| October 24, 2012
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When surface-mount components started to take over, edging out through-hole components, a number of hot air-based rework systems appeared on the scene. Many were large, some small, but all had various means of delivering hot air to the component with varying degrees of process control.
Despite their diversity, they all had one thing in common -- they were fine for removing components from a circuit board, but none were particularly good at the component replacement process.
As a result, replacing components was a highly manual task, dependent upon operator skill, often relying on such techniques as speed soldering. Many began to realize that, for most applications, these large, complex machines were unnecessary since replacement was going to be accomplished by hand anyway. Thus, small, efficient, bench top hot air units for removal have become the ...
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You have a new board and the BGA component doesn't fit the board footprint. Is this a nightmare of a problem? It is one we see at Circuit Technology Center every other month or so.
It's seems to be a problem faced by OEM's early in the development cycle. In this actual example the flagship product an OEM was working reached the post assembly test phase when they discovered a hang-up.
The BGA that was loaded at several locations on the board was the wrong one! To further complicate matters, the footprint of the correct BGA was not the same as the original. You might ask, "How could this happen?".
Consider the mind-boggling variables ...
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Consider a typical scenario where a project is already overdue and you learn that a 150-pin connector needs to be replaced. Desoldering the connector one pin at a time using vacuum desoldering tools just won't cut it.
Quickly removing and replacing a large multi-pin connector seems a daunting task, but it really isn't. Here's how it can be done.
The solution, and likely the best method, is to reflow all the solder joints at once using a solder fountain system. This enables you to remove and replace the connector in two quick operations.
A solder fountain system generates significant heat, with molten solder in direct contact with the board. This is what a high-mass object like a connector needs. However, it's important that ...
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