Has reflowing surface mount components got you down? [Giorgos] is currently working on a project that will lift your spirits…. well at least your hot air gun. Tired of manually holding his heat gun in one hand and IR thermometer in the other, [Giorgos] set out to create a device to alleviate just that. Although not completed yet, it appears the machine’s intent is to hold the heat gun at an appropriate height above the work piece in order to achieve the correct reflow temperature. He doesn’t say how the height of the hot air gun will be controlled. We’d like to see a microcontroller adjust the height of the hot air gun depending on the temperature of the component to be reflowed. [Giorgos] gives an extremely detailed account of his build process. Make sure to check out all four pages of the project post!
We’ve seen a lot of interesting work from [Giorgos] over the years like this capacitive touch-pad entry system.
[via Dangerous Prototypes]
Its easier to just modify an old drill press to hold it: http://imgur.com/ayYIhVA,9ZIbgdY,zXxrq5P
Then burns your house down.
Why not make it X and Y as well and have cnc soldering? I wonder if it would work…
I’m not 100% sure this would actually be useful for me. There are rework stations out there that have linear rails but they usually have suction in the middle to lift the chip after you desolder it with the air.
When I use a Hot Air Rework station I often choose to swirl it around the parts I reheat to get the area warm so reflow happens quickly at the target site, and often it can help parts center themselves while the surface tension of the solder keeps them from blowing away along with a proper airflow setting.
TBH I’d love to have a foot-pedal that controls airflow rate, PITA to adjust while you’re focusing on reflow.
I wish he showed the height control electronics, I’m curious how he decided to set that up.
Very nice write-up. I certainly appreciate this website.
Stick with it!