I want to remove a 20-pin surface mount module from a board. It doesn't have pins, just pads underneath with semi-circular notches near the edge. Here is one half of it:
I was wondering what the best approach would be for removing this.
Any tricks to make it a little easier?
Hot air rework station with a wide nozzle, such as:
http://www.mpja.com/Rework-Station-SMD-Nozzle-72-X-19mm/productinfo/16132%20TL
Have to measure your device, another size might be better:
http://www.mpja.com/searchprods.asp
These guys also make some stuff that supposed to make removing parts easier.
http://www.chipquik.com/store/index.php?cPath=200
I have a sample of SMD1 I think, but have never tried it.
Hot air rework is by far the most reliable method - although you risk desoldering all the components on the module! Narrow nozzle aimed at the relevant pads and scanned
up and down while gently prying up a little with a scapel blade (too much prying and
you'll damage the other set of pads).
Probably need to switch from one row to the other a few times.
It the module is duff and you don't mind desoldering components on it, its easier, heat
the entire module.
Without hot air you have to run a soldering iron up and down the pads using
plenty of flux to ensure wetting of the pads and heat transfer...
I don't have a hot air gun and have never used one. But it's hard for me to see how it wouldn't heat up the pins of components that are 2mm away, even with a focused nozzle. The Chip Quik method looks promising. I don't have the time right now to order one though.
I was hoping for some clever trick using standard tools. For example, someone here recommended removing a regulator by covering it with a big solder blob. That was something I wouldn't have thought to do. It worked well.
The module is "duff". That's why I'm removing it.
Edit: By "module" did you mean the whole board? It's just the 20-pin device that is duff.
A bit of a struggle but I managed to MacGyver it off. I soldered a piece of wire along each set of ten pads to connect them and then added a lot of solder. Then I used a second iron so I could heat both sides at once. Even with everything molten it still didn't budge at first. One of the hidden pads must have been isolated. Finally on about the fifth try it broke loose.