> I've seen those heat guns, never thought about using one to get
parts off a
> board, and didn't know that they reached solder-melting
temperature. It
> shouldn't be a surprise, though, since they'll make paint bubble
up pretty
> good...
Roy,
The machine for changing surface mount chips has a heat gun on
both sides of the board. The nozzels move together. There is a
temperature control. The company that makes them is called HART. You
put a dab of stuff on the chip. When the stuff turns clear the chip
will lift off. With the heat gun you preheat the bottom of the board
and then go in for the kill from the top. I mount the board in a bench
vise so it does not fall. Years ago people used a propane torch. I
used to worry about hurting parts with heat until I saw a wave
soldering machine and surface mounted parts being soldered in a
toaster oven. Some heat guns also come with deflector tips to localize
the air. The heat gun also works great with shrink tubing and bending
plastic.
John