Questions tagged [rework]

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How do I cut a trace?

I've often had the need to cut a trace here and there to debug something or fix a bad layout. I've not really come up on a way to do so that's Safe Controllable Reliable (won't magically reconnect if ...
Nick T's user avatar
  • 12.4k
0 votes
0 answers
152 views

Solder balls or solder paste for reballing?

So, I'm planning on doing a reball for the graphics chip of my Pavilion DV4-1212LA. It's going to be the first time so I have to buy the required tools, like a suction pencil for lifting the IGP, fine ...
fpp's user avatar
  • 159
0 votes
0 answers
25 views

For BGA rework, can a kitchen plate-/dish- warmer be used after preheating in oven?

Doing some casual PCB reworks for repair purposes, I'm looking for ways to improve the process. Currently, I'm using a (not yet) modified kitchen oven to preheat, and then hot air to reflow. A problem ...
OuzoPower's user avatar
  • 181
0 votes
0 answers
51 views

BGA rework - Help needed

I've just started working on a PCB with BGA components (EPC GaN HEMT devices, plus BGA gate drives), and my attempts at assembly, have been quite frustrating. I'm using a heat plate (set to 150 ...
Grigoris's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
88 views

Rework with a coating over the solder joint

I've got a simple board to repair (a switch/junction board for a fancy bike light). The wires to a DC connector broke because of insufficient strain relief. It's a trivial job, except there's a paint-...
Chris H's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
119 views

What is this "tool" and how is it used? [duplicate]

I purchased a rework station, and it came with the tool shown. I've never seen or used such a device before but checking the illustration of a couple of other rework stations showed similar tools ...
StarNamer's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
1 answer
135 views

How to prevent repeated re-soldering of SMD chip during testing?

Lets say you have a commercial device you are experimenting with. It has a flash memory chip that cannot be read while in-circuit (I have already tried the clip thing), so you have to de-solder it ...
benram14159's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
21 views

what's the proper soldering iron temperature for wave soldered cards using with SACX plus 0307 bars

Hello all we need a proper technique to rework for wave soldered PCB's either SMD or Leaded components . We are using SACX plus 0307 solder bars for wave soldering . Here we have soldering issues with ...
sasikanth nalluri's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
41 views

BGA Stuff, unstuff PCB Pad Short

I am using Artix 7 FPGA (XC7A200T-2FPG676) BGA package on PCB, after unstuffing of FPGA I want to short two pad P18 and R18 on PCB with each other and then wants to stuff back my FPGA . Note: P18 and ...
Sardar Awais Gujjar's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
195 views

Connect 2 BGA pins before soldering IC?

My first thought was it's not possible but I need a method that could potentially work, just for testing purposes. What I'm trying to do is the following: I forgot to breakout one BGA pin that I need ...
pcbguy's user avatar
  • 83
0 votes
1 answer
183 views

Flux for removing LGA socket

I have been looking into the stackexchange searchbar and also I have been searching for a day or two globally, even the "similiar dialog on this website" when I was creating this post. I ...
Ketske's user avatar
  • 3
1 vote
2 answers
273 views

How to remove solder bridges on a 6-layer PCB - how to rework a board that won't heat?

I made my first batch of 6-layer PCBs. On some of the boards I got a solder bridge on an MCU - I know I need to improve my design, my solder mask, and my mounting method. Usually on 2- or 4-layer PCBs ...
rom1nux's user avatar
  • 498
1 vote
0 answers
92 views

oven rework - possible culprit?

These small LGA16 parts needed replacing: Desoldered them with heat gun, cleaned with acetone, put new parts into place, fixed them with this sticky aluminum tape, applied flux and put them to the ...
kellogs's user avatar
  • 1,060
0 votes
3 answers
148 views

Is there anything like spring steel hold-down probes to help with SMT assembly?

I occasionally do minor SMT assembly and re-work. I know the standard practice for holding parts is to glue them, but sometimes I'd like to have a more temporary approach. For example, sometimes I ...
tim11g's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
3 answers
694 views

How to stop frying components with my rework station?

Recently I decided to invest in a rework station (namely the Yihua 858D) as I am sick of ruining pads when desoldering components. Just today, I have fried £50 in components. I am using the station to ...
brazed_blotch's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
593 views

Laptop HDD (100565308 Rev A) BIOS chip swap - chip won't come off?

I'm attempting to remove a BIOS chip from a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 HDD with a 100565308 Rev A chip number. I've followed videos ...
Brandon's user avatar
  • 13
2 votes
1 answer
246 views

BGA VCC and VSS shorted after desoldering

I am really confused with working with BGA chips. I am new to this but have been following other guides so I thought I should give it a try. I am using a DIY pre heater that has a 800watt IR bottom ...
speedstr's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

Audio signal on oscilloscope

I am exploring the mainboard of an Epson 3010 projector. This particular projector has internal speakers but does not have an audio out and - as I have built my own external audio amplifier - I wanted ...
Alessio Sangalli's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
133 views

How to reflow a part in an infared IR rework station?

I bought a cheap chinese infrared rework station, mainly to unsolder large QFN's or QFP's from a board. The main problem with hot air is the inability to heat large areas evenly. I can easily ...
Voltage Spike's user avatar
  • 78k
1 vote
1 answer
143 views

What's the best type of tape to cover a pin on a connector?

I have a pin (the flat kind--think a PCIe card) that I need to tape over to block the signal. What type of tapes work well for this? I tried electrician's tape, but it's a bit too thick and stretchy. ...
David Ehrmann's user avatar
17 votes
9 answers
7k views

How to remove this component from PCB

Anyone have any idea how I could remove this component? I've tried blowing hot air, used solder wick, tried to poke the holes with two soldering irons, cut the pins to near the PCB, but it won't ...
mikanim's user avatar
  • 393
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

SMD desoldering - struggling to get this chip quik stuff working, what am I doing wrong?

So I have to replace a SMD connector, and although i do have soldering experience, it's all with THT. I watched like 10 different YouTube videos on chip quik, and they all made it look so easy, so i ...
Elliot Tregoning's user avatar
6 votes
8 answers
3k views

How can I add "standoffs" to elevate a SMD component above the PCB?

I made a mistake when creating a symbol/footprint for a small (2.0 x 1.6 mm) SMD crystal and didn't notice until the prototypes didn't work. Unfortunately, the boards are tiny and expensive (0.4 mm ...
bitsmack's user avatar
  • 16.8k
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is hot air only meant for desoldering?

The question is simple. I only ever seem to find a soldering-related hot air gun on a machine dubbed a “rework station” and the only reference I can find to using hot air to solder SMD components is ...
Adam Sperry's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
286 views

When I rework an SMD capacitor or resistor, it will sometimes stick to the soldering tip. Does this high temp then destroy it?

When I rework 0402 capacitors, then often stick to the tip of the soldering iron. My iron is set at 350. I then discard the cap because I am worried the sustained temp for a few seconds has destroyed ...
Bill's user avatar
  • 2,496
4 votes
2 answers
252 views

Importance of wicking during rework?

I’m wondering how crucial it is to remove as much of the old solder on a bga chip and corresponding PCB pads. Is it best practice to always wick before applying fresh leaded solder? (Presuming most ...
ohmmy's user avatar
  • 625
1 vote
1 answer
420 views

Suggestions on soldering through hole large planes

I am small scale manufacturing PCB's I designed for high power actuator and LED control. It is 6"x8", 2 ounce copper and large power and ground planes, with no thermal reliefs. It has a section at one ...
Kyle Hunter's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
7k views

Is aluminium foil a good substitute for kapton tape when soldering?

Can I substitute kapton with aluminium foil when de/soldering a component onto a PCB? I want to desolder a tiny surface mount button from the motherboard of a phone... There are a lot of similarly ...
Jet Blue's user avatar
  • 1,133
10 votes
7 answers
3k views

Desolder two PCBs soldered together

I have a PCB with an RF module that is built on top of another PCB. If you look at the picture below you can see that it is almost identical to what I have soldered on top of the PCB. The difference ...
blinded_ravager's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
207 views

What is the difference between a low end and a high end rework station, and why pay for a higher end station? [closed]

I just got a cheap Chinese rework station, which broke on me after a few minutes. After some inspection, I've found that most of these low end soldering stations look exactly the same, minus some ...
tuskiomi's user avatar
  • 595
2 votes
2 answers
501 views

Recommended pad size for desoldering?

I am designing a PCB that has will hold an Arduino Micro, as well as other components. One of the electrical engineer mentors that are overseeing the board development has told me to increase the ...
Benjamin Owen's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Trying to fix broken capacitor, help? [closed]

So I found an HDTV on the side of the road, brought it home, took it apart, and found the problem. A blown capacitor. So I replaced it with another one of roughly the same value (original was 16 V 470 ...
Javan S's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
1 answer
257 views

Safe to use bigger heater element?

So here's the run down, I purchased a rework/soldering iron station off eBay years ago. Believe it's a cheap Chinese knock off labeled CE 852D+ Recently the heater element for soldering iron went bad....
ohmmy's user avatar
  • 625
2 votes
2 answers
16k views

Hot air rework temperature to avoid solder melt on opposite end

When removing/replacing chips. Is it safer to use little to no air flow but higher temp heat or lower heat with more airflow? My hot air station is a model 852d+ with a max temp setting of 500c and ...
ohmmy's user avatar
  • 625
0 votes
1 answer
485 views

Unsolder large TO-220 or TO-247 packages

I'm aware this question may be construed as asking for advice but I'm going to venture to ask anyways. Does anyone have a good method for removing larger TO‑220 or TO‑247 packages? I ...
MadHatter's user avatar
  • 3,526
0 votes
0 answers
253 views

BGA Underfill Problem

The problem is that when I heat an underfill chip to reflow it, the solder tends to boil and come out of the sides causing shorts and other problems. Does anyone know how to prevent that and why it ...
ohmmy's user avatar
  • 625
3 votes
3 answers
24k views

Best Way to Solder/Desolder Surface Mount Components

I recently got my hands on some old motherboards/PCB's, and even though I know reusing parts from old PCB's is not as good as using new parts, I was wondering what the best way is to solder/Desolder ...
Enthurzan's user avatar
  • 321
1 vote
1 answer
69 views

reworking DIY SMT board

I reflowed an SMT board using a hot plate. Afterwards, I noticed that two small pitch QFN components are shifted by about 1mm, and I'm worried that the contacts aren't right. I haven't added any ...
kolosy's user avatar
  • 2,298
3 votes
3 answers
618 views

Removing PCB from complex pattern of soldered-in thru-hole posts?

I have a PCB mounted to a chassis with 16 feedthrus, the feedthrus posts are soldered to plated thru-holes in the PCB. I would like to remove the PCB from the chassis, the problem is that I am unable ...
DakotaD's user avatar
  • 791
2 votes
1 answer
375 views

Can this be reworked with a hot air gun?

I posted before about the Microchip RN4020 (Bluetooth Low Energy) PicTail failing. I have some spare RN4020 modules and access to a heat gun. If I can take this RN4020 off and put a new one on, how ...
Bill's user avatar
  • 2,496
1 vote
1 answer
3k views

What is the type of solder used in a playstation 3 (PS3)? And its melting temperature?

I have a hot air station and I'm trying to replace the HDMI port on a PS3 (playstation 3). The problem I'm having is trying to melt the solder on the hdmi port. I'm curious to what kind of solder its ...
Patoshi パトシ's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
406 views

Good method to remove tenting on vias after assembly for debugging?

This is a question about modifying an assembled board to make it easier to debug. In a perfect world, I would have left the bottoms of these vias un-tented. Whoops. I have two BGA parts on a PCB, ...
Marcus10110's user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
898 views

What is the optimal way of clearing solder from surface-mount PCB pads for rework?

Say I have an assembled PCB with a QFP package on it. This device gets damaged and I need to replace it. Getting the device off is straightforward, but now all the pads have solder blobs on them. Is ...
Stephen Collings's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
778 views

remake PCB hole

I was soldering some components on a PCB and suddenly i realized that i soldered a wrong resistor (i should solder a 10k ohm and I did solder a 1k ohm). I tried to remove it, with iron solder (it wasn'...
VP.'s user avatar
  • 238
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

I forgot a resistor on my PCB prototype - how do I add one in?

I need to add a resistor into a data line on my project. The data line is a trace and carries low speed data. A through-hole resistor will be fine. The pins for both ends of the trace are exposed, but ...
Thomas O's user avatar
  • 31.7k
2 votes
6 answers
2k views

Reworking a PCB - remove these components

I'd like to remove all the ICs from the below PCB, hopefully preserving them for future use: This was a failed (ish) reflow attempt using paste and a hot plate. I have a hot plate, a hot air machine ...
Thomas O's user avatar
  • 31.7k
0 votes
4 answers
454 views

Rework station recommendations?

We're looking for a decent hot air SMD rework station to help us fix up our prototypes. In the past, I've used one of the low-end Aoyue models, and found it lacking (the interface had problems, and ...
phooky's user avatar
  • 1,008