IR Rework stations - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Skippy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2012, 08:45:50 pm
content: IR Rework stations. Are they any good. Has anyone used them? What advantages and disadvantages do they have over hot air or a soldering iron?I mean things like.You can get them somewhat cheaply (e.g.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125x125-Infrared-SMT-SMD-BGA-Rework-Station-220V-European-Adapters-Ship-From-US-/150904472472?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23229b8398&_uhb=1#ht_5452wt_1037) or pay quite a lot.

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2012, 10:59:16 pm
content: They were very used in notebook motherboard maintenance in the past years but not today. Those IR stations are recommended for small parts such as cellphone repair or DIY projects. Ceramic heaters have better results and you can see more properly what you are doing. I specially recommend hibrid stations, hot air on top, ceramic heater at the bottom, like this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honton-HT-R390-Hot-Air-Infrared-BGA-Rework-Station-Reflow-Reball-Xbox-PS3-110V-/150904894363?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2322a1f39bAs for your question, you can't do BGA with a soldering iron and hot air only (without pre-heat) is a bit difficult depending on the BGA size.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 06:20:14 am
content: Eh ... the preheater on the T862 is ceramic isn't it? Well IR is more accurate to speak of a few plus points of themPersonally i prefer the all in ones, because they only weigh 0.5kg morehttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/BAKU-factory-wholesale-prices-for-BGA-4-in1-Rework-Station-BK-862D/362173594.html

author: Skippy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 11:58:17 am
content: Why do you preheat the board? Is this something you should do if you are just using hot air?

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 12:32:18 pm
content: Quote from: Skippy on September 23, 2012, 11:58:17 amPrevent board warping and a mad amount of thermal expansion that can crack devices which is caused by rapid heating especially in tiny QFN devices or the PCB substrates on a BGA chip, also you can "bake" parts .. so on and so forth

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 12:34:05 pm
content: Quote from: Skippy on September 23, 2012, 11:58:17 am1. Helps to activate the flux to remove oxides before the actual soldering is done, giving it a bit more time to work properly (improve wetting).2. Lower soldering temperatures (particularly useful with large ground planes and lead free solder).3. Reduces the thermal stress to the PCB and components.4. Reduces time needed to flow the solder.

author: Skippy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 12:55:26 pm
content: What sort of temperature? Doesn't it stress components apart from the one you want to remove?

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 12:56:08 pm
content: Quote from: Skippy on September 23, 2012, 11:58:17 amBig boards may bend if you don't preheat them. Again, it depends on the job you're gonna do.

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 01:02:27 pm
content: Quote from: Skippy on September 23, 2012, 12:55:26 pmNo, bottom heat is around 150/200ºC max.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 06:16:43 pm
content: A infrared station i've seen for a long time seems to have a preheater that goes from 100-380C ... You can basically preheat it and then solder stuff

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 07:55:49 pm
content: Quote from: T4P on September 23, 2012, 06:16:43 pmAs a matter of fact, a lot of them go up to 380ºC but I fear damaging the board by entirely heating it, but I have desoldered most SMD components with only 150ºC on preheat, low fusion solder and some flux.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 09:13:21 pm
content: Quote from: ablacon64 on September 23, 2012, 07:55:49 pmThe FR-4 would probably release the black goo

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2012, 11:38:45 pm
content: hehehhe... right!