3 Jul
2025
3 Jul
'25
2:59 p.m.
As for rework stations, I have one, inherited from a
disk drive company that closed in 2001. "BGA 3000". I think all it needs is a
camera, which I once had but I think let someone borrow and it disappeared. That's
part of a system to do accurate positioning of surface mount chips onto the board. I
wonder if a GoPro or the like could be put into service for that task.
Probably. One of the secrets to hot air rework is that if you use
preheat and a good flux the bga and really small smd components will
"auto align" as long as they are close to accurate. When that last bit
of soft hot air is added the solder goes liquid and surface tension both
pulls the component into line and (in the case of BGA) makes all the
little balls round so there are no solder joints between pins. Flux
ensures this, then you let it cool and problem is solved.
So yes a camera and magnifier is nice for super accuracy, but not really
needed. YMMV.
C