Easy SMT IC removal

This is my first instructable so I hope it does not suck.
As you might have noticed most electronics these days are surface mount components and can be difficult to work with if you don't have a preheater and a hot air rework station. This can make troubleshooting a pain. Fortunately there is a solution. I will give you a quick introduction to low melt solder.

Step 1: What you will need

1 Soldering iron with a small tip
2 Low Melt Solder
3 No clean paste flux
4 Tweezers or a vacuum pickup tool

Comments

[abell21]

You are dead right about the flux, but if you can't afford low melt solder, the way I used to remove the chips was:
1 Apply flux
2 use desoldering wick/braid to suck up excess solder
3 (tricky bit) apply the tip of the iron to one IC leg (and pad) at a time, when the solder is melted, lift up the leg just a fraction with a dentist spike or similar, remove iron, and let the leg go. Total time about 1.5 sec, just enough to melt the solder, break the bond, let the solder set.
4 Repeat for all the other legs.
The danger with this method is that the pads can be lifted if you heat too long, or lift the leg before the solder is melted - the solder goes from dull to shiny when melted and back to dull when set.
5 double check all legs are free before lifting the IC away
6 Flux and desolder the bare pads.
Hot air is the best, but this way works fine, once you get the hang of it.

[nerdtaco]

You can also heat one side and carefully bend it up then get the other. It takes practice, but it's the easiest way for me.

[tanveerriaz]

Low Melt Solder made form Mercury+solder it melt and after melt it can not hard but it's poisoning you can easy make "lowmelt solder form mix up mercury and solder wire but it bad for your helth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning

[hore]

Hi, this is great instrucbles ,have you try on pc motherboard, what is the result.

[TangibleImagination]

It'll be great when, some day, Chip-Quik doesn't cost almost as much per foot as a 500-foot roll of my SnAgCu RoHS solder. Until then, it's fairly useless to the hobbyist community... Nevertheless, nice write-up!

darkmuskrat: A Cold Heat soldering iron will fry sensitive (Read: Basically anything other than a resistor or capacitor these days) electronics. Plain and simple. Unlike professional electronics soldering irons which feature 'zero-crossing' technology (No voltage or current used to heat the iron can leak into the tip) Cold Heat soldering irons specifically use voltage and current at the tip to induce heat.

[billj]

I recall trying to counterfeit a nickel in high school chemistry with a metal that melts in boiling water.

[juanangel]

Chip-Quick should only be used if the removed component is not to be used again. If you apply heat to a component for more than 3 seconds the component will be damaged and could remove the pads. Also take into consideration that if it is Lead-free solder it will require higher temperatures. Lead-free PCBs have an "e" at the corners or where the board information is located.

[offlogic]

Great first Instructable! While opinions may differ on the "chip-quik" product, keep on pumping out Instructables!

[offlogic]

Dark- throw your "cold heat" away. Cincerely-

[darkmuskrat]

Anyone know if low heat solder could be melted by those crappy "cold heat" soldering guns??? (It never melts anything)

[stevie1]

is that a pc motherboard?

[electrotech]

No. It is a main board from a Panasonic camcorder

[stevie1]

k thanks

[Nyanman]

i remove chips with a paint removal gun set on high and some rubber-tipped pliers with adjustable jaws.

[westfw]

That chipquik low-melt solder is pretty magic stuff, but it's also priced that way! This sort of technique is great if your repairing that expensive PCB, and not so good if you were trying to save money by harvesting components from "trash."

[electrotech]

very true sir.

[andrewbee]

Hi, Never heard of low heat solder before. I usually do basically the same thing but with regular solder, a bit of a pain. I'll look for some of it. Nice simple instructable, thanks.

[GorillazMiko]

Nice! That picture of the solder looks awesome to me.