Soldering and desoldering components, does it damage it & Thermal paste question

[edanderson]

having pulled a large number of through hole parts off PCBs with a large soldapullt, i agree that it comes down to technique.  when i first started using one, it was not easy, but after getting the temperature high enough on the iron and learning to work quickly, it actually works just fine.  it helps if you cut/melt a small notch in the white plastic tip so that you can get a good vacuum going with your tip on the solder joint.  if you have the money for a powered desoldering station, they are even better, but you can do a lot with the mechanical one.

if you're going to do a lot of desoldering, the haako 808 and various knockoffs thereof are nice to have and not too expensive.

most of these devices have a soldering iron with a hollow tip that has a vacuum, usually activated by a trigger or button.  you apply the tip to heat the joint and get the solder flowing, then turn on the vacuum to suck the solder into the gun.  as with the mechanical versions, you have to keep emptying the solder you've sucked up every so often.

ed

 

[bobschwenkler]

What is generally the difference between desoldering and rework systems?

 

[mnats]

What is generally the difference between desoldering and rework systems?

One sucks and the other just blows.

 

[Stagefright13]

Used to make PC boards for a living and we used solderwick. Then QA decided that a component could be overheated so they gave us all soldapullt. It DOES work. But you gotta be fast! Takes some technique. I went back to solder wick for home use. And rewicking an old joint for me just gives a ball of new solder. And flux. Sometimes helps tho. 2 sided Thruhole boards are hard sometimes. But then again once in a while the component just falls out.

 

[G-Sun]

I need some recommendation for a desoldering tool myself.

I have a manual sucker, sometimes works well, often not
and a desoldering copper braid, good for cleaning up, not so much for desoldering.

Now, I'm desoldering like 100joints/year,
so a low-cost alternative is preferred.