2in1 rework station

[stj]

Re: 2in1 rework station

the xytronics irons are far superior,

the irons on all the cheap bases look the same because they are all clones of a Hakko 900-series

[Stefan Payne]

Re: 2in1 rework station

Well, I'm thinking about replacing the 307 standard iron on my LF-8800 with the 210ESD one.
Mainly because the standard one has so tiny tips with a small contact area.
The 210ESD looks a bit better...

[stj]

Re: 2in1 rework station

make sure they are compatable, not all xytronics irons use the same type of sensor.

[Stefan Payne]

Re: 2in1 rework station

Oh man, why are they doing that?
Why don't they use one kind of system for all their units so that the irons would be interchangable?!

Anyway:
What do you think of those tips?
http://www.xytronic-usa.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=20

Forgot to buy the "right" replacement tips when I bought the station...

[stj]

Re: 2in1 rework station

interesting, they look similar to weller tips.

[eccerr0r]

Re: 2in1 rework station

I ended up getting a 2-in-1 SMT rework + iron for the heck of it. Was able to remove SMT parts, though it took a while to melt the solder (never used one before, perhaps this is what to expect... The heat gun was faster but tends to blow parts away.)

The pencil solder iron that was the other half feels cheap. It has a slide on cover that holds the tip to the heating element. I think it still took a good minute or so to hit 200C.

I'll need to do a heat speed/regulation comparison of my old Ungar and this MiC thing...


I also still don't understand that black plastic handle thing with the two wires screwed onto it that comes with these rework stations, WTF is this for, and how do you use it? "IC extractor tool" ?

[stj]

Re: 2in1 rework station

it's for lifting square packages by the corners without burning your fingers.

[eccerr0r]

Re: 2in1 rework station

That's what they claim but the wires are very "springy" and once the solder lets go, head I lose, tails gravity and hot solder splattering everywhere wins.

Maybe I'm not using it right...

[clearchris]

Re: 2in1 rework station

Light pressure on the extractor tool. Its meant to prevent you from tearing traces by reducing the pressure on the chip. Once the solder melts, the spring wire pops it off.

If you are having chips go airborne, loosen up your deathgrip. Light touch is all thats needed.

[eccerr0r]

Re: 2in1 rework station

Thanks, that advice helps. After years of working with through hole, trace treading is a well known problem. I was trying to use tweezers but it definitely comes with a potential for ripping traces off the board.

I guess this tool does have some explanation after all, unlike the three seashells... I just wished it wasn't called an "extractor" (I have DIP and PLCC extraction tools, whose use is very different from this) and more of a "nudger"...

Now that's also an awful name for a tool...

[Stefan Payne]

Re: 2in1 rework station

interesting, they look similar to weller tips.

They don't just look similar.
They are.

I ordered a Weller tip to try it and it works/fits to my Iron

So thanks for the tip