BASIC TOOLS
The tools necessary for Make-at-Home projects are listed below with comment as Basic or Important or Optional keyword, which means that,
BASIC : very much required and affordable
IMPORTANT : having this tool is advantageous
OPTIONAL : may be purchased later
SCREW DRIVER :
The necessary basic tool is Screw Driver, which is used to open or close any fittings. The screw driver is also necessary for fixing some components on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of the Make-at-Home projects. A good quality screw driver have good and convenient grip, which is useful to have more torque to open / close the screws. (BASIC)
SCREW DRIVER SET :
The basic screw driver is useful to open/close screws with a line slot on screw's head. But, the screw heads may have different grip shapes on their head. So, a screw driver set, with different screw driver tips, which are changeable to match the type of screw head, is more useful. (IMPORTANT)
The above screw driver set may be used to open / close straight (minus) or start (plus) slotted headed screws. Some times, you may come across special slotted screw head shapes like, five / six edged star, with various sizes. In that case, a special screw driver set shown here may be useful. But, the requirement of this screw drirever set is very less for the projects available in Simple Mechatronics. (OPTIONAL)
CUTTING PLIER & NOSE PLIER :
The Pliers are useful hold, open or close bolts, nuts , cut wires (copper, aluminum, GI) etc. The pliers are useful for fixing of some electronic equipment, like transformers, which uses hexagonal or square headed screws and nuts. Pliers are useful to cut some wires also. The nose-plier is useful to hold small size bolts and nuts, in narrow spaces, inside the cabinet. (IMPORTANT)
WIRE CUTTER AND WIRE STRIPPER :
Many times you may require to remove the shield on the wire, or cut the wire to desired length. So, a wire cutter or wire stripper is very much useful. There is some adjustments on the wire cutter / wire stripper to adjust the gap for removing the shield on the wire, without damaging the metal wire inside. Any one type of the following wire cutter-cum-stripper shown below may be required. (IMPORTANT)
SLIDING CUTTER / KNIFE :
The sliding knife, shown here, is useful to cut papers, card-boards, foam sheets, rubber products and very important is PCBs to required sizes. The main advantages with this type of cutter/knife are
1) the blades are changeable, which are available at affordable price.
2) the cutting edge may be pushed out, whenever required only, which is safe while not working with it. (BASIC)
HAND DRILL FOR PCB :
The Hand drill does not require any electrical power and very useful tool to make holes on the PCB. Some times, a few holes on some PCBs are not drilled properly or the hole size may not be sufficient to insert the lead of the the component. In such cases, the hand drill is very comfortable to make or expand hole(s), wherever is required on the PCB.(IMPORTNANT)
NAIL CUTTER :
You may be surprised to see a nail cutter as a tool. But, it is useful to cut the free leads of components (like resistors, capacitors etc) after soldering on PCB. Some times, it is more convenient to cut the extra leads, behind the PCB, compared to wire cutters. (BASIC)
SCISSORS :
The scissoris are useful to cut thin and thick papers, generally used for labels and base sheets. The scissors are also useful to shear/cut very thin metal sheets made of copper / G.I. sheets. The thin sheets are used to make cabinets for project. (OPTIONAL)
MAGNIFYING GLASS :
A magnifying glass (convex lens) is useful to read the small details, printed on electronic components, which are difficult to read with naked eys. Magnifying glass is somtimes useful to know any soldering defects also (IMPORTANT)
SPANNERS (WRENCH) :
The spanners are used to open / close hexagonal / square headed bolts / screws / nuts. The open ended spanners and ring spanners are used for specific size, which are marked near the opening or ring shape.(OPTIONAL)
Where as, an adjustable spanner can adjust the gap between its jaws, by rotating a roller shaped worm, so that , it can hold various sizes of bolts and nuts.(IMPORTNANT)
ALLEN KEY :
The Allen key is used to open / close hexagonal socket headed screws. These screws are rarely used in electronic equipment. Some times motors and other hardware items are clamped using these type of screws / bolts. These type of small screws may be opened / closed using special screw driver set shown earlier.(OPTIONAL)
HACK SAW :
Hack saw is useful cutting tool, while making cabinets, using sheet metal, plastic sheets, wooden items, PVC pipes etc. The main advantage of hack saw is, removable blade. The hack saw blade is easily changeable and easily available at affordable price.(IMPORTNANT)
A bench vice is preferred for proper holding of the component, while cutting it, with hack saw.(OPTIONAL)
WOOD SAW :
The Wood saw is also useful tool to cut wooden or hi-lam items for making base of the circuits and containers. Little experience is required for proper cutting of wooden items in straight line. (OPTIONAL)
HAMMER :
A hammer is also useful tool while flateninig sheet metals, making cabinets etc. The hammer shown in the image is Claw Hammer, which has slotted end on other side to remove nails etc., from wood.(OPTIONAL)
FILE(S) :
A (mechanical) file is used to remove material (especially for metals) by abrasion method. A file is useful tool to cut and shape a hole or ends of metallic or wooden parts or PCBs etc. Wood files are especially used for shaping wooden items. The files used for metal and wood are available with various cross-sections to suit the requirement, like rectangular, square, triangular, circular, semi-circular etc. (OPTIONAL)
GRINDING STONE :
A cuboid shaped grinding stone is useful to clear the burrs of PCB after cutting to required size. It is also useful to sharpen the cutting edges of scissors, cutting blades etc.(OPTIONAL)
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– Simple Mechatronics