob is soldered on instead of using a ribbon cable or press on connector
- Power button is soldered on instead of another connector style[/quote]
These are all great repairability points, and definitely parts that we'd like to modular-ize in future revisions. When designing a product, there is always a tradeoff between ease and complexity of assembly and the final cost of the product. Adding another board, mounting hardware, jumper cable to every USB-C port greatly increases the costs of assembly, and therefore of the final product. In this first revision, we prioritized ease of replaceability of the battery and display. The knob and the button are both on the same daughter-board, but that can be replaced without tools. We're working on some updates to the product for V2 that would move the USB-C ports off of the main board.
[quote|format=featured]- Closed source firmware[/quote]
All I can say about this is "Closed source ''for now''".
[quote|format=featured]- Cannot use other soldering tips (perhaps you could create an adapter for other types?)[/quote]
An adapter is a cool idea, though there would have to be some way to mitigate the power that we feed to the tips. We did a pretty [link|https:// https://www.ifixit.com/News/107156/how-we-engineered-the-fixhub-smart-irons-tips|deep dive] into the tip architecture in a blog post earlier this year. We've also open-sourced [link|https://github.com/iFixit/FixHub/tree/main/3D%20Models/Smart%20Soldering%20Iron|the design] of these tips, so if you want to try your hand at some kind of adapter, that would be awesome!
[quote|format=featured]- Soldering iron cap has no insulation or heat changing paint[/quote]
The inside of the cap is made of stainless steel, and the outside of the cap is made from Glass-Filled nylon. There is an air-gap between them, but still pathways for heat to conduct from the outside. In my experience, the cap doesn't get hot as long as I have the idle timer on the iron set properly. If the iron just sits in the cap at 350C, it will get pretty hot on the outside.
[quote|format=featured]- Removing the kickstand hurts the surrounding rubber and can scratch the battery pack shell easily[/quote]
I added a note to the disassembly guide to put a piece of tape underneath the kickstand bushing before pulling the kickstand off. [guide|177910|stepid=378408|new_window=true]
[quote|format=featured]Things I'd like to see but aren't major issues:
- Actnano waterproof coatings[/quote]
That would be awesome, we'll look into it with the vendor, but in the meantime, I have to ask to you to please don't not do any soldering in wet or damp environments!