Is this rework station any good?

[metalliqaz]

Link 1: http://amzn.com/B00A2VQA24
Link 2: http://xtronicusa.com/home/#!/~/product/category=4184030&id=17796160

Does anyone have experience with this brand?  The low price is attractive but I don't want to buy something that will break down in a matter of weeks.  Seeing as the cheapest Weller hot air station is more than five hundred dollars, I'm skeptical.  I really like that it includes a soldering pen and vacuum pick-up tool.  Seems like an all-in-one solution for doing SMD work. 

It has amazing reviews on Amazon, but that doesn't matter because the seller is known to offer free stuff to buyers who leave a 5 star review.

One thing that worries me is that I will want to buy more soldering tips or fix a heating element and the company will be gone or will have dropped support for that station.  At least with a Weller or a Hakko I would always be able to buy parts.

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I have their 4000 series iirc, it's awesome.  The only difference between all their models at the time I bought it (> 1yr ago) was the display.

If you call the guy up he's friendly and will happily advise you.

They have my 110% recommendation.

I bought mine off ebay, same company - same prices.

[WhiteFireDragon]

What are you looking to get out of this rework station? If it's only for keyboard related stuff, then it's a waste. You won't be able to solder or reflow switches because it'll melt that plastic center peg from the switch that's sticking through the PCB. Even doing SMD diodes for korean PCBs might be too close to the switch and melt it. A good soldering iron with fine solder wire and tips for SMD and through hole should be fine for all keyboard-related stuff. If you're still dead set on X-tronic, they're a decent brand for the money. Probably one of the best values but of course sheer quality won't be as good as Hakko.

The one I have is a Aoyue 2702A+, it's almost the same as the X-tronic in features, but also has a desoldering gun (much more useful for keyboards than hot air). It's also designed for lead-free usages, which is also a notable since most electronics nowadays are RoHS compliant. I have it to use for motherboards and audio stuff, not just building keyboards. It was around $280 after taxes and shipping. I did a review of this rework station a couple months ago, but just haven't edited and uploaded the video yet.

amazon.com/dp/B000HDJ5J2

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By the way, I forgot to address this:

I really like that it includes a soldering pen and vacuum pick-up tool.

That's a soldering iron with multiple tips and a separate hot-air unit.  It is NOT a vacuum :-)

One thing that worries me is that I will want to buy more soldering tips or fix a heating element and the company will be gone or will have dropped support for that station

They provided in my box more than enough tips, nozzles and a spare heater for the iron and for the hot-air gun.

WFD said:

You won't be able to solder or reflow switches because it'll melt that plastic center peg from the switch that's sticking through the PCB.

I'm truly confused by this statement.  Do you not see the fine-tipped soldering iron?

[metalliqaz]

That's a soldering iron with multiple tips and a separate hot-air unit.  It is NOT a vacuum :-)

No, this model does include a vacuum pickup tool, although in the photo above, it is attached to the smoke inhaler attachment instead.

What are you looking to get out of this rework station? If it's only for keyboard related stuff, then it's a waste. You won't be able to solder or reflow switches because it'll melt that plastic center peg from the switch that's sticking through the PCB.

I have a separate desoldering iron.  (see below)   I actually need rework station for what is intended for... reworking SMD.  There are probably guys around here who can hand-solder small SMT parts and get it right every time.  I am not one of them.  My hands are just too unsteady.  When I screw up, I need to be able to get a part off without lifting traces.  Those MCUs are $13 a pop, and the boards can be a lot more than that!

[WhiteFireDragon]

WFD said:

You won't be able to solder or reflow switches because it'll melt that plastic center peg from the switch that's sticking through the PCB.

I'm truly confused by this statement.  Do you not see the fine-tipped soldering iron?

I think you misunderstood or took my quote a little bit out of context. Yes I know there will be fine tips with that station, but that's not what I'm referring to. I meant that he won't be able to use reflow with the hot air gun because it'll melt plastic parts. He he'll be forced to use the fine iron tips included to do manual hand SMD soldering.

[WhiteFireDragon]

What are you looking to get out of this rework station? If it's only for keyboard related stuff, then it's a waste. You won't be able to solder or reflow switches because it'll melt that plastic center peg from the switch that's sticking through the PCB.

I have a separate desoldering iron.  (see below)   I actually need rework station for what is intended for... reworking SMD.  There are probably guys around here who can hand-solder small SMT parts and get it right every time.  I am not one of them.  My hands are just too unsteady.  When I screw up, I need to be able to get a part off without lifting traces.  Those MCUs are $13 a pop, and the boards can be a lot more than that!

If I'm understanding you correctly, you want this station for the hot air gun so you don't have to manually solder with the iron. I asked if it was for keyboards only because if it was, the hot air gun is not worth it because you'll rarely get to use hot air to solder/desolder stuff. Rare occasions (such as GH60 prototype or bpiphany's Filco controller) don't come up very often, and the rest of the soldering are either switches or diodes. Switches or diodes must be soldered with an iron.

Here is a pic of a KMAC I worked on with a SMD diode. The red circles are pads to reflow or solder, and the green circles are areas where the plastic from the switches will stick through. If you use hot air, the large green circle will be too close to the red circles and will melt. The other two smaller green circles is probably too close as well. You have to use an iron for this for a more controlled heat transfer.




Now if it's only for keyboard MCUs, these will be very rare occasions that you'll have to deal with. If you're desoldering a MCU, then chip quik will work wonders. If you soldering the really tiny legs, then a lot of flux will work wonders too. You really don't need hot air for keyboards. You can get a $45 soldering iron + $5 fine tip that will do the same thing as a $180 rework station that includes an iron and hot air gun. You're basically paying $130 extra for the hot air gun and accessories.

Now if you're using hot air for other electronics outside of working with keyboards, then that xtronic you link and the Aoyue that I have are both great stations.

[metalliqaz]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you want this station for the hot air gun so you don't have to manually solder with the iron.

No, I solder with the iron.  The hot air is for getting the parts back up when I make a mistake and need to start from scratch.  (rework)  I have no intention of using it on switches.  I am working some projects (some keyboard related... some not )

I have seen some videos where they use paste and a flux stencil to hold the part while the hot air solders it.  Awesome!  I don't expect I will every have a stencil for my projects though

[WhiteFireDragon]

Ah ok if you're doing other projects too, a full rework station will help tremendously. My station helps a lot for computer hardward and audio stuff. What other electronics are you using this for if you don't mind me asking?

Stencil allows you to apply solder paste so much quicker. If you do any mass soldering of the same parts, then it's totally worth investing in stencils. Definitely not worth it for just one or two PCB though.

[metalliqaz]

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