r/soldering 2d ago

Torn screen flex fixed successfully Just a fun Soldering Post =)

This is my first attempt ever to fix torn display and touch flex, and it was successful! Does not look best but I am glad it works. Only soldering mask is missing, should arrive tomorrow.

642 Upvotes

128

u/met_MY_verse 2d ago

Very impressive, good job!

28

u/twivel01 1d ago

No kidding!... some mad skills here.

64

u/ImAmalox 2d ago

Jesus, I would have counted that one out for sure! Amazing work OP

34

u/MrPanache52 2d ago

Holy shit nice, I’d watch a video of this

9

u/dickhardpill 1d ago

I want to watch a video of this on this

15

u/Fusseldieb 2d ago

How did it got torn so badly in the first place?

30

u/blazo7 2d ago

It is actually a screen from my friend's Voron 3D printer. He was moving it in a car and flex got caught with something sharp (cannot remember what), turned on the printer and the screen was completely black. So he asked me to repair it.

6

u/Torik61 1d ago

Thought I was in the Voron subreddit, looked at the subreddit’s name and got disappointed about my guess. Turns out it wasn’t that bad of a guess after all.

13

u/Benzona 1d ago

could have been a surgeon

8

u/blazo7 1d ago

I have shaky hands, so not happening 😀

12

u/Gizmo_Autismo 1d ago

I do similar stuff and my response to that statement is that a lot of people would die if I were one. With electronics you can usually just throw them in a corner for the week and wait until you feel like fixing them. With people - not so much.

8

u/Wreck1tLong 1d ago

Boy that hit my soul.

6

u/XDimitris7 1d ago

our guy just spat poetry

7

u/Nightblade74 1d ago

Nice work at moment. But you should understand this ribbon was broken in bending point. Could you bend it here after you soldering? Does it work after bending? P.S. Neurosurgical work anyway!

12

u/blazo7 1d ago

I think it will be fine when I add a soldering mask on the top. I dont think it will break, because its slightly lower than bend. Hope for the best 🙂

5

u/Nightblade74 1d ago

Good luck!

6

u/Head-Cat-7373 2d ago

That's awesome!

5

u/deadly_ultraviolet 1d ago

Okay now just don't breathe in its direction before the solder mask arrives!

3

u/Arc-ansas 1d ago

Can you provide some details about your techniques?

15

u/blazo7 1d ago

Firstly you need to scrape traces, where the wire will be soldered. TIP - Scrape the traces not next to each other (in a zig-zag pattern), its easier to solder wires in a row like that. After that good cleanup is important, best with some isopropyl alcohol. After that I used flux (a lot of flux) and got the solder on scraped traces - I tried also without it, but it was not working so great. I took the thin wire and started soldering - soldered top first, then bottom and after that I cut it with a sharp knife right next to the bottom solder point. I did it with a simple magnifier, but if you have a digital microscope, it's much easier, because you are not so close to the soldering area and your neck is not in pain. I think I am going to order a digital microscope immediately 😀

2

u/negativecarmafarma 22h ago

Zig-zag pattern is a really good tip. Thanks for sharing!

4

u/DharmaCrumb 1d ago

Holy shit! Don’t give people the idea this is a regular thing tho my dude. 🤯

3

u/Pleasant_Ant6244 1d ago

I'm honestly having a hard time believing that worked.. but if it did then you did an amazing freaky job! 👏

3

u/blazo7 1d ago

In the end I honestly thought that it would not work 😀 But when I saw the screen working without backlight on the second try I was so happy (tried the flashlight pointing directly on the screen and saw the picture).

4

u/tyingnoose 1d ago

how long did it take?

5

u/blazo7 1d ago

Like 4-5 hours. But only because I don't have any sort of microscope, only a simple magnifier on one eye. It would be faster if I had it.

3

u/tyingnoose 1d ago

did you had to redo it a buncha times?

3

u/blazo7 1d ago

The left side was done in one take. But the right side around 2-3 times, some parts of the right side like 10 times.

3

u/Jumpy_MashedPotato 1d ago

That is extremely impressive, very nice work.

2

u/TheSolderking 2d ago

Hell yeah 😎

2

u/StarWolf64dx 1d ago

Very impressive. Great job!

2

u/randomguy7530 1d ago

Impressive, very nice

2

u/Juustupurikas 1d ago

Inpressive

2

u/DarkChocolate2457 1d ago

Amazing works! I would love to be able to do that one day. Man it would've saved my ass couple times if i acquired this skill in the past

2

u/noobslayer-69-420 1d ago

Impressive! Did you apply UV ink over them and insulate it?

1

u/blazo7 1d ago

Not yet, the soldering mask delivery should come soon, so I will insulate it with it as soon as I have it. But, I think that wire has thin clear paint on it, because I had to hold the heat for a couple of seconds to start the solder flowing on it.

0

u/haikusbot 1d ago

Impressive! Did you

Apply UV ink over them

And insulate it?

- noobslayer-69-420


I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.

Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"

2

u/Enginerd645 1d ago

Damn. That didn’t look easy. I might have tried this 20 years ago. I don’t think I have the steady hand and eyesight to do it now.

2

u/SomeoneTookMine 1d ago

This is wizardry. Seriously nice work. I have to know though... How many obscenities did it take to get this fixed and working? My count would have been in the dozens if I could do it at all 😂

1

u/blazo7 1d ago

Not many honestly 😂 I tried to be as calm as possible 😀

2

u/adrasx 1d ago

I suppose this is category you become god, once it works. It no longer matters how it looks like at that point ;) WOW!

2

u/Disastrous-Upstairs7 1d ago

Congrats, that's a nightmare to fix

2

u/Youwishedi 1d ago

That's a lot of patience, good job👌

2

u/ohnnononononoooo 1d ago

Wow. Legend.

2

u/Theman00011 1d ago

Had to do this recently as well for a tiny flex cable. Luckily only one line was actually damaged, the two next to it were mangled but working. (Accidentally sent a screw through the ribbon cable assembling something)

I can’t imagine doing it without my microscope though and a very sharp x-acto blade and flux are your friend. Then I used UV curing resin over the fix and a piece of packing tape across that section to keep it from bending.

1

u/blazo7 1d ago

I feel you, I already ordered a cheapo USB microscope (around 11€) to connect to my phone using OTG from AliExpress as I am not usually doing such jobs. So I don't want to spend a lot of money on it.

2

u/blazo7 1d ago

Soldering mask added, kapton tape replaced and added for strength, it's good to go!

https://preview.redd.it/x4nqnypvzybe1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47b47ab5823568aa6afbb6db463b2ad9348658e3

2

u/DHCPNetworker 1d ago

Incredibly skilled work OP, you should be very proud of yourself.

2

u/Sir-Zakary 1d ago

..God?

2

u/lilbearpie 1d ago

Holy sh*t!!! Nice work you maniac

2

u/zrevyx 1d ago

VERY nicely done!

2

u/Accueil750 1d ago

I thought those werent fixable holy shit

2

u/Illustrious-Tip7668 1d ago

the worst task imaginable done pretty well- good job brother. get yourself some good treat

2

u/jrobles396 1d ago

You mad lad, thats awesome! Good work!!

2

u/mcontrols 17h ago

Nice Work!

2

u/brandonas1987 15h ago

Well done. running jumpers on a Flex can be super tedious.