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What Tools Do I Need?

When it comes to taking apart, modding, or scavenging old electronics, unless you are Edward Scissorhands, you will probably need more than just your nimble fingers to get the work done. Manufacturers all have unique ways of assembling products, which means that the ease of taking an item apart varies from device to device. For some reason, screws have become something to avoid in newer devices, and the trend has been to glue them together. Sadly, that makes newer smartphones and tablets more difficult to disassemble. In general, however, these tools should get you through most upcycling projects.

Rotary Tool

A rotary tool is a small handheld tool with a tip that rotates very fast. The rotating tip can be interchanged depending on the task. It is often used for cutting, sanding, grinding, and polishing but can be used for a lot more tasks than those.

Soldering Iron

A soldering iron is a tool that can heat up to high temperatures in order to melt a form of metal alloy wire called “solder.” Since solder is conductive, melting it onto a circuit board can join two circuit components together. For home electronics enthusiasts, this is a necessary tool for creating homemade circuits.

Aside from joining circuits by melting solder, soldering irons can also assist in removing circuit components by melting the solder around that component.

Wire Cutters/Strippers

Wire strippers are handheld tools that are primarily used to remove the plastic sheathing from wires. This exposes and allows access to the metal wire underneath the plastic. Used in conjunction with a soldering iron, these exposed wires can be used to connect circuit components together.

Multimeter

Multimeters are instruments that can measure and display voltage, electrical current, and sometimes resistance (depending on the multimeter). Each has a + probe and a - probe that are used to connect to the positive and negative leads on a power source. The multimeter will then tell you the value of the current, voltage, and/or resistance.

Hot Glue

“Hot Glue” is a term used to describe solid glue sticks that require melting in order to be used. Hot glue “guns” are used to melt the glue sticks. They have a tapered nozzle to make it easy to apply the glue where needed. Once the melted glue is applied, it takes a couple of minutes to dry. Dried hot glue forms a strong, solid bond. That makes it useful for repairing and joining different materials.

Arduino

An Arduino is a popular microcontroller that is easy to program and implement. Microcontrollers are small, simple computers commonly used to perform single, specific tasks. In the case of the Arduino, it can be programmed to perform a task, and then it will continue to loop through that task until it is powered down or the program is changed. This makes it useful for controlling motors, lights, buzzers, sensors, and other simple electronic components.

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is a brand of small form factor computers. These computers range from the size of a credit card to the size of a pack of chewing gum. They operate similarly to larger computers in that they have a desktop interface, audio and video output, and USB and Ethernet ports. The Raspberry Pi also features Input/Output pins that can be programmed to control different electronic components (similar to an Arduino). The largest difference between the Raspberry Pi and the Arduino is that the Raspberry Pi can perform multiple processes at the same time instead of one at a time.