T12 clone soldering iron assembly

check front panel PCB alignment

in my kit, the front panel PCB was not parallel with the front panel: [image of a misaligned front panel PCB]

inserting a 1mm or 2mm thick washer between the rotary encoder and the front panel fixes this: [image of an aligned front panel PCB]

use better wiring for the AC power

the provided wires and heat shrink didn't seem adequate. use 20awg or thicker wires. also, ground the chassis: [image of wired AC plug]

secure the PSU

there isn't any provided way of stopping the PSU board from sliding into the back of the front panel PCB. however, there's a screw hole next to C13 on the PSU board. drill a hole in the chassis below the board's screw hole and use a self-tapping screw to secure the PSU: [screw hole next to C13 on the PSU board]

handle assembly

this diagram from Banggood shows how to wire the handle. be sure to solder in the vibration switch the correct way: [handle wiring diagram]

it's easier to solder the handle cable to the surface pads on the handle PCB: [handle cable soldered to the handle PCB]

it looks like loading a tip into the handle causes the PCB to bend quite a bit. the handle may be the first part that breaks: [handle PCB deflection caused by contacts pressing on the tip]

check front panel power connector clearance

when attaching the top half of the case, the front panel power connector was higher than the top of the enclosure would allow. if this happens, bypass the connector by soldering directly to its pins: []