SMT Multimeter Tweezers by adrian-bowyer

Description

Say goodbye to SMT component identification misery with this pair of active tweezers that plug right into your trusty multimeter!

As you pick up an SMT component to put it onto the solder paste on a PCB, these tell you what the component is automatically.

Instructions

The tweezers are designed to be built flat, and are in the form of a wedge to give a thin end at the points. Make sure the STL file is the right way up in your 3D printer to achieve this.

Thread wires through the holes. If you use different colours you can track + and - for things like diodes.

Solder a couple of pins pulled from a piece of 2.54mm pin strip on the ends, and insulate the joins with heatshrink.

Bend the pins at right angles. To do this, push them right through their holes till they're free the other side, bend them, then push them back.

Use a couple of rings of fatter heatshrink to attach the pins to the ends of the tweezers.

Line the tips up carefully so that they meet exactly and don't cross over, then flood the ends with superglue to lock them in place. Also superglue the wires along the limbs. (You may find this easier if you tack the wires first using Blu Tack or sticky tape.)

Stick some plugs on the other ends of the wires that will fit your multimeter, plug the tweezers in, and get building those RepRap/Makerbot PCBs...