Hot air soldering...

[ivconic]

I accidentally got a hot air soldering iron today.
An old friend, a longtime TV service technician, has had one for several years.
According to him; he used mostly a part with an ordinary soldering iron and a part with hot air very rarely.
So I finally got that kind of tool.
I had the opportunity to get it back in 2001, but I always put it off and I didn't have a very positive attitude towards such a soldering tool.
However, at that time I did not even need such a tool.
But as time goes on; thus, the need and necessity to have such a tool in the workshop is increasingly indicated.
The problem is that I have known about such a tool for 20 years and I often have the opportunity to see how others work with it, while I have no personal experience.
And now that I have that tool; it would be very useful for me to hear from more experienced colleagues a few details about working with such a tool.
Initially, I looked on the Internet for what can be found.
Unfortunately the internet is overloaded with similar content and it would take me a few days of a detailed search to find answers to my questions.
Well, it's easier for me to ask here, maybe one of my colleagues will answer directly and clearly without too much theorizing.
I have a couple of simple questions about adjusting the temperature and airflow.
Keep in mind that I will use this mostly for amateur purposes, for amateur works.
I don't believe that I will ever be in a position to work with the smallest components, as well as with chips that have a large number of pins that are
very densely distributed.
So, I will mostly use 1206 size components and maybe sometimes 805. As far a chips I will mostly use simpler chips, dual in line.
This soldering tool will be equally useful for removing components as well as installing new ones.
So I am interested in the typical temperatures for such works as well as the typical air flow.
To avoid damage and burns to both the board and the components.
On some practical example, you could tell me the details.
As well as the pitfalls, disadvantages and advantages of this kind of work.
For example ... if I want to unsolder a 14-pin operational amplifier from a board; which would be the "safe" temperature and which would be the "safe" air flow.
And yet set up enough to get the job done easily and efficiently.
And also, if I want to solder a similar chip to a new printed circuit board; what would be the most suitable temperature and air flow?
Any specific advice is welcome.
Thanks in advance!

[Carl-NC]

I have something similar, very useful for getting multi-lead parts off the board. Air flow & temp are guesswork for me, especially because I rarely use it and can never remember proper settings. If the part doesn't budge in, say, 30 seconds I crank it up a bit. Obviously a 6 layer board with power & ground planes needs more heat than a 1 or 2 layer board. I usually only remove parts but have successfully put down a couple of QFNs with it, I think more through luck than skill.

[ivconic]

I have something similar, very useful for getting multi-lead parts off the board. Air flow & temp are guesswork for me, especially because I rarely use it and can never remember proper settings. If the part doesn't budge in, say, 30 seconds I crank it up a bit. Obviously a 6 layer board with power & ground planes needs more heat than a 1 or 2 layer board. I usually only remove parts but have successfully put down a couple of QFNs with it, I think more through luck than skill.

Thanks! Also that's pretty honest!
I tried in time and I also got the same conclusion.
Approx. 15 years ago I was in a service shop at one friend.
While he was dealing with customers; I was sitting in the back and being annoyed.
So I spotted similar rework station on the table in front of me.
And there was a cell phone opened in front of me just near the rework station.
I can't recall brand and model, I am certain only about the price, it was fresh new and hell expensive one!
So I thought I could play with rework station and try to remove one small part from the phone board, to kill the time.
You can anticipate the result... most of the components were blown of the board in a second!
From that event onwards I created some kind of trauma from such a tool.
...

One thing only I figured out for sure; dust and dirt on the board will slow down the process.
I collected bedlam of scrap boards and "tons" of components on them.
My addict is 93 square meters, pretty fed up with such scrap.
So, hopefully, I will have chance to skill out this, mostly by trial&error method!
But any advice from more experienced colleague is precious and welcome too.

P.S.
I forgot to mention that I also got a cheap microscope too!
So now I may be considered as "heavily armed" electronic hobbyist!

[ionut_mtb]

I have this gordak station from more than 10 years. I mostly use the iron, with different tip (round and chiesel) size for different applications (thru hole or smd). Flux will help for a good soldering and prevent solder bridges. Last year the temperature sensor from inside the iron broke up, but i managed to find replacement (ceramic with heating element and temp sensor) on aliexpress. The temperature stay around 320C, but is not correct.. otherwise will not melt the solder correctly.

The hot air gun i use only for desolder smd components (and sometimes to heat the shrink tubes). You need to find right temp and air for that. I keep the small nozzle attached. To prevent heating other components put some aluminium kitchen foil/ thermal tape around the component you desolder. Make some tests on scrap boards. Some smd components are hard to be desolder because they have a layer of glue/varnish on top. I also bought some paste of flux/sn/pb to glue components, but i’m not impressed, so i prefer the iron.
Thin soldering wire (<1mm) will help and sharp wooden toothpick sometimes to undo the solder bridges.
Last but not least i use old soldering gun (100W) with bachelite case.

[ivconic]

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I have this gordak station from more than 10 years. I mostly use the iron, with different tip (round and chiesel) size for different applications (thru hole or smd). Flux will help for a good soldering and prevent solder bridges. Last year the temperature sensor from inside the iron broke up, but i managed to find replacement (ceramic with heating element and temp sensor) on aliexpress. The temperature stay around 320C, but is not correct.. otherwise will not melt the solder correctly.

The hot air gun i use only for desolder smd components (and sometimes to heat the shrink tubes). You need to find right temp and air for that. I keep the small nozzle attached. To prevent heating other components put some aluminium kitchen foil/ thermal tape around the component you desolder. Make some tests on scrap boards. Some smd components are hard to be desolder because they have a layer of glue/varnish on top. I also bought some paste of flux/sn/pb to glue components, but i?m not impressed, so i prefer the iron.
Thin soldering wire (<1mm) will help and sharp wooden toothpick sometimes to undo the solder bridges.
Last but not least i use old soldering gun (100W) with bachelite case.

Thanks!
I think I posted about Gordak long time ago... not sure if I really did, so here it is again: once I serviced one Gordak and used that oportunity to trace it out and make schematic.
I believe it is the very same as yours, except for the LED display part.

"...Last but not least i use old soldering gun (100W) with bachelite case..."

Hell YES!
When the going gets tough and no other tool can solve the problem; yes there always be good old (40 years and so) 100W bachelite case soldering iron!
It is the ultimate tool in my workshop!

[ionut_mtb]

Thanks!
I think I posted about Gordak long time ago... not sure if I really did, so here it is again: once I serviced one Gordak and used that oportunity to trace it out and make schematic.
I believe it is the very same as yours, except for the LED display part.

"...Last but not least i use old soldering gun (100W) with bachelite case..."

Hell YES!
When the going gets tough and no other tool can solve the problem; yes there always be good old (40 years and so) 100W bachelite case soldering iron!
It is the ultimate tool in my workshop!
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thanks for the schematic, i think i found it also on web, but never had problems inside. Forgot to show the monster in the workshop )

[ivconic]

thanks for the schematic, i think i found it also on web, but never had problems inside. Forgot to show the monster in the workshop )

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[Alexismex]

Hello Ivconic, I did not see on your desktop the icone of IrfanView, one of the best editor photo!!!

[ivconic]

Hello Ivconic, I did not see on your desktop the icone of IrfanView, one of the best editor photo!!!

Only 40% of installed software is visible on the desktop, the most frequent in use.
But you are right, i don't use IrfanView, although i have it somewhere in the backups.
I use Corel package for such jobs. Corel 9 and Corel 2017, both on my system.
Lately when it comes to technical drawings with simple curves and shapes; i use Sprint Layout!
I never focus on tools but only on final goal.

[ivconic]

I just added it:

[ivconic]

...Lately when it comes to technical drawings with simple curves and shapes; i use Sprint Layout! ...

For exampe, this is done in Sprint Layout:

[Koala]

put a couple of layer of kapton tape over the areas you don't want to heat


watch for small components directly underneath that could drop off

[David_1]

always hot on my bench.... three Irons and a blow torch LOL

[ivconic]

10 days of "playing" with reworok station... and already collected decent batch.


And one finished magnetometer pcb and SMW in progress:

(There is a big neodymium magnet on the table above, which obviously has a strong effect on the sensor reading !! I didn't pay attention to that, I'm only now noticing in the picture!)

[ivconic]

I noticed some things in my work with SMD components and rework station so far ... in amateur conditions:
integral circuits, chips, are easier to solder with the help of liquid tin.
I smear the solder places with liquid tin and put the chip in place, I heat the chip and the solder places with hot air
and everything "lies" in its place. It seems that I did not buy quality liquid tin, because it turned from the mass into very little solder material.
So after that I add a little tin to each leg with a soldering iron.
The chip is definitely well soldered ... but it looks "thin" to me, so I add tin to "see" ...
But only now as I look at these pictures; it becomes clear that I overdid it with tin, too much tin was applied there.
And individual components I do regularly with a soldering iron. I haven't even tried liquid tin.
Because I'm sure the components will "slip" no matter how much I adjust the airflow to be weak.
I think it is a question of poor quality of liquid tin, I will have to try some more expensive variant.
...
As for the "collection" of SMD components that I have collected in the last 10 days: there is everything and everything.
I separated the "special" components into bags. I found some very high quality operational amplifiers, for example.
There is also a bunch of mosfet in different combinations. Various voltage regulators. High quality unpolarized capacitors.
And I also separated 6 pieces of ADG201 switches. Here, according to local shops, they are both rare and expensive.
I have the biggest problem with small transistors. It always grab the tweezers because the tweezers seem to be "magnetized" somehow ??
So it slows me down by removing components and generally annoys me and makes it a problem. I'm going to have to come up with a method to get over it.
I got the idea to stick a small neodymium magnet on the work surface and just bring the detached component with tweezers to the magnet.
Not to waste time while the rework station is running. My work space is very cramped and handling hot air is delicate.
I have already managed to overheat and burn a few surrounding parts of the space!
But all in all ... this will be something.
It's still not the "pro" look of the works ... but as long as every work works well for me from the first; I'm not asking a question.