ZD-915 vacuum pump motor mount service alert

[sam_sam_sam]

If you have this Desoldering Gun Station there is something you should be aware of the two screws that hold the motor to mounting for pump can come loose and make raddling noise

One note this unit has been repaired already once because of switching power supply regulator ic chip failure
Now this with the vacuum motor mounting issue yes I give this Desoldering station a very hard work out and use about every weekend to do some type of project

The fix is taking the vacuum pump assembly out and take the metal cover off and you will see the two screws on it

One note if you are also having low vacuum suction from the pump it is serviceable to some extent
This is how you determine if you have a low suction from the pump with a new tip and the temperature set 775*F and using a the smallest diameter tip it should be able to suck the solder from the tip open if not then you might want to service the vacuum pump

Remove the two outer rubber cups and take the middle screw from the connecting rod that is in between the two cylinders and carefully pull the piston out from cylinder there is a flat washer and rubber “O”ring clean up both of them and put some very light grease on the metal washer and on “O” ring and reassemble the vacuum pump assembly and by hand rotate the connector rod several times to make sure it very easy to turn

This should bring your vacuum pump back to useable state again it might not be as good as but very close

I going to do this service to another vacuum pump assembly maybe today and this time I will take some pictures of this and make some more comments about some thing to be aware of while doing this project

This unit has an issue with the cooling fan is squeaking when you frist turn it on for the day I think I have another one from another unit that the controller took a shit and has had the switching power supply failure that was not cost effective to repair it so it getting used for parts

One note about the tips for the gun they have been redesigned so the tip is very thin and then becomes thicker you will definitely not be able to pry component lead with these new tip but I wonder if it will be easier to resurface the tip when it becomes uneven that is the question because the newly deign tips were in the new Desoldering Gun Station that I just bought and have not had time to use it yet but today I will probably use it and let you know what I think about this

I hope this helps anyone who has this Desoldering Gun Station

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: ZD-915 vacuum pump motor mount service alert

Here are some pictures of the pump assembly

When I was describing the inside of the pump I was thinking about another type of small pump I also have worked on this one is a little bit simpler with that said we will move on

There are tie wraps on the suction cups that need to be replaced when do this because they are not pulled thigh enough and will work loose

The suction cups screw needs to be removed and check the back of the screw and washer for rust if it has any it needs to be cleaned then reassemble this side

The side is made out of plastic and also has on screw which also need to be removed and check to see that are no rough edges on the two holes if there any clean them so they are flat reassembly this side

Then reassemble the two halves and reinstall pump back on the metal frame then do the other side

Once you done both side of the pump assembly then it time to turn on the pump and test it at 12 volts you should have a good vacuum from the pump and you should see the suction cups move when you put your finger on the suction tube and then see it move back when you release it you need to look at both sides that is end of servicing of vacuum pump you should have gotten better suction from the pump after servicing it

[stj]

Re: ZD-915 vacuum pump motor mount service alert

the fans are always shit,
and they are 12v fans driven from the 20v pump supply via a pair of resistors.

i replaced mine with a high power sunon fan driven with 9v from a buck convertor.
i opted to use a high flow fan and undervolt it because in theory it will last longer

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: ZD-915 vacuum pump motor mount service alert

the fans are always shit,
and they are 12v fans driven from the 20v pump supply via a pair of resistors.

i replaced mine with a high power sunon fan driven with 9v from a buck convertor.
i opted to use a high flow fan and undervolt it because in theory it will last longer

I am going to do the same exact thing I have find some and buy them the only difference is that I am going to use the 24 volt ones and remove the resistor and in install a resettable fuse instead

Not exactly the pump wires go to a resistor as well so the pump runs at about 12 volts as well

I have thought about putting a PWM controller on the pump and when I need more suction power increase the speed of the pump a little bit so I can do multiple layer boards easier but I have not had time to experiment with this idea yet but we will see if this will work or not

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: ZD-915 vacuum pump motor mount service alert

Update on speeding up the pump does not make that much difference so to me it might not be worth doing this modification to speed up the pump

However where the tip meets the suction tube that does need to be cleaned every so often so you are not loosing suction from that point