How to Use a Hot Air Rework Station
Joel_E_B
bboyho
Troubleshooting
Low Airflow when "Air" Dial is Turned Up
If you are getting low airflow when the “Air” Dial is turned up, make sure that you have the nozzle securely attached. With the nozzle, you will get more air flowing through the hot-air rework station’s handle.
S-E Error
“S-E” usually means Sensor Error. It’s a common error. Sometimes it goes away after messing with the dial and the temperature will display properly again. Other times it indicates that the heat sensor is failing. The rework station might be able to be revived by removing and re-attaching the heater. Another tech support rep thinks it’s oxide building up on the connections. This results in fooling the controller into thinking the heater has failed.
H-E Error
Units displaying the “H-E” usually means there is a heating error. It might be that there is something with the heating element failing or not connected properly. Try checking the connections to see if the heating element needs to be re-seated. Last resort is getting a replacement heating element. A last resort is getting a replacement heating element.
Air Turned Too High
If your air flow is turned up too high, it is quite possible that you will start seeing small projectiles shooting away from your board. Those are your parts. We recommend starting at a lower air flow and moving up as your needs require.
Destroying a PCB
If you sit too long on a given spot on a PCB while working with hot-air, the glue that holds the copper layer to the FR4 laminate underneath lets go and comes out as black goo. The green soldermask on the top side also begins to come off. Because we don't have Smell-a-vision yet, we can try to describe the smell - it's horrendous. It smells like burning electronics (surprise) but the smell seems to cling to your skin and clothes. Not cool. So practice and don't be surprised if you smell bad things with your first couple re-work attempts.
Pulled Pads
When checking to see if a part is ready to move, we recommend nudging the part gently. If you push too hard, you can pull the pad.