I want to know the basics of soldering/ rework..Pls help

kochu.1980

Hi i was going through the threads and i hope some one cud help me in soldering /reworking/ re balling.. i am new to this area but have experience in soldering/ de soldering etc.. What i need to know:

1. What are the basic equipments(tools) needed for rework
2. How a chip can be soldered/de soldered from the PCB.
3. where i can buy the tools(cheap of course!!)
4. Links to videos and guides of how to use hot air solder guns..

Thanx in advance for any help!!

DublinDilbert

What sort of stuff do you want to work on?

You can get supplies cheapish on deal extreme. Get solder, wick, flux pen, solder sucker etc...

The likes of maplin will sell you soldering iorns, get one with a few different tips. You'll need to get some fine tips.

Mc quillans in blanch has a mini hot air gun for ten euro, I've used it for lots of smt stuff works great.

Once you have some basic equipment, you just need some old pcbs to practice on...

kochu.1980

Hi, dilbert.. thanx for the reply.. I want to work on motherboards of pcs, laptops and ps3 boards.. I want to kno full process.. is there any website that explains the method of taking out chips and refixing, Reballing etc..?? is there any machine like 3in1 that does all the jobs lie soldering/ desoldering/ vaccum/ hot air equipment?? i found one here.. http://store.sra-solder.com/product.php/6267/0 is it a good one??

kochu.1980

Hi dilbert cud u pls tell me which is the gun u bought? i think mcquilllas is there in capel street in CC.. i'll try buying 1 tomorrow..

DublinDilbert

For very basic smt work, the cheap black hot air gun would do an ok job.

Your looking at doing fairly high end smt work. The solder station you posted there looks good.

I would definitely recomend you get a microscope, preferably a stereo one, although a USB one might do ok too.

kochu.1980

Thats gud.. u really helping me... Thanx a lot.. regarding the microscope which one is good.. from wr i can buy it??.. is it available in dublin??/ do u have any suggestion about some website that gives good lessons about advanced soldering likes this???

lionela

kochu.1980 wrote: »

Hi i was going through the threads and i hope some one cud help me in soldering /reworking/ re balling.. i am new to this area but have experience in soldering/ de soldering etc.. What i need to know:

1. What are the basic equipments(tools) needed for rework
2. How a chip can be soldered/de soldered from the PCB.
3. where i can buy the tools(cheap of course!!)
4. Links to videos and guides of how to use hot air solder guns..

Thanx in advance for any help!!

WHY DON'T YOU GOOGLE "SOLDERING TIPS"..THERE ARE PLENTY OF SITES EXPLAINING SOLDERING TECHNIQUES AND SUCH

x in the city

lionela wrote: »

WHY DON'T YOU GOOGLE "SOLDERING TIPS"..THERE ARE PLENTY OF SITES EXPLAINING SOLDERING TECHNIQUES AND SUCH

rule 1

stop txt spk, mks u sm lk 8yr old

number 2, doing solder work and removing chips on a ps3 mother board, is pretty impossible for a novice.

kochu.1980

hi X, it is right that its impossible for a novice.. but all who are experts in the work wer novices at one time.. I kno, i cant become an expert in 2 seconds, but can in 1 or 2 years.. wat u say??

kochu.1980

lionela wrote: »

WHY DON'T YOU GOOGLE "SOLDERING TIPS"..THERE ARE PLENTY OF SITES EXPLAINING SOLDERING TECHNIQUES AND SUCH

Hi Lionela, thanx for the advice.. i did it.. but i think if i get some instructions from an expert.. it will be very easy and also i can aviod 'trial and error' method.. ny way i'll google some tips...

x in the city

have you any idea on the intricate manufacturing involved in things like ps3's, its just not something easy to do, more so impossible i would say

if you want to make a buck fixing ps3's good luck, you will need it.!


for instance, say you remove a IC, how do you plan to diagnose a particular IC that is defective, how will you source a new one?

if you displace an IC successfully, you would probably also remove (unwantingly) about 20 or more other smt components in close proximity to said IC.

(if you were using a heat gun for instance). Even if you remove an IC and somehow leave all the other components intact, you would find it practically to solder on ANY IC on a PS3

http://media.ps3scene.com/images/PS3-motherboard-PAL/PS3_motherboard_7.JPG

serious... fancy changing the processor....!

all in all, its pretty impossible.

I used to do, (ahem) modifications on playstation consoles, but that was decades ago, now technology has gone way too complex and saying you want to replace ICs or the like on PS3s, or XBOX 360s is just a no no.

my 2 cents, but maybe others will differ

DublinDilbert

x in the city wrote: »

have you any idea on the intricate manufacturing involved in things like ps3's, its just not something easy to do, more so impossible i would say

if you want to make a buck fixing ps3's good luck, you will need it.!


for instance, say you remove a IC, how do you plan to diagnose a particular IC that is defective, how will you source a new one?

if you displace an IC successfully, you would probably also remove (unwantingly) about 20 or more other smt components in close proximity to said IC.

(if you were using a heat gun for instance). Even if you remove an IC and somehow leave all the other components intact, you would find it practically to solder on ANY IC on a PS3

http://media.ps3scene.com/images/PS3-motherboard-PAL/PS3_motherboard_7.JPG

serious... fancy changing the processor....!

all in all, its pretty impossible.

I used to do, (ahem) modifications on playstation consoles, but that was decades ago, now technology has gone way too complex and saying you want to replace ICs or the like on PS3s, or XBOX 360s is just a no no.

my 2 cents, but maybe others will differ

To be honest there's no harm in him knowing how to solder. Your right it might be a bit over optimistic to be pulling off BGA's etc. Also I'm not sure what parts are readily available either. But he could probably fix the odd with a broken power button, or bad power jack ect. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Turbulent Bill

DublinDilbert wrote: »

To be honest there's no harm in him knowing how to solder. Your right it might be a bit over optimistic to be pulling off BGA's etc. Also I'm not sure what parts are readily available either. But he could probably fix the odd with a broken power button, or bad power jack ect. Everyone has to start somewhere.

+1, manual soldering is a great skill to have (I wish I was better!), but it takes a lot of practice - there's no real shortcut. An understanding of the solder (Pb-free etc.) and package types would help, but you really have to start on basic boards and work up.

For prototyping we'd typically do resistor changes, wire adds etc. manually in-house, but anything more complex would go back to the board assembler. Without specialist equipment and lots of manufacturing knowledge I'd doubt anyone could successfully replace a reasonably-sized BGA.

gotBass

Agreeing with X for the most part.
you could be making a rod for your own back.
I have done quite a lot of fine pitch soldering/ prottyping work in the past.
This may be an expensive experiment for you - so be warned.

Typically inside modern games machines you may find
ICs :SSOP,QFN,BGA packages
Passives : 0603,0402,possibly 0201 packages
transistors etc, SOT type packages.

If you don't know about these packages google them to get an idea of the sizes/pitch etc. - 0201(0.60mm x 0.30mm)

now SSOP/QFN can be done by hand, but you'll need LOADS of practice, possibly a stereo Microscope, and luck, that you don't lift a pad under the device in question.

BGA -don't even try it.

Passives: hand soldering down to 0402 I can do, but I need a really nice soldering Iron to do it well. 0201 requires specialist equipment, and definitely a really good magnification system( don't recommend doing by hand.

So to summarize:
1. some devices possible but with Lots of practice( mistakes could be costly)
2. unless you have specialised soldering gear forget about BGA/0201
3. hand soldering 0402/QFN/SSOP is possible but ideally needs magnifiers, lots of practice and really nice soldering station to minimise heartache.

x in the city

gotBass wrote: »

Agreeing with X for the most part.
you could be making a rod for your own back.
I have done quite a lot of fine pitch soldering/ prottyping work in the past.
This may be an expensive experiment for you - so be warned.

Typically inside modern games machines you may find
ICs :SSOP,QFN,BGA packages
Passives : 0603,0402,possibly 0201 packages
transistors etc, SOT type packages.

If you don't know about these packages google them to get an idea of the sizes/pitch etc. - 0201(0.60mm x 0.30mm)

now SSOP/QFN can be done by hand, but you'll need LOADS of practice, possibly a stereo Microscope, and luck, that you don't lift a pad under the device in question.

BGA -don't even try it.

Passives: hand soldering down to 0402 I can do, but I need a really nice soldering Iron to do it well. 0201 requires specialist equipment, and definitely a really good magnification system( don't recommend doing by hand.

So to summarize:
1. some devices possible but with Lots of practice( mistakes could be costly)
2. unless you have specialised soldering gear forget about BGA/0201
3. hand soldering 0402/QFN/SSOP is possible but ideally needs magnifiers, lots of practice and really nice soldering station to minimise heartache.

this is some of my recent work...

gotBass

fairplay X....

clairek6

really stupid question can you use a soldering gun for carving into wood i.e names on door signs etc ? or if not what its the thing called?:p thanks

BoB_BoT

clairek6 wrote: »

really stupid question can you use a soldering gun for carving into wood i.e names on door signs etc ? or if not what its the thing called?:p thanks

That's a woodburning kit you're looking for, not quite the same as a soldering iron, but same principal, different types of tips for it too.

clairek6

ok thanks alot