Typical electronic circuit boards have large numbers of active and passive components. Some of these components are through-hole, meaning their terminals have leads that are passed through holes in the board and soldered on the other side. Most passive components, such as resistors and capacitors, are Surface Mounted Devices, or SMDs. These components are very small and their terminals are made up of metallic surfaces. Such components and most of the active components, such as electronic chips, are soldered on the same side of the board. With a simple trick, the electronic boards can be depopulated -- that is the electronic components can be taken off of a board.
Instructions
1 Place the board on a flat and dry surface. Make sure that the board is horizontally flat. If it is not, the molten solder may flow to the nearby pads and traces, and cause electrical shorts.
2 Put on the safety glasses and gloves.
3 Turn the heat gun on and place it about 6 inches on top of the board. Within a few seconds you will see that the solder flux directly underneath the gun has started to melt. Immediately, take out the components whose solder flux has melted using tweezers and place them in a tray. Continue this process for all the components on the board.
4 Turn the heat gun off and let the board cool down for two to three minutes.
5 Turn the soldering iron on and set it to 450 degrees Celsius. Starting from a side of the board, place the copper braid on top of pads containing residual solder flux, and gently press it with the tip of the soldering iron. Within five seconds, the solder flux will melt and will be absorbed by the copper braid. Repeat this process for all pads on the board.
6 Turn the board over and repeat the processes with heat gun and soldering iron for components and pads on that side as well. Turn off the soldering iron when finished.
7 Clean all pads with alcohol swabs. You now have a circuit board that has been depopulated.
