I’m really thinking about picking up one of SFE’s inexpensive hot air rework stations, but I’m not sure which one to go for. SFE sells a few of Aoyue’s inexpensive stations, and I’ve narrowed it down between:
I’m curious, from anyone who has had experience with these stations, if the digital readout is vital (or even an important part) of use? Is the large temperature knob on the combination hot air/iron station for controlling the iron temperature, or the hot air temperature? (or is the imprecise ‘heater’ knob used to control the temperature of the hot air stream?). Is the temperature generally that far off from what you set?
If there’s no resonably accurate way of setting the hot air stream temperature on the combination unit, I think I would lean more to the digital unit – but if the combination unit is fairly precise, and the large temperature control knob is for the hot air stream, I think it would be neat to have the small iron attachment.
any thoughts you have would be great! I’m very new to hot air rework, and have just been using an iron for SMD soldering until now.
I bought mine from SFE - Sunko 850A. They don’t seem to carry it anymore. It’s OK. The hot air part (temp and flow) is analog but it’s very easy to adjust. The part that I don’t like is the wand (or what ever you call it) holder seems to have been designed by a dyslexic monkey. It just doesn’t hold the wand at all. Other than that, it works fine for my purposes.
Digital control would probably be fine if you ignore the number and adjust the temp to where it works for you. I just kept turning up the temp until it melted solder reasonably quickly. Flow is a little less obvious but i found that lower is better for me. I depopulated an old PC card in the process of getting right. I suppose you’ll need to tweak it up for pb free stuff.
Thanks, this information is really helpful! It seems like it’s less important to worry about the specific temperature coming out of the barrel, and worry more about what temperature and airflow settings work to reflow the solder you’re working with, within a certain period of time.
Intuitively that sort of makes sense – it may take 250°C to reflow the solder, but the airstream from the hot air station is interacting with the air around the board, so unless you’re holding the tip /really/ close to the board, you’d have to increase the temperature to compensate. (and that’s not even really considering the flow rate, which would similarly affect it!)
I think, given that information, that I’ll likely pick up one of the models that have both the hot air station and the small soldering iron. I noticed on SFE’s reflow tutorials that they actually have one on their production floor that looks to have been in use for a while and still runs!
I actually talked my day job manager into buying the version with the digital temp control for my bench. I have to say that after using it for close to two years, I like it. The included tips are pretty useful for just about any job I come across.
My only complaint is the air flow control. Even at the lowest pressure, I think it’s a little strong. I have considered going in and trying to add some kind of restriction valve to the airline so I can throttle it back a little more.
I have the second unit, with the iron. It works quite well for me. I’ve had it for about a year, but I don’t use the hot air much, so I can’t really comment on it’s longevity. The iron is really nice though.
The hot air has worked fine for the few times I have used it, so I have no complaints. I didn’t find the lack of a temp readout to really matter much.
Thanks – I’ve picked up the combination unit, and it’s wonderful. If I had known how quick and helpful a hot air rework station would have been, I would have picked one up years ago! If anyone else is considering it, I would definitely recommend it.
It doesn’t seem very loud to me at all. It’s definitely not silent, but not all that loud. It does get a touch loud right when you turn it off and the pump puts a large volume of air through the nozzle to help cool it down. That lasts for maybe 30 seconds?
Don’t ever drop the nozzle, it’s full of glass. At least the Hakko 850 I have does. Ummm. Did.
Main pitfall will be heating up PCBs too much. Hot air in one hand, tweezers in the other, check the part regularly to see if it’s loose. By the time you can tell by looking, stuff may be a little crispy.
Definitely. I’m not sure if I just don’t have the technique down right just yet, but it seems like it’s much more useful for taking parts off then putting them on. I have found that when putting them on, the air stream can be a little intense, and blow things out of place. It also seems like it doesn’t take long before you start to discolour/destroy the board after repeated hot air attempts, or just putting multiple parts on and subjecting the board to so much heat over so long.
I think an iron or toaster oven is probably still maybe better for populating a board, but it’s definitely wonderful for taking components off. I’ve found the really tiny nozel seems to work best for taking things off – it’s intense heat, directed at a small area. I took a large number of parts off some scrap boards very quickly with that nozzle. I switched the nozzle size to one a bit bigger (to try to put parts on, and ideally damage a board less from repeated intense heating), and it didn’t seem to be so great for taking parts off – I stripped many traces off one of my project boards taking a AT91RM9200 QFP-208 off, which was unfortunate! (but a good learning experience)
I have a Hakko knock-off rework station and the noise would compare to that of a microwave oven.
I mostly use is to remove ICs, but it does work for soldering if there is already solder on your pads and flux. I dont think it works with solder paste.
