IR Rework Station

Modern surface mount components often need special tools for rework. However, those tools can be expensive. [Michael Skrepsky] wanted an infrared rework station, but didn’t like the price. So he built his own.

According to [Michael] he used a lot of scrap in the construction. . He used K-type thermocouples, optotriacs, triacs, a 20×4 display and, of course, an Arduino. An old bathroom heater, along with a 600W and 100W halogen bulb work as heaters.

The Arduino runs two PIDs. One is a slow regulator for preheating. The other is an interrupt-driven phase regulator for the top heater. [Michael] built the circuit on a protoboard but provides a layout along with the Arduino software and key schematics. You can see a video of he machine in action below.

We’ve talked about rework many times before. We’ve even covered BGA stations. There’s a lot of DIY potential here.

8 thoughts on “IR Rework Station

  1. We have an ERSA HR100 in our Lab for quite some time, unfortunately there is no need anymore to DIY our own IR station now. I kinda like it tho, it’s really different to all the hot-air stations i’ve used before, especially if you try to unsolder high power components from copper-flooded multilayer boards, it’s way easyer to get the heat where it’s needed. The ERSA has a little laser pointer mounted inside, so you can really aim very well for components, not shure if this DIY-solution has something similar.

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