How To Choose in Between A Desoldering Station and A Hot Air Rework Station?

When it comes to choosing in between hot air rework station and a desoldering station, one has to evaluate aspects including the nature of job, affordability, time at hand and other factors so as to make the right, affordable and effective decision.  

Operation and work that is carried out for refinishing or for repairing the PCB or Printed Circuit Board assembly of electronic origin, is termed as rework. Rework may involve the main desoldering of the components and their fixation or re-soldering as well. When you have to carry out the desoldering and rework tasks, you have the options in the form of “desoldering station” and the “hot air rework station”. To make the best choice, you need to understand the similarities and dissimilarities between the machines and know which one suits what kind of process/situation.

Desoldering Station

A desoldering station is much smaller when compared to the hot air rework station, and hence it can be brought to the board and the components/parts. The stations also cost much less when compared to the rework stations. The benefits of the desoldering station include greater precision, and their use is best for the specific applications. The handy stations can also be carried to any place desired and can be cleaned easily as well. A desoldering station is also simpler and has lesser controls and features when compared to a rework station.

Hot Air Rework Station

Because of the large size of a rework station, you need to bring the component and board (that has to be repaired) to it. The rework stations cost more but also offer many benefits. They can be used for completing the jobs in an easy and fast way and are especially useful in instances when a single component has to be removed or fixed to the printed circuit board. The hot air gun can liquify the solder in almost no time and help you extract the desired component easily. Apart from the reworks, the rework station also makes it easy for you to work on the parts of a PCB that is not easily accessible.

The SMD rework station is a lot more versatile when compared to their desoldering counterparts. For instance, a rework station can also be used for fitting the heat shrink onto the wires. You can quickly remove the faulty component and put the re-solder on the board is not more than an hour. Because most of the rework stations are of “non-contact nature” the other components of the PCB are safe from damage.

Making A Suitable Choice

As we can see clearly, both the stations and machines have their own advantages and disadvantages. The rework stations will suit a situation where you want to save time and have to work on the delicate components that are not in reach with the use of other soldering stations. When you have to work on the specialised kinds of jobs, you would like to choose the desoldering stations. These machines can also be preferred when you want to save money. You can save up to $ 200 easily by preferring the desoldering station over the rework station. Lastly, if you have to carry the equipment to the boards and do not have an option to bring them to the work/soldering desk, the desoldering station is again to be preferred.

You must look at the nature of the job and the component characteristics before actually making a decision. Leading suppliers today offer a wide range of soldering/desoldering and re-work stations online itself from the leading and best brands including Hakko among others.


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