Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

[TheBGAstoreUSA]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

the bauer is the same as the ir pro, just over priced

Overpriced same as ir pro? Bauer is designed by UK and produced the most highest quality of all ir pro sc! The quality matters rather than prices for many people here in USA/

The BGA Store opened new office in the USA, all of clients will have local supports.

Thebgastation.com carry them!

[xboxhaxorz]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

thats great news you are in usa now
however the bauer is still made in china, it still uses chinese heaters and chinese workers to put it together

LY, Bauer, Scotle are all machines based off of the ACHI which are all made in china if they are in fact made in the UK please correct me on that

[Deusjevoo]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

If you're a DIYer you can build an IR machine easily.
Or, might be a faster solution, get the cheapest IR Pro, recable and mod it if needed.
Depends on what heaters it uses but mostly Chinese crap, even the Bauer.
You might end up with a machine beating even some very expensive ones.
(Apart from the optics or auto lift/replace of BGA)

Can do anything with my old modded IR Pro as good as a high end machine can.
Was thinking about getting a hot air machine but don't see the need to switch aymore.
But that is personal.

Jovy RE-8500 is a very good and capable machine.
Very powerfull but harder to control.
Unless you know how to use it, or, in fact, know wat IR is and how to use it.
(Most use it wrong)
Would go for it myself now.
(If I didn't have my modded Achi IR Pro SC. It's the mods that made the difference, out of the box it s*x)
However, I would probably change the controls on it...

(I'm not really active, so probably unknown, on this forum, but I do know about IR rework machines)

[momaka]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

(If I didn't have my modded Achi IR Pro SC. It's the mods that made the difference, out of the box it s*x)

Yes, the stock wiring is a big mess indeed. Not so much that it is disorganized. Rather, the problem is that they use stranded wire and distribution blocks with screw tie-downs (not sure if I am using the correct terminology here, though). Eventually, the stranded wire gets loose, causing bad connections all over the place - especially on high-powered busses. This usually overheats the distribution blocks, causing them to melt, and you got a short circuit somewhere between live and case.

[rudeguy]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

I use the X-Tronic 5040 everyday at work and it works great. It's a 70 watt iron, IR preheat and hot air station all in one. I have zero complaints.

Best part is the company is located in the US, so their customer service is beyond awesome. I had a problem with a unit so I sent them a pissed off email. I had the owner of the company calling me within a half hour to make things right.

Check out the 5040. Its a great machine.

[momaka]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

X-Tronic are the same Chinese stuff as Aoyue and whatnot that you can find on eBay, but their customer service is indeed really great. My friend had a problem with a station as well where the hot air nozzle actually caught on fire. A call to X-Tronic, and they said they will replace it at no cost to him, no questions asked. And they did.

[rudeguy]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

X-Tronic are the same Chinese stuff as Aoyue and whatnot that you can find on eBay, but their customer service is indeed really great. My friend had a problem with a station as well where the hot air nozzle actually caught on fire. A call to X-Tronic, and they said they will replace it at no cost to him, no questions asked. And they did.

Please tell me he got a video of that!

I don't have anything to compare it to, but I know that it works great for my needs (small chips on small small boards and through hole solder)

[momaka]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

Please tell me he got a video of that!

Unfortunately, no as it was kind of really unexpected and our initial reaction was to unplug the station and extinguish it.

We then replaced the burned air nozzle with a new one and the station appeared to work fine again. But the next day, it caught on fire again.

That's when my friend called X-Tronic and they gave him a replacement. The replacement unit has not given him any problems yet, and it's been over a year since he's been using it. So most likely the old station was just faulty to begin with.

In any case, I recommend everyone to keep a close watch on all of these Chinese stations if you have one. I have yet to see one inside that actually has decent wiring. Most of them, you don't really want to see inside. And this applies to all brands, not X-Tronic only.

[tom66]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

I had the same problem with my Aoyue 968, but Aoyue customer support were no good.

[momaka]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

Well even if Aoyue did have good customer support, you would still have to wait some time before a replacement whatever ships from China again. That's what X-Tronic must have figured out. They are located in the US and this gives them a big advantage.

[rudeguy]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

Well even if Aoyue did have good customer support, you would still have to wait some time before a replacement whatever ships from China again. That's what X-Tronic must have figured out. They are located in the US and this gives them a big advantage.

Here's the whole story of what happened with me and Xtronic:

I ordered the 4040 station and it had a bad iron. Wouldn't heat up hardly at all. I emailed them and received a call back the same day. They shipped me out a new iron and I had it in 2 days.

But the iron still wasn't heating up all the way. So I emailed them again, pretty upset. The owner of the company called me within a half hour of me hitting send. He asked me what he could do to make it right. Offered me a refund, a partial refund, told me to tell him what it would take. I told him that I wasn't out to profit, I just need a working unit. He sent me out a whole new unit and paid for shipping both ways.

By the time I got the new one, I realized that I needed something beefier. I called the owner and he recommended the 5040. I told him under no circumstances did I want a discount or a deal, I just needed something that would work. He charged me the difference in the price of the 4040 and the 5040 plus $10 shipping and sent it out same day. He even let me use the replacement 4040 until the 5040 showed up.

So yea...they for sure have awesome service. The owner and the tech Todd (he's the one who usually calls people back) are great. No hassle, no fuss, lets just get things fixed. Yea I got a bad unit but they for sure made it right. If I had let them, I'm sure they would have made me a happy guy without spending any extra money.

[bauerboy]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

I have Bauer IR PRO SCC and very happy. Only thing I wish for was to add more manual and CD but I found it anyway from the online.

[bauerboy]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

Overpriced same as ir pro? Bauer is designed by UK and produced the most highest quality of all ir pro sc! The quality matters rather than prices for many people here in USA/

The BGA Store opened new office in the USA, all of clients will have local supports.

Thebgastation.com carry them!

[xboxhaxorz]

Re: Looking for recommendations on IR rework station

I have Bauer IR PRO SCC and very happy. Only thing I wish for was to add more manual and CD but I found it anyway from the online.

Bauer is so old, there is now scotle ir 360 ly ir6500 all of which put the bauer to shame