which rework/hot air nozzles?

[the_doc735]

which rework/hot air nozzles?


I have found over 55 rework nozzles at around £10 each!! To buy them all is prohibitively expensive (i.e. £550+ !!).
I would therefore like to know which are the most commonly used nozzles for PC motherboards?
Perhaps you know of somewhere that sells them in sets that include all popular sizes and thus keep the price down!
Most grateful to anyone with links to follow...
Working on a low budget.

 

[kchriste]

That really depends on which rework station you have.
For a real cheap hot air rework station you could look into using/modifying a temperature controlled paint stripper heat gun.

 

[Speakerguy]

The $500 OK International hot air rework station is awesome. At least that's according to the tech's at my last job, who had several. It was their favorite by far.

 

[rezer]

Depending on your budget, Pace is pretty decent. We use their hot are nozzles exclusively for removing chips and ICs. You could spend up to $650.00 however for the power supply and handpiece. They do have units that uses external shop air which could bring in down to around $450.00.

 

[3v0]

I am speaking from a position of ignorance in that I have never used a hot air rework station. But why should a glorified hot air gun be worth this sort of money?

How are they better then this $100 unit from MPJA ? Even if you add $200 in tips it is $300 not $600.

**broken link removed**

Manual https://www.electro-tech-online.com/custompdfs/2008/09/16121tl.pdf

 

[rezer]

This system only has one output port. The Pace systems are not only used for hot air but have a intake port for desoldering as well.
This system looks pretty cheap. The Pace systems are of higher quality and are made for the production environment but this would work great for home use. In fact, I would buy one and would be a better choice for the OP.

 

[Externet]

Doc - Do you also want to remove ball grid array BGA chips in PC motherboards ?

 

[rezer]

Doc - Do you also want to remove ball grid array BGA chips in PC motherboards ?

Oh, good point. I didn't think to ask. With his budget, I would think not.

 

[the_doc735]

Thanks everyone for those thoughts!

I have the aoyue908 already. I only need to know about the nozzles, NOT the rework stations themselves. Which nozzles?

Yes, I could be interested in removing the BGA chips too! - Why?

 

[mneary]

I do less smt work than I had anticipated, and never really grew my nozzle collection. I use a 1mm round nozzle for 0402 and 0603 2-pin parts, and a 2mm round nozzle for larger 2-leads and SOT23. I have a 10mm round that I've never used.

If you have a general idea of the parts you'll be reworking, there are nozzles made especially for each package type, and I would not get nozzles for any parts you know you won't be reworking.

 

[rezer]

Thanks everyone for those thoughts!

I have the aoyue908 already. I only need to know about the nozzles, NOT the rework stations themselves. Which nozzles?

Yes, I could be interested in removing the BGA chips too! - Why?

For BGAs, you will need special rework equipment to remove and solder. These can be quite expensive.

 

[the_doc735]

hi

Hi rezer & mneary!

...nice to hear your thoughts on the subject!

I will try to remember what you have all said in my next purchase decision. Adverts always seem tempting, to just buy everything! It's looking like that won't be necessary afterall and your comments are very re-assuring.

Kind Regards,

 

[Externet]

Yes, I could be interested in removing the BGA chips too! - Why?

Because even if you succeed removing a BGA with only a hand held hot air tool without damaging surrounding components; that will be it. Replacing the BGA with a new one will likely fail 9 times out of 10
Very precise really expensive equipment is needed for soldering, with specific recipes in timing, ramping, aligning and temperature controls for every ic.

 

[Boncuk]

Hi doc,

if you already have the basic equipment and you are just looking for nozzles here's my suggestion (because I usually do all that kind of stuff on my own):

Get a piece of round brass or bronce (coming close to the desired outer diameter) and shape the nozzle using a lathe. Depending on your location machine- and man-time might be very cheap.

I got a dust cap for a front wheel axle made of solid iron - an exact copy of the remaining one - for 50C in Turkey.

Hans

BTW, I guess BGA-packages were made to prevent possible repair of devices. They are not just difficult to solder, but almost impossible to remove after soldering. You can compare that with that usage instruction: "Shake well before usage! After shaking not usable anymore."

 

[the_doc735]

Once again I thank you all for your informed comments; I may have to think again about the BGA-IC situation - sounds like you need an atmospherically controlled operating theatre for this particular operation?
Don't know about the 'make your own' nozzles experience, maybe

cheers!