Hey I'm planning a little scratch built case of my own which I plan to construct mainly from motherboard pcb's. The only problem is when it comes to desoldering the motherboards I have no clue. I could desolder the entire motherboard one pin at a time, but as i plan to do 10+ motherboards this will take a long time. I had a search around on the forums and it seems like using a heat gun would be the best way to do this. So basically I am just wondering how effective a heat gun would be to do this task, and also I don't mind getting the componants damaged but would it do any damage to the pcb itself, such as burning? If it is not so good, what are the best alternatives? Thanks Quavr
Many of the components wont have pins, they'll be surface mount. When the mobo is made theey screen print a solder paste onto the pads for the components then place the components and put it in an oven to melt the solder. You should be fine with a heat gun but your best bet is probably to use an oven. That way you'll avoid overheating the PCB. I'm not sure whether a standard oven will get hot enough, IIRC the solder melts at 265deg C if it's lead free (which will depend on the age of the boards). People have had good success using a toaster oven for assembling surface mount pcbs so chances are that will also do to desolder them. Using a toaster oven also avoids using an oven you will want to use for food again which is a good thing as some of the metals in the solder (even lead free solder) are toxic. Moriquendi
OK thanks, but parents won't let me use a toaster oven :S What sort of temperatures does the pcb itself melt at? Because as of the moment I have nothing for removing the solder, so its just a question of what I get really, if I just buy whatever I need to use. Are there any other ways similar to an oven that could get the solder up to temperature? Thanks Quavr
Printed circuit boards don't melt, they're made from pre impregnated composite fibres and resin mixture that will just burn if it gets too hot, but I'm fairly sure that the components will get desoldered long before the board gets hot enough to catch fire. If you use too much heat in one place at one time, though, you will scorch the board so you need to heat it evenly no matter how you do so.
