I came across a social media ad for the Omnifixo soldering clamp, and was immediately sold on the idea.
The Omnifixo is described as a maker’s third hand. I have tried all kinds of soldering tools, clamps, and third hand tools over the years, and this design looks new to me.
The Omnifixo has a spring-action parallel clamp with a magnetic base. A clever ball design allows for adjustability.
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Each purchase gets you a 4pc set, plus a base plate and a field box.
You would use this to help position wires for soldering applications.
The jaws are lined with heat-resistant silicone tubing.
Since the jaws are parallel, they can hold a wide range of objects, such as XT30 power connectors.
And also of course small PCBs.
They area also shown off holding a small motor.
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Digging deeper on the Omnifixo website, I found examples of other ways the holders can be used.
The base plate can be inserted into the included field box for vertical clamping.
The Omnifixo looks to be an elegant solution for a wide range of soldering applications and holding tasks.
It was designed and is sold by Swedish maker Johann Zita.
Price: $66 + $6 shipping (US)
COO: Taiwan
Discussion
This seems like a lot of money for a soldering 3rd hand tool. I just ordered a set anyway, or rather ToolGuyd just ordered a set.
For one, I like to support independent makers. But most of all, this looks like it could be more versatile than many of the other soldering tools, aids, and third hand tools I’ve tried in the past.
I love how low-profile it looks, as most soldering clamps take up too much space in my drawer.
Want to expand upon the design? Johann has some 3D printable ideas with the files downloadable via Printables.
Even if they’re as good as I hope, these will be a hard recommendation for a lot of makers. $72 with shipping? That buys a lot of electronic parts.
But at the same time, I haven’t seen anything like this on the market, and couldn’t find anything like it in a quick search.
“It’s too expensive!” It’s indeed pricey. Amazon has plenty of flex-arm and articulating arm 3rd and tools you might like better.
“I can make my own/3D print my own for a lot less!” I’d love to see it!
A long time ago I had the idea to use Cleco side-grip clamps for holding parts, but I never got around to building it. I have so many side projects with their own side projects that it’d be years before I could improvise something half as good.
$66 seems like a lot of money. But I’ve tried so many soldering clamps and positioning tools over the years, and this just clicked when I saw it.
Not feeling it? We can explore some lower-priced alternatives later this month.
Robert
Even though this is not my hobby area, this what one major aspect I greatly appreciate about ToolGuyd. Curating quality solutions for tools. It may be expensive, but the time and frustration savings probably pay off for many, if it lives up to it’s looks.
MM
I have to say the design is pretty novel, it does seem like a nice fresh take on the 3rd hand concept.
That said, I do a lot of fine soldering and have done for years, and I’ve always managed to make do without one. I’ve always found other solutions that worked well whenever I needed to hold some small part when soldering to it. Hemostat, rubber band around a pair of pliers, lean a heavy object on top sort of like a “welder’s finger”….there’s lots of solutions. If this cost $15 that would be worth considering, but at $66? No. Way. I can think of far better places to spend that kind of money to upgrade one’s soldering setup. Even if you really need a 3rd hand, get a cheapo and put the remaining $60 towards a better iron, better diagonal cutters, or better wire stripper. Those are places where spending more has immediate benefits.
MM
I forgot to mention that these magnetic clamps have been around for a long while, street price is like $12, you could buy several of them for the price of one of these.
https://www.lislecorp.com/specialty-tools/magnetic-soldering-clamp
There are probably chinese knockoffs of them around by now which are likely even cheaper.
Julian Tracy
$15 would be ridiculous. It’d be a steal at $25-30. I paid $50 for a 4 arm design with a round base and a manifier/light, but even that isn’t a great design and not as cool as I thought. I’ve managed to solder for 40 years myself without this too, but to suggest $15 would be an acceptable price is kind of super cheap.
MM
There are similar products on the market for under $20.
https://www.amazon.com/NOEVSBIG-Helping-Hands-Adjustable-Electronics/dp/B0DNSVRGNB
The $15 figure is what I’d consider paying for this personally To me it’s a minor convenience I’d use maybe twice a year at best, and it’s also a mental thing: four bent sheetmetal spring clamps, magnets, and a small piece of sheet steel shouldn’t cost much. It’s funny though, there are many other tools I don’t hesitate to pay a premium for, this is just not one of them. Someone else who would use it more often might value it differently than me, and that’s OK.
eddiesky
ROFL!! You see their images on the Amazon page? Serious bad photoshop…the guy is soldering some automotive wires and using his fingers…but they pshop in the clamp holding a tiny wire!
While I think Stuart’s item at $66 is steep, it is cool. I just want finer clamps with adjustable pressure and being magnetic is important. But sometimes I need three, and long enough to handle a board or part. Plus inside some tight spots like near fuse panel in a car, I want something that can clamp to plastic since not always metal near.
Stuart
They’re also soldering a wire to a quick-release terminal, with a tool way too large for the parts shown. Everything about that image is wrong.
Jared
I was soldering with my 3rd hand not 15 minutes ago. Part of me thinks this is unnecessary since a decently 3rd hand is capable of reaching all kinds of angles and orientations, they already come in different styles and sizes.
However, this seems like it would have a unique degree of freeform movement. You wouldn’t get the initial stiction from a jointed mechanism. You might be able to achieve different combinations of holds. Basically it seems like the sort of thing that might feel simple and intuitive to work with.
The cost is a little high for a 3rd hand – but it’s not an expensive tool, generally speaking. I could see buying one of these if you solder regularly.
Will
I’ve had this on my radar for a while, but it is actually useful for more than soldering. The base plate is aluminum, and you’ll note there is a section of the metal that is exposed and connected to by an alligator clip. Also the holders have pieces of silicon tubing on them. They can be removed. With those off and the base plate connected, you can actually run power through the whole thing. Obviously you’d only use this for something like testing and low voltage, but the capability is there.
David
You mentioned the base plate being aluminum. Unless I’m looking at this wrong, wouldn’t it be steel? The hand bases stick to it magnetically I thought.
Nate
I bought one of these sets in 2020 and it is every bit as nice as it looks. I typically use the clamps on a larger steel plate alongside a bunch of PCBite clamps and probes, but the Omnifixo’s own plate is also fine. The clamps operate “backwards” to what you expect, and it takes a little while to get used to them, but they work really well.
A single clamp pivots pretty easily on its base, so if you’re putting any force on it at all, you have to use several to crossbrace each other and triangulate the structure. This isn’t bad, but it means they’re not as quick as you might imagine; there’s a lot of setup time.
mikedt
Got this as a Christmas gift. I like it. It’s easy to set the clamps and they stay in their spots. I 3d printed a carry case for it. Yes it’s not cheap but it’s a niche item, it’s nicely made and if you like good tools it’s a not overpriced.
John
Surprised no one said this yet:
OMNIFIXO is a badass name.
Stuart
The name absolutely helped it catch my attention initially! Between the name and application image, I had to know more.
David
It sounds like the spell Harry Potter would yell to fix something.
Dustin
I have had a set for about five years and they are OK. The balls swivel rather easily in the sockets so any amount of side load pushes them out of position. I have thought about maybe roughing up the ball to add some friction and seeing if that helps.
chris
I have had a set for several years, nothing that special IMO. I prefer a standard third hand and a haiko pcb holder.
Joe
I’ll buy yours if we can come up with an agreeable price. I’ve had mine for several years and have been wanting a second one for my mobile kit.
Matt
I have and use the ‘spider-arm’ device but these magnetic spring-loaded balls are different and (understanding the physics), would be more precise method of holding components because there is no mechanical “spring-back” like there would be with the spider arms. The design of the spring arm requires you to overshoot the intended target because the tension in the arm will pull the arm back a little when released. The magnetic ball would have no such reaction. I’d buy it if my soldering was more frequent. I may buy it anyway because I like cool tools!
Dave
My first reaction is that it is cute but not worth this price. Then I thought I need something like this but it would also need to change. It needs at least one 35-45mm clamp. The the design should include at least one base that would screw down to a stud post for a more secure option.
Neil H
You can actually put power with alligator clips and power circuits board with it as well. Its quite nice and very versatile with powerful magnets.
JoeM
*Totally Biased Opinion*
Having Jeweller, Electronics, Watch Repair, and dozens of other tiny-parts types of skills under my belt… I don’t find the price, even converted to CAD, expensive at all. In fact, if the clamps can be sold separately, as additional accessories, that may be an investment I’d make in a heartbeat. The ability to affix everything to the base plate, and position the holders in so many different ways, gives tons of options for holding a lot more than just the workpiece, and that versatility adds a lot of value to people using it for a lot more than just electronics soldering.
It’s a good price, Stuart, you made a very good investment for ToolGuyd. Note: It can be used to vertically, or horizontally, hold something small for display in article pics. It’s not large, but just being able to balance a fuse, or a small circuit board, for display of how something in a tool looks, that is a great photography jig.
Stuart
It’s not so much an investment for ToolGuyd, but an “I could use this, I can’t find a lot of info, I should test it” mindset.
For photography purposes, I think you’ll need greater strength and range of motion for that. Maybe this could work for smaller wires or PCBs, but there is a whole world of fine-positioning gear. Many macro photographers build their own tools or improvise heavily.
Mr. C
I own this product, and I’ve tried multiple third hands units. Here are my thoughts on them:
Generic third hands (harbor freight style): These are an exercise in frustration. If you want to have an excuse to NOT do a project as you’ve defenestrated it in a fit of rage, these are the ones to use. Also, your local window repairman loves these.
Ebay’s/Amazon’s generic magnetic third hands: These aren’t too bad, as they have a wide variety of options. Flexible arms, little circuit board vises/stands, super clamps, lights, etc. The quality ranges from not terrible to wtf-are-you-serious-it’s-falling-apart.
Third Hand Pana Hand Workstation for Panavises: These are no longer being made, but I own two different ones of these. They WERE my go-to ones to use….but they were pricey, needed to make sure you had -exactly- the right panavise, and the latter versions of PanaHand were much worse than the earlier ones. No wonder they went out of business.
Various Panavise setups: They’re great, but usually for medium to larger circuit boards. They tend to become cumbersome for smaller boards or components.
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….but with all of these, they suffered from lots of wobble from flexible arms. And it was good for medium sized parts, but terrible for small ones. Too much armature in the way of actually getting work done.
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Omnifixo: I love these for smaller work. Omnifixo is low profile, gets out of your way, and yet still has a LOT of flexibility in how you can use them. They’re not the cheapest, but they’re probably one of the best I’ve ever used. Very well made. They fill a desperate need for those who frequent places like Adafruit, Sparkfun, etc.
They are actually a bad choice for larger boards or setups. Right tool for the job.
MM
The Panavise #315 circuit board holder is good for small and midsize PCB’s, and also holds many kinds of connectors well too. I wish it was fabricated with higher precision so the jaws would remain more precisely aligned and square, but it does work.
Nathan
If it’s 4 clamps and a base like in the picture then 66 is reasonable. You buy 3 third hands and you at that price too.
MM
The usual “third hand” has two clamps, so you only need two of them if you want a total of four clamps to equal this unit, and they can be had for under $10 on Amazon.
Chris
I got mine for like $3 at harbor freight.
Wayne R.
All of those suck, though.
MM
Are they really much worse than this? Admittedly I haven’t tried one, but given that it depends on small magnets to hold instead of screws you can clamp down it cannot be particularly stable. Nate mentioned above that in his experience single clamps don’t hold all that securely and he found the need to triangulate sometimes. I don’t have a very high opinion of “third hands”, but they don’t have that particular problem.
The Omnifixo is certainly more portable and stores compactly inside its case; maybe that’s worth the extra $60 to someone?
Chris
Seems like a solid idea! It’s simple, but versatile. I don’t think I need one. But it’s good to know they exist.
D3t
Stuart, “The jaws are—lines—with heat-resistant silicone tubing.”
Stuart
Whoops. Thanks, fixed!
mbze430
People who own the Omnifixo how are the arm’s magnet?
I tried one from Amazon (not the ones with the long arms but a short one with a yellow base) but the magnet on that one move quiet easily.
I use the short arm because under the microscope and the focus/zoom distance. But with a weak magnet ever little movement becomes a huge movement under the scope.
Stuart
I can’t speak about knockoffs, but the Omnifixo comes with strong magnets.
Still, this might not be the best solution for holding position in a microscope. Magnets are strong in one direction and will slip in all others. Ball-ring magnetic engagement requires very high strength to not slip.