BGA Rework Stations

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I am doing a project for my company which will ultimately le... - Jan 16, 2008 by muarty

Not a current user but have purchased several systems in the... - Jan 16, 2008 by mparker

Well I can't tell you what one is the best, But I can tell y... - Jan 16, 2008 by wayne

Anybody like those APE systems? ... - Jan 16, 2008 by Chim Richalds

We have an Advanced Techniques AT707 system. Overall I am pr... - Jan 18, 2008 by jdumont

The APE machines are still OK in their place. We still have... - Jan 21, 2008 by Hegemon

muarty

#53213

BGA Rework Stations | 16 January, 2008

I am doing a project for my company which will ultimately lead to buying a BGA rework station. I would be very interested to hear any of you guys' views and experiences of any systems. After all the guys that use them will give a better account than any salesman can.

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mparker

#53226

BGA Rework Stations | 16 January, 2008

Not a current user but have purchased several systems in the past. A major point for evaluation is: Can an older used equipment do the job and not have to buy the latest, greatest all bells and whistles machine?

This depends on your applications, BGA patterns, total PCA density, etc.

I vote for Air-Vac, I hear their newest model has improved underside heating, can upgrade an old model to latest stuff, depending on model. Check with local rep, he can tell you which models a "factory upgrade" can be performed.

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wayne

#53227

BGA Rework Stations | 16 January, 2008

Well I can't tell you what one is the best, But I can tell you what one we have and that I am not happy with, A.P.E is the company it is made by, we have the "chipmaster". They have several units avialable and from what I can tell they are all about the same. These units have ALOT of stuff you can do; like programable ramp temps,ramp rate, upper or lower or both heaters,nice camera setup for television interface. but this unit is SO hard to operate that I often find myself spending twice as much time as should have to just to pull of a BGA, I think if would have spent as much time into a good user manual as they did for making it look like a stinkin' slot machine then this would be an alright unit. Maybe someone else has had a better experience, or I am just an idiot but when it is harder to run then every other piece of equipment in the house, there is a problem. Good luck with your purchase. Hopefully someone here can give you a direction to turn. Wayne

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Chim Richalds

#53231

BGA Rework Stations | 16 January, 2008

Anybody like those APE systems?

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jdumont

#53249

BGA Rework Stations | 18 January, 2008

We have an Advanced Techniques AT707 system. Overall I am pretty pleased with it. Honestly we went with them because it was one of the lowest priced models when we were first getting into BGAs four years ago. They are worth a look. This year ill be looking for a replacement and will more than likely go with Air Vac.

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Hegemon

#53288

BGA Rework Stations | 21 January, 2008

The APE machines are still OK in their place. We still have two APE machines that are over 8 years old and still are good for some processes, but have been consigned to the leaded solder rework area. We have upgraded to AirVac since the advent of lead free soldering. Lead Free is done at the AV machine only. The APE does not have sufficient bottom side heating for anything other than some of the smaller assemblies such as memory modules and the like, even then they must be run pretty hard to get the job done. Running that hard with without some closed loop feedback from the PCB is risky. APE can be used for smaller jobs with a miminum of fuss. They are somewhat simplified, that being both the strength and weakness of those machines.

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