Hello,
Over the months I keep burning my Arduino Due - since I am prototyping and making my own PCBs and getting them to integrate nicely.
Now these boards have been piling up and I was wondering if I can easily replace the chip. I understand that the AVR Arduinos require a boot loader. I was wondering if the ARM chip needs one as well.
Thanks,
Daniel
The good news is that the SAM3X8E in the Due already has a factory bootloader in ROM, so you can just replace the chip for a brand new one.
Physically removing the chip is not so easy, but I guess if you are making boards you may also have a decent SMT rework station to remove the chip.
Since the chip is burnt out, I can just cut off the leads and touch up the pads. And do some thermal air soldering for the new chip.
What do you think?
First attempt went horribly wrong. After cutting the pins, the pads are extremely sensitive and did peel right off.
How did you cut the pins? Maybe you stressed the pads when you did that.
Removing SMDs is normally a very easy task if you have a hot air station. I have not removed such a large chip I admit but with the right nozzle it should be simple.
Rob
So during my first attempt, I use some flush wire cutters - I should have been a little bit smarter of how I did that.
I do not have a proper hot air gun station. I have a hot air gun that can produce enough heat but the nozzle is around 1'' - 1.5'' in diameter (more like a high-powered hairdryer). Controller the heat would be difficult and not melt the plastic female headers. I still have a couple of burnt out Dues, so maybe I will just give it a shot.
Daniel
Ah, well I would at least use a SMT hot air station with the right nozzle - http://www.pcb-soldering.co.uk/smd-rework-stations-1/aoyue-850a-smd-rework-station.html, Hot Air Gun Nozzles | Aoyue | SOP | BGA | PLCC | QFP - PCB Soldering.
For better results, a preheater and a stand are useful. It still takes some practice, and given the cost, you might consider it not worth it.
I have heard that people do rework with a cheap paint stripper hot air gun and a homemade nozzle from metal sheet, but I haven't tried it.
I have discovered it is quite easy to set fire to a PCB though 
dgelman:
First attempt went horribly wrong. After cutting the pins, the pads are extremely sensitive and did peel right off.
Sorry to hear that. ChipQuik works great for SMT devices. I have used it for 144 pin devices and it works as advertised. Hot air doesn't work well for many-pin SMT devices because it's almost impossible to get all the solder to melt at the same time. If any of it is phase changing back into solidus, you usually take the pad off with it.
Skip to 10:20 for the important bits.
Hi
I have question about the topic of changing Arduino Due chip(SAM3X8E).
After changing chip, could I burn firmware with formal step in Arduino IDE via USB native port directly or
I need to use other specific tool to burn at first time on new chip?
I have had a high rate of success desoldering SMD parts using a Dremel 2000 (aka Dremel Versatip). One of its tips is just a hot air tip, with adjustable temperature.
I've practiced on few high pin count ICs (mostly laser printer controller boards) and it's worked greatly. The advantage is that it's a lot cheaper than a SMT rework station.
i have good luck removing those chips and others like m2560 using just utility blade (no handle). exacto probably works too. then add more solder as you go down the rows to slide off the cut pins. no lifted traces.
if you want to save it a cigarette lighter, bernz-o-matic set low, or simply a candle. heat upside down til pcb just starts to smoke a little then chip drops off. some foil can protect nearby smd components.
reinstalling also w/o fancy expensive rework station. the trick is to use big plated chisel tip 25-30w iron. no dainty girls pointy tip. eutectic alloy with 1% resin so you dont have to clean. just heat and run it down the edges. sometimes even no bridges or globs. if there is then the re-heat and bang-bang against table trick fixes those.
i do have a full scale reflow setup but crazy to consider that for prototypes or small production.