Tried hot air rework on a stubborn IC and burned the board instead

I was trying to remove a voltage regulator off an old laptop motherboard with my 858D set at 400C and it just would not budge. After 3 minutes of heating, the solder still wasn't flowing right and I ended up lifting a pad. What temperature do you guys actually use for ground plane components?

2 comments

2 Comments

butler.abby21d ago

honestly 400C on a ground plane is probably fine, but were you using flux? i've had boards where i thought the solder was melting but really the heat just wasn't transferring right through the oxidized joints. maybe check if your tip is tarnished or gunked up too, that'll kill your heat transfer faster than anything else.

drew_patel5720d ago

Yeah, I was reading a thread on EEVblog the other day where a guy was saying the same thing about tip tarnishing... he measured a 30 degree drop at the joint just from a crusty tip. @butler.abby, I've noticed that when my iron sits idle too long the tip oxidizes way faster, especially with lead-free solder. I keep a little brass wool sponge handy now and give it a quick clean every few joints, it makes a huge difference. Also, some of the cheaper tips just don't hold up, they get pitted after a few hours of use and then you're basically fighting with poor heat transfer no matter how high you crank the temp.