Has anyone seen a goose neck hot air station for microscope work  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 01:52:31 am
content: Has anyone seen a goose neck hot air station for microscope work available to buy?(By 'goose neck' i mean like those positionable microscope lights.)So you can place a PCB under the microscope and the goose neck is pointing hot air at the center of the microscope view.Maybe 100-150C.Then when you use your soldering iron to remove a part it's easier because the goose neck hot air is preheating the board area you're working on.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 04:24:42 am
content: I built my own.I found a cheap microphone gooseneck holder with a heavy stand at a local surplus store.I cut off the mic and added a heavy C clamp on it's end.The C clamp was large enough to hold my hot air station gun.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 04:31:37 am
content: Why not just buy one or two from Aliexpress?God know how many they have there...12345All of them...

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 05:34:27 am
content: Quote from: BrianHG on March 04, 2023, 04:31:37 amThe hot air gun and it's air hose are pretty heavy, I doubt a normal goose neck clip like those cheap ones would be able to hold it up reliably.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 05:49:06 am
content: Funny, my hot air gun weighs just under a pound, or 0.5kg. No problem holding that.Also, if you looked at the search, there were even goose necks designed to hold tablet PCs/ I-pads.Are you telling me your hot air gun is that heavy?You begun wanting to buy a new hot air gun in the first place which used a goose neck. What do you think it would have used.Just buy the ones with a visibly thick segmented metal goose-neck for 5$-15$ and give it a try.The shorter ones are really stiff and strong able to support at least 1 pound.Also, you can search for desktop boom microphone holders as the have screw locked rigid arms, but the 1-3 foot goose neck will most likely offer the greatest flexibility.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 06:28:20 am
content: its not so much about the weight of the hand piece but the weight of the hose that hangs from the hand piece.The leverage of that means it will always try to twist a goose neck unless its super robust.(The air comes from the box, not generated in the handle.)

author: timeandfrequency
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 09:21:42 am
content: Quote from: Psi on March 04, 2023, 05:34:27 amPlease show us a picture of yourhot air gun.TheWELLER hot air iron HAP 200weights less than 200g (0.4 lb) : the air compressor is also in the station, not in the handle.Strong goosenecks. Different lenghts & diameters.I would not preheat the PCB with hot air. Trythis onefor under the PCB and thesmaller oneabove the board.Atemperature PID controller with SCR(= TRIAC, Phase-Shift Trigger) output. Ask the vendor if the triac is internal or if t has to bewired externally. A temp sensor will also be required.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 10:14:25 am
content: its just an Aoyue 968 A+, nothing special.But the point is a hose hanging off the side creates a huge torque on any joint because it acts like a weight on a large lever.A strong goose neck should work if the attachment on the end doesn't have a ball joint.but any cheap plastic aliexpress one wont have a chance

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 10:39:51 am
content: Do not reinvent the wheel and use normal preheater under PCB.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 11:08:35 am
content: Quote from: wraper on March 04, 2023, 10:39:51 amI have a Puhui T8280 preheater already, but it is not always the best tool for the job.Heating up the entire PCB using the preheater takes a lot longer than just soldering a part with the iron.Pointing the hot air gun at the general area while using the iron prevents quite a bit of heat being pulled away from the join into the surrounding area. It turns a 9 second job into a 3 second job

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 11:10:13 am
content: Hot air type like 853 works much faster for smaller areas.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 11:15:25 am
content: Quote from: wraper on March 04, 2023, 11:10:13 amIf i replace my hot air it will be with a Atten ST-862D.I'm not a fan of the kind that have the blower fan inside the handle.That being said, perhaps i could purchase just the handle piece from one like that, Then i can permanently mount it to the side of the microscope on a goose neck and run the power cable along the side of the microscope.That might work well

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 11:28:26 am
content: I meant hot air preheater.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 07:52:04 pm
content: I have a couple of these in different sizes that work well for this sort of thing:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FT6T34G/They're the same basic idea as the Noga style indicator arms, except that these have a toothed interface at the elbow joint to provide positive locking and prevent it from sagging. The included clamp works well for hot air guns at a range of sizes.

author: timeandfrequency
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 08:17:59 pm
content: What about PCB heating from above with a15W NIR laser source?[update #1 : gun -> source]

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2023, 12:34:12 am
content: Quote from: ajb on March 04, 2023, 07:52:04 pmYes, this is what I do too.But for actual soldering so I don't need to hold the wand while removing/installing an IC, almost never use it for preheating. Hot air preheaters in general are not great. A decent IR unit is relatively cheap, <$150.20" is a good length for this. Then there is the 10" smallrig branded model, which is very high quality, but too short.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2023, 08:54:25 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on March 07, 2023, 12:34:12 amHeh, I see you also use a piece of extrusion on the bench as a mounting point, that's been on my to-do list for a while!