Removing SM chips

[barry wilkins]

Hi does anybody have experience with removing surface mouted IC s and the like. I have managed to do this in the past with small deivices ,but it is difficult to do without damaging the chip or the pc print .
I understand there is a solder available which stays molten long enough for you to remove the device easily .
Any body know any thing about this ?

Barry Wilkins

[jetadm123]

Re: Removing SM chips

It's called ChipQuik. There are several demo videos on YouTube.

[yyonline]

Re: Removing SM chips

You can order a sample from the chip quik website:

http://www.chipquikinc.com/

And it really does work like they show it in the videos. I don't do surface mount stuff that often, but it's certainly useful when I do.

[TheLaw]

Re: Removing SM chips

Solder wick? Stuff works quite well for surface mount, but you might fry the chip...

Yes chip quik is a good solution.

[severach]

Re: Removing SM chips

A SMD hot air gun is a lot cleaner than chip quick and solder wick and the chip is usually fine. With a little experience swapping SOIC-8 chips is easier than it swapping DIP-8 chips. Hot air has a lot of other uses too.

[digge]

Re: Removing SM chips

I use a hot air gun as well sometimes, just need to be careful not to heat too much, since its not as precise as any professional equipment for the job. In some situations you might not want to use one since you might desolder whats on the other side of the board or close to where you are working. Some tinfoil or sheet metal with a hole in it could help lead the heat away from what you're trying not to desolder.

[Uranium-235]

Re: Removing SM chips

Hot air has a lot of other uses too.

true, like reballing

oh and washington, lots of hot air there too! <rimshot>

[Scenic]

Re: Removing SM chips

oh and washington, lots of hot air there too! <rimshot>