homw made desoldering station VS. Hakko FR410 is it worth to build one ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vnashville
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2016, 03:35:28 am
content: HI:I am new in this blog, and i am planning on build my on desoldering station using a 200 W iron solder and the tip from a desoldering iron with a rubber vacuum bulb.The desoldering tip will be attached to the iron and will make the proper connections for a vacuum pump, PID (for temperature control) , enclosed in a proper project box, digital display of temperature, etc.Here it is what i want to use:200 WSoldering iron : $ 29.95 from ebaydesoldering iron tip and arm with vacuum bulb : $ 15.0042 L/min vacuum pump 24Volts (ebay): $ 65.99PID TA4SNR + K thermocouple + SS Relay + heat sink: $ 35.09Project box+ regulated 24 V power supply + tubbing + accesories : $ 80.00The project would cost me around 200.00 dollars.Now the Hakko FR410 desoldering station cost around 710.00 dollars and has only 140 W of power but is excellent quality so i heard.Well the question is would it be worthy to expend $200.00 building a desoldering station with similar characteristics on power?will it have a similar or better perfomance than a Hakko?Any recomendations to reduce costs? specially on the PID for temperature control, Should i use a diferent aproach or cheaper method to control temp?Should i get a cheaper and less powerful vacuum pump?Or just . Should i wait a little bit until feb. next year and buy a Hakko FR410?I have seen lots of videos on the same subject with home made stations, but none of them reach this much power or have such a powerful suction on the pump.So before i star i would like to hear some input on this matter that will be greatly appreciated.Thanks a lot

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2016, 08:18:37 am
content: QuoteI would not spend the time nor money to build a desoldering station that uses some generic "desoldering iron tip and arm with vacuum bulb = $15.00" The tip is possibly crap, and who knows if you can replace it in 5 years.QuoteMatching peak performance of a desoldering gun under optimal conditions is not that difficult. It's the longevity, reliability, ease of maintenance, parts availability/service and the adaptability for different jobs that matters, IMO. Yes, I think it is possible you can achieve great peak performance for specific test conditions. No, I don't think you are going to match anything else without 400 hours of work, testing, redesign, and a much larger investment of money/materials.QuoteYes. Forget PID. PID is used to control temp curve of things that have a known mass. Since the mass of the dsoldering iron tip changes when you put it on a joint, and the thermal load of a joint is not a constant, PID is pretty much completely worthless for a soldering/desoldering iron. IMO. Thermostatic control is more than sufficient. PID will only help decrease over/undershoot when the iron is not under load.. and this is not a significant improvement to performance. It's hardly worth bothering about, to begin with. Simple thermostatic (e.g. comparator) temp control is sufficient, IMO.QuoteI have made one with a 12V 16 Hg pump. And it worked ok. But it worked better when I doubled the voltage... up until I burned it out. OTOH, the better pump you buy, the more money you are probably just pouring down the toilet.QuoteI would wait.QuoteI think you will never reach peak vacuum you can get from a simple spring loaded plastic solder sucker. And power is great, but enough is enough. What are you going to be desoldering that the Hakko can't handle?I would do this if you find it fun. It is not otherwise a good use of time or money. IMO. And it doesn't matter how great your machine shop and fabrication and electronics skills. Unless you are going to build an actually better station and accessories and sell the design or start up a desoldering station conpany, lol. I say this as someone who makes a lot of my own tools and equipment. Even a good desoldering station is simply not that useful to begin with. IMO. A flaky/fussy one is less than worthless. Unless you got too much bench space... and no one has that.

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2016, 11:37:52 am
content: i would buy the iron on spares, either a Zong Di type,http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361618306413or something decent and 3 times the price or more (xytronics desoldering head is nice)and then build the rest.for a pump, you will find it hard to beat the compressor from a car / truck airhorn.that's the type of vane pump weller used in the DS80 unit.

author: jonatanrullman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 01:11:44 pm
content: Quote from: vnashville on December 09, 2016, 03:35:28 amIf you stay put another day or so I will have a teardown of a ZD-915 rebrand coming. Might be worth checking out. There are also a few other videos and such of the same unit that you can have a look at, for inspiration if nothing else.Cheers

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 02:12:36 pm
content: that could be interesting, i already know there are atleast 2 versions with different internal parts.

author: vnashville
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 02:24:46 pm
content: HI,I appreciate all the info given it is very interesting and i will be digging a little bit more and see if i can find cheaper parts for the pump and try to find a better quality desoldering head for the project.Not like have to make a decision right away on buying a desoldering station, i will be doing some audio projects in a near future like audio tube amps., guitar amps and also repair and service of vintage audio like solid state amps. Just wanna make a right decision in buying or building a desoldering station. For what i saw on line good quality desoldering stations are very expensive and if i have a chance to build one without having to expend a lot of money and being useful for what i want to do, i think i could try.jonatanrullman, yes i will be around and wait for the teardown of ZD-915, i would like to have as much options as possible and make a decision.Thanks a lot guys.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 03:10:05 pm
content: The lower cost Hakko FR-300 is not good enough? ~ $260.

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 05:34:05 pm
content: you should know that desoldering tools are high maintenance no matter who makes them.you have to constantly empty them and clear the nozzle & check the filters.

author: jonatanrullman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2016, 12:01:31 am
content: Sorry for the lateness but at last I have posted my teardown of the SP-1010DR as promised.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/solder-peak-sp-1010dr-(zd-915-rebrand)-teardown/Cheers