Heat Gun for thermography - Variable temp and air flow :) £17.99 ! (Aldi UK) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 03:54:03 pm
content: As some be aware, thermography can be carried out in the passive or active mode of operation.In the passive mode the user is imaging an areas passive radiation signature and this is excellent for imaging sources of thermal energy against a lower or high temperature background. Passive thermography is by far the most common mode of operation for many users of thermal imaging equipment.Thermography comes in many forms however. Thermal cameras can be used to look for defects in surfaces or to detect hidden voids or materials invisible to the naked eye. Examples of hidden structures are the metal or timber frames in a plaster wall and it’s associated nails/screws. It can sometimes be beneficial to operate the thermal camera in the active mode with the user introducing thermal energy into an area of interest and viewing the area as it heats up and cools. Different materials within a structure, or those of differing thickness will exhibit different heat uptake and cooling times. This can be images by the thermal camera as thermal contrast is evident from the thermal differential that occurs. Items like nail heads in the plaster become very defined indeed thanks to their fast heat uptake and re-radiation as they cool.In laminated surfaces the heat is applied to the surface and any air pockets or de-laminations create insulation behind the front surface. The partially insulated are glows hotter than its surroundings as it has lower thermal density and conduction to the area behind and around it. Such techniques are used for NDT on high tech laminates as found in the air industry. De-lamination within materials is a very serious defect in some structural applications.Without writing a long piece on NDT techniques, I will jump straight to the topic of this post. One way to introduce thermal energy into a target surface is to use what is basically a very powerful hair dryer ! There are other heating techniques but your average paint stripping heat gun is capable of introducing plenty of thermal energy into a surface without causing damage (if used sensibly). The user waves the heat gun over the surface in a similar manner to spraying with a can of spray paint. The pattern of movement is left to right then right to left as you snake down the surface. The pattern is then pleated in the other plane at 90 degrees, so up and down whilst moving across. Diagonal movements are also used where needed. The idea is to evenly heat the whole surface in such a way that the normal thermal conduction of the surface or material fills any small gaps and gives a relatively even ‘heat soak’ that will highlight thermal differentials caused by material differences, densities ir defects.Now to the ALDI heat gun....... I saw this the other day and was surprised at its capabilities. Most DIY heat guns are just an hair dryer on steroids ! You get ON/OFF/COOL and some blower speed settings with some better units offering heater settings as well. The ALDI offering is excellent. It provides both fan speed and heater temperature settings and provides a rough temperature readout on an LCD display. Now this is no precision hot air generator but it does offer temperatures ranging from 50C to 650C. This hot air gun would be perfect for active thermography thanks to its versatility.The wide ranging temperature output all the way up to 650C gave me another idea. Used with a suitable insulated metal plate that is coated with high temperature, high emission paint and equipped with a PT100 sensor, the heat gun could heat the plate from the rear and effectively form a high temperature thermal check reference. My FLIR SC4000 needs a high temperature reference to calibrate its higher temperature ranges. The good thing is that in the case of the SC4000, you aim it at a surface of roughly the required temperature and just key in the measured temperature of the target as shown on the PT100 contact thermal sensor. Emissivity also needs to be set but this is easily established by other tests on the heated plate.The ALDI heat gun was too good an opportunity to miss so I bought one. They were even on discount from £24.99 down to £17.99 I. The stores (but not online). I bought a couple for experimentationDetails copied from the ALDI Web site are here:Product InformationBrand:WorkzoneColour:BlueDimensions:28 x 10 x 27cm approx.Power:2300WProduct Type:Tools & EquipmentOur digital heat gun is the ideal for removing paint, bending plastic pipes , removing rusted bolts and moulding plastic. This tool comes with 4 different nozzles and boasts a 6 position airflow with temperatures reaching 600°C. Buy yours today!Contents1 x Heat gun1 x Reflector nozzle1 x Scraper1 x Cone nozzle1 x Glass protector nozzle1 x Fishtail nozzle1 x Scraper hook1 x Putty knife1 x Instruciton manual1 x Warranty1 x Carry caseFeaturesSoft grip handleRubber over mould gripD-handle6 position airflowSafety auto cooling function (30 second auto cooling before switch off machine)Temperature/flow rate: 50-660°C (300-500 L/min)LCD displayGuarantee/Warranty3 YearsWeb page:https://www.aldi.co.uk/workzone-digital-heat-gun/p/012586266868200I will add my own pictures of the unit shortlyFraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 04:45:39 pm
content: Ok, more detail and pictures of the ALDI hot air gunTo start with, more detail of its settings.....1. The unit has six fan speeds that are displayed as a horizontal 6 segment bar graph on the display and set using the Fan speed button.2. The temperature of the air produced from the nozzle is monitored by the hot air gun's electronics3. The Air temperature is set using the Temperature up and down buttons and is achieved very quickly ! The temperature steps are 10C all the way from 50C to 660CThe temperture climbs to that selected very quickly but when I selected 660C I noted that the unit took a short time to reach that temperature and whilst doing so I saw it switching between set temperature and current temperature on the LCD screen. There was also an animated ''up' arrow on the display indicating heating. The unit appears to use a closed loop temperature controller. This is far better than I had expected.4. When a temperature below the current one is set, the heater is either reduced in power or switched off until the lower temperature is reached. The fan carries out the cooling and the LCD display shows the current temperature and an animated down facing arrow to indicate that the unit is cooling to the set temperature. Very nice5. The casing of the heat gun is very nice quality with an excellent heat shield and a well designed rear foot that permits standing of the gun on its rear whilst not in use or cooling.I must say, I am somewhat gobsmacked at the quality and capabilities of this hot air gun considering the price being asked for it.It would be relatively easy to convert one of these into a hot air driven Black Body reference like the commercial units you see selling for $700+ After all, they are really just a PID + Heater + Blower fan + high emission plate + case.Now for the pictures.......

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 04:48:38 pm
content: Pictures of the unit....

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 04:51:17 pm
content: The unit operating and the displays.....

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 05:10:19 pm
content: I just thought..... the XBOX 360 and other GPU 'hot air rework' fans are going to love this hot air gun .... it is 'temperature controlled' so they can set it for warming their hands on a cold night, preheating avictim, ooops I mean IC, and then set flame thrower heat to really toast that siliconIt will work for heat shrink tube of course but I would only use it on large jobs like large battery pack sleeves and even then I would be careful what I did. Lithium cells do not appreciate getting too hotFraser

author: cnxunuo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 06:44:04 pm
content: People use it to shape kydex and other plastics, reputation isn't that great, I will prefer Taketsuna or Forsthoff(my favourite) or the less pro more consumer Steinel.For 3-5um core, I tried the thorlabs QCL QF4050D3 from school, works great as illumination sources, recommended. however combining a QF8350CM1 with thermapp in low contrast outdoors, doesn't work that well.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 07:15:14 pm
content: The new Aldi PCB pre-heater / rework station!

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 07:29:10 pm
content: Such a heat gun tends to be rather large for rework. It may be an option for scavenging parts, to heat up fast and not care about the rest getting cooked.As an active heat source thermal imaging I would prefer a powerful incandescent lamp, like those 600 W or 1000 W halogen ones. It tends to be more uniform than hot air.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 07:47:14 pm
content: Kleinstein,I was joking about any use of it for ReworkI do not have much time for those who peddle the ‘magic’ hot air gun repair for XBOX and GPU flip chip problems.Interesting idea regarding the heat source for a thermal reference. My experience of Halogen spot lamps and linear lamps is that they generate either a central hot spot or a hot bar effect. Some sort of energy diffuser is needed to create a more even heating of the emission plate. I will need to do some experimentation.Fraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 07:57:32 pm
content: Cnxunuo,Have you seen this specific digital hot air gun before then ? It is new to me but a quick search shows that other similar models are available. The reviews in Aldi are the only ones I have seen and they seem very good.Regarding the hot air guns you mentioned for plastic shaping. Yes they are purpose designed for that task and good quality ...... at a price ! The appeal of this unit is its low cost, for what appears to be Decent performance. If there are any weak points in the design I shall see if they can be addressedMy use for the unit’s is non demanding and some users abuse equipment causing failure so I am sometimes careful how much I read into poor reviews.Fraser

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 08:07:36 pm
content: Quote from: Kleinstein on July 13, 2019, 07:29:10 pmIt would still make a good board pre-heater though.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 10:02:54 pm
content: Gyro,Yes, the 60C to 660C controllable output temperature makes this particular unit very versatile. I have also found ALDI Workzone tools to be a cut above some other cheap tools. Einhell made quite a lot of the tools for ALDI under the Workzone brand. Sadly ALDI appear to be switching to another ‘brand’ called FERREX that, to my eye, look inferior qualityFraser

author: cnxunuo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2019, 02:02:05 am
content: Hi Fraser!Yes this set of hot air plus a couple of nozzles is very very common in China, they share the same heater/pcb, and re-branded into countless new brands by designing a new mold, its around 12GBP to get this set in china, i guess its reasonable that ALDI sell it at 18.I remember in highschool (around 2014), we use it to do art works during classes, which they are set by the teachers to max temp and max blast, to shape woods and plastics. some just quite heating without consequences, which explains why there are always a spare 'free' heating element when we buy in from china, but some will burst into a flame thrower without warning, teacher blamed us for sucking plastic dust inside but I think its their SCR firing angle circuit blow first and left things heatup until ignition.I admit using it from time to time since its cheap, but still prefer second hand name brand unit for safety...an example here is the famous FORSTHOFF heater, I used to pick them up from factory dumpster under 1GBP/unit in china, prices here seems bit higher but still reasonable.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-Demo-FORSTHOFF-110v-Quick-L-Hot-Air-Welder-for-Trailer-Side-Curtain-Repair/143254258883Anyway, i believe that QCL laser is the future, 1 watt 3-5um are available for some years, 200mw 10um are also available recently they will become cheaper as it only requires equipment not that fancy to manufacture (molecular-beam epitaxy, a fancy coating machine).

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 11:51:00 am
content: Sorry Fraser, I just picked one up for £14.99.There were still plenty left.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 01:14:38 pm
content: Yes the sale prices seem to be regional sometimesGood fortune for you and I am very happy to have paid only £17.99I suspect paint stripping guns are not as popular as electric drills etc so they are likely shifting stock to make room for new items. Some people may not recognise the greater capabilities of this particular model as well, or may just not have a need for such. I will be honest and say I cannot get very excited about a paint stripping gun..... now a multi function drill driver with variable torque and speed plus two speed gearbox...... that gets my interestFraser

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 06:41:30 pm
content: Quote from: Fraser on July 15, 2019, 01:14:38 pmWell that's a bit OT - but as it's your topic!You maybe want to pay a visit to Lidl then. With luck, they should still have some 20V "multi function drill driver with variable torque and speed plus two speed gearbox"s left - £20 for the drill alone (nice all-metal chuck), you need battery and charger too but they come out at £18 for the pair, and spare batteries are easily available in 2AH and 4AH.I bought the battery and charger as a portable power source (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/teardown-lidl-20v-2ah-lithium-battery-pack-and-charger/) and then saw the drill a couple of weeks later and picked up another spare battery at the same time. I'm waiting for their impact driver to come around again now!Aldi have the Ferrex 20/40V line too, but they came out rather more expensive (to interest me anyway). It's really good that both stores now seem to be selling a range of tools with standardised (and reasonably cheap) battery packs. I hope they don't suddenly change formats!

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 06:51:25 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on July 15, 2019, 06:41:30 pmAldi at least have since released three more 'Ferrex' tools with.. three different batteries.I would've been interested in the little circular saw, too..

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 07:05:45 pm
content: Doh, that was a dumb move!Lidl it is then!P.S. I don't know about a circular saw, but Lidl did have an angle grinder the other week, using the same battery.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 07:26:35 pm
content: I just saw a review and teardown of the Aldi battery packs.Precis version.....Aldi now sell the Active battery system with battery, charger and tool sold separatelyThe 20V Lithium Battery pack is for 20V tools only.The 20V/40V Lithium Battery pack is for both 20V and 40V tools. For those wondering how the 20V/40V battery system works.20V tools use the two pairs of battery contacts and place then in parallel for more capacity. 40V tools use the two pairs of battery contacts and connect them in series to create 40V. The battery comprises two 20V Lithium Cell sets physically stacked and connected as two separate batteries to the connectors that mate with the tool. The battery also provides temperature data to the drill. The battery charger accesses an ‘ID’ contact in order to identify the battery that is being connected.I will add the teardown You Tube link so you can see all about the Battery system.https://youtu.be/2d6iggXptNchttps://youtu.be/H9Mb5_nCVeoFraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 07:31:32 pm
content: Lidl Parkside Battery teardown......https://youtu.be/H9Mb5_nCVeohttps://youtu.be/1fvP6dWJ61gFraser

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 07:37:10 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on July 15, 2019, 07:05:45 pmThe grinder came out with all the rest of that range (drill, impact driver, multitool, chainsaw, strimmer and lawnmower). I have the multitool and grinder (and strimmer), and they work quite nicely. The 40V pack seems to overheat during charging (dumb balancing arrangement) and require two cycles to finish a charge.Since then they've come out with:https://www.aldi.co.uk/ferrex-16v-li-ion-cordless-drill/p/095178282743900https://www.aldi.co.uk/18v-li-ion-combi-drill/p/013616269334000https://www.aldi.co.uk/rotary-tool-with-accessories/p/010302272570100https://www.aldi.co.uk/-li-ion-20v-circular-saw/p/096162276173800(actually not Ferrex, but still, I'd pay £30 or so for one which takes my packs)https://www.aldi.co.uk/ferrex-cordless-stapler/p/093886275700400(amusing toy)https://www.aldi.co.uk/ferrex-cordless-glue-gun/p/093886286199201(equally amusing)The 16V one actually shows a photo of a different, 10.8(12)V drill which I don't think I've seen (they've had some before, but I don't believe they were Ferrex branded). If they actually come out with a circular or reciprocating saw which takes these packs I'll probably snaffle one for my limited usage.I almost bought the impact, but my little 10.8V Bosch is quite capable of snapping both bits and 6mm screws off all by itself, I see little reason for a more powerful one without a square drive.