How are these used?  "Hollow Needles Desoldering Tool" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2013, 05:15:11 am
content: I've never seen these before. How do you use them?!?!?http://www.ebay.com/itm/8PCS-Hollow-Needles-Desoldering-Tool-IC-Extraction-Set-For-DIP-PCB-Soldering-/161137577409?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25848c4dc1Are they to "break" away a desoldered pin from the pcb once the majority of solder is removed?

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2013, 05:54:44 am
content: I've seen and have used them a couple ways. Solder will have a difficult time sticking to the stainless. So it you have a hole that just won't let go of the solder poke one through when molten. Pull the pin out and desolder as usual. You can grind the ends at 40-60 deg and it makes a nice drill. Again for holes that won't give up solder.I used to do a great deal of medical equipment service work and used real needles or tips ground to the correct shape. It was all the rage 30 years ago.

author: Rasz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2013, 06:16:51 am
content: Quote from: pickle9000 on November 28, 2013, 05:54:44 amhey, I use needles to desolder dip all the time! Quicker than solder wick, but less convenient than a proper desoldering vacuum tool.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2013, 06:54:29 am
content: Quote from: george graves on November 28, 2013, 05:15:11 amI dunno, i bought them a few weeks ago, we will know!

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2013, 07:46:38 pm
content: I've received them.They work but not much

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2013, 08:06:38 pm
content: Do they work as a pin extraction tool for connectors?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2013, 08:12:02 pm
content: They might work for some, provided they fit the pin internally. I have used a needle as a release for molex pins before, it is easy to slide down the side to push the tabs back so you can pull the insert out. I will have to try some for solder, though all I have at the moment are 20G needles, one half a box from when I used to do medic work. I am reasonably skilled at injecting without pain, though some people still feel it a little. I still dislike the sight of my own blood, so have issues giving myself an injection. Once the needle is in though no problems.

author: g6ypk
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 29, 2013, 12:20:41 pm
content: Maplin sell a very nice de-soldering tool. It's called the wait for it... The >Electric De-Solder Pump.<Order code n37CH.I bought one, and it works very well too. As much as I loath Maplins for their raping prices, this was reasonable.I came across a heating too driven by hot air, used to de-solder or reflow surface mount components, wonderful if you have some heat proof none metallic tweezers. But the job was messy. I'm going back a few years, long before the Maplin electric de-solder tool came to my hands. I had a spare vacuum cleaner, so I fitted this out with a fine hose about 6 feet long and a 3mm PTFE tube mated to the working end. Heat gun on the work, the offer the PTFE vacuum tube to the job. Job and done. The problem was - it was all a bit cumbersome with having to lumber around a large add very heavy air pimp with a 3/4 (19mm) in hose and a bloody Dyson DC07 on ones back. I must have looked like a Zyberman out of Dr Who.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2013, 04:09:49 pm
content: I have a set and I used one of those to clear the holes on a motherboard after pulling out the capacitors near the CPU (VRM section).On those capacitors, the thermal mass is too high for solder wick and the solder quantity is too small to be sucked in a wick anyway, and the hole diameter was pretty much exactly the diameter of the leads (it was hard to put replacement capacitors in).Without a desoldering gun, I basically put a drop of solder on my soldering gun tip, add solder to both capacitor leads and pull the capacitor out. BUT, as I pull the capacitor out, some solder gets into the very tiny holes and it's hard to remove.So I just take one of those needles out, put it on the other side in the partially blocked hole, add MORE solder on the other side for thermal transfer and gently push on the needle from the other side (the needle is stainless steel so it doesn't get solder sticking on it). As the solder on the back side of the board gets hot and liquid, the needle makes its way through the board without damaging the through hole.But you do have to be careful, it's possible to break the walls of the through hole or lift pads.. you have to be gentle. So it helps to have something like this around, but a proper desoldering gun like Hakko fx 808 would do the job.I used the one on the far right. The construction quality isn't great, as you can see the needle bent a bit and the material in which the needle sits is weak, the material gave up and the needle went inside the plastic about half way in my case. Still usable and in the picture I just pulled it out back to more than the original length as you can see from the other needles.