Sure, they've been around for a long time. I had one for removing DIP ICs that had a slot in each side for the pins to slip into, applied from the side opposite the components. You can buy them for all different sizes of SMD components.
But so what? You needed it, you made it.
Steve Greenfield AE7HD
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew" <a_wake@...> wrote:
>
> I needed to remove some SMD ICs from a board that had a design flaw. My current reflow setup is not quite hot enough to make removing ICs an easy task, and I didn't want to put a lot of heat into the ICs in any case. So I machined a new tip for my soldering iron:
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~a_wake/SMD_soldering_iron_1.jpg
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~a_wake/SMD_soldering_iron_2.jpg
>
> I sized it just to span across the body of the ICs, so that I could heat all leads simultaneously. It worked like a charm -- hold it in place for a few seconds, give a slight twist, and voila!
>
> Question: have I just reinvented the wheel? Surely something like this is readily and commercially available? I didn't bother to look for anything like this, since I had a machine shop and a solid copper rod on hand that I could turn into the tool in 30 minutes or so -- rather than having to wait days for a catalog order to show up!
>