PCBWay 3D Printing and Fabrication: www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/ Metcal HCT 910: info.metcal.com/hot-air-rework-system Support the Channel with Patreon: www.patreon.com/sdgelectronics
Praise the gods - a modern piece of kit with a proper die-cast metal shell. Takes me back to my childhood. So much ABS plastic junk these days or paper-thin folded sheet steel. Very nice unit, well worth the price, imho, as you'd use it for years (decades in my case.)
I took a look through the brief user manual for this unit. I'm surprised that Metcal don't explain how their calibration is done. Without knowing that, it's hard for the user to know what to expect from the handpiece, or how to use it so that the desired temperature is achieved at the component. If you can get that info from Metcal, please do mention it in a future video. As always, you've made a thorough and entertaining review. Thanks, Steve!
I'm sorry but I'll stick with my cheaper atten 862d even for work.. it works great.. comes with a super strong stand.. and a bunch of tips..I had to buy my own silicone pad to remove tips also but holy cow.. it gets to the proper temperature and moves a lot of air... use it daily for years now and it's been great.. can't see spending that kind of money for less features.. if it was a clearly far superior unit in every way, had a stand, and something to make it worth the money I'd advocate for it but jeesh..
@13:00 I don’t like the wires from the blower rubbing on the heatsink, the vibration from motor moving will eventually cause the insulation to be worn away.
Glad that metcal marketing got their heads out of their asses and sent you some free gear. Agree about the presets, should be readily available. For my workflow, I would never get anything without dedicated preset buttons. So much more convenient.
Thanks for the test Steve ! Still quite pricy, for "just" hot air station 🤨 For the price of two metcal nozzles you can buy one of that supercheap chinese hotair stations with set of nozzles 😀 BTW, at 13:00 i dont like how that wires touch the triac cooler...could cause problem in future.
Just received mine, was dealing with the uk rep and ive asked him if there is a desktop stand and hes said no. which is a shame. In the process of designing a 3d printed mount to hold the originl mount, it will still face the nozzle forward but will make it more usable in more situations
A little better interface than the HCT1000, but still crap for the money it costs. Why do proper soldering equipment companies insist on stupid "minimalistic" or extremely complicated/buggy Linux based interface for their soldering stations? These things are tools, not toys, we need a simple interface that works reliably on the job!
£711 including tax in the uk with a single nozzle. £28 including tax for each additional nozzle and £71 inc tax for a new heating element. I cant see any shake proof washers or paint on the earth tags to stop them coming lose with time/vibration....
I have the OKI HCT-900 professional for something like 10 years or so. Great tool, a lot better as the Metcal MFR1351 junk. I made a list with the temperature settings and do not miss the display. Changing the airflow does not influence the temperature. Like it should be. How ever, it is far from silent but I do not mind.
Great piece of kit, but falls a little short on it's design. Vertical stand is an essential - IMO, needs to ship with that silicone pad (although this may not be needed with a vertical stand). Not that keen on the paint job and should come with more than 1 nozzle for it's price. I also got a spare heating element with mine and it wasn't half this price.
Metcal, Hakko, Weller, or JBC, which one is the Apple computer of soldering equipment? Obviously, it's the Metcal! The cast aluminum housing is hilarious! Most would be happy with melt-proof sheetmetal or the ding proof ABS plastic. But geez, talk about no expense spared!
I just don't understand the engineering/product_managing of this unit. It would cost them additional $1 to add a second encoder/variable resistor so user could instantly change air flow rate without hitting a button -> then rotating. It's so clunky and not thought-out at all. They're already charging $700 for that unit. It's so annoying to see another brand with a very long history that produces a tank of a reliable unit with otherwise impressive performance but fall absolutely flat on user experience with interface of $0.99 Chinese weather station/alarm clock. The guy responsible/approving design is either some boomer with attitude "meh, that'll be enough for them" or a guy that never watched how various professionals actually use it in all sorts of cases and what experience other products on a market give. They'll probably sell a stand as a separate product, that can be fixed if they desire. But interface of the unit will remain very outdated. Thanks for review, as always.
Nice to see a product that has a proper earth fitted from the factory. But Metcal have been going for so long that it must be old hat to meet the different safety standards around the world. Not that it’s too difficult as most are just a rewrite of the EN standards. When are you moving to a warehouse to get the space for all these devices?
Those wires literally are rubbing on that triac heatsink literally going under to sliding on the side of the heatsink is a huge NO. The reason is that over time, those wires will rub right through as that blower will vibrate, especially when it spins up.
I'm on team blue just now (WXR3).The 65W pencil has limited range, the hot air is more limited. The desolder pencil filter falls out. Team charcoal has a confusing number of products, there;s always a lot new but with that many discontinuations. I prefer an analogue interface rather than menus for temperature and flow rate so I can adjust even while using the microscope. They are all seemingly expensive but for a repair shop something that works well in the hands of an experienced competent user and lasts can be paid back in weeks, days or hours even. I might jump to team orange.
Not sure I can see any advantage on this classical hot air stations where the blower is in the desk unit and it requires that inconvenient thick hose. I have one of those cheap hot air station YiHUA where the handpiece is connected through a soft wire and the blower fan is in that handpiece witch is small end light and I feel much easier to handle as there is no hose.
@@ianhaylock7409 I did use it on aluminium PCB's. Not sure why there will be a difference if the same power is delivered by both. The only difference is that blower fan is inside the station and connected through a long hose to handpiece vs blower is inside the hand piece. The blower in the handpiece can be smaller and lighter as it will not need to deal with the energy loss in the thin and long hose so while hand piece will be just slightly heavier due to blower fan it more than compensates with the fact that it is not connected to a heavy hose. I'm not talking about the way different brands implement the temperature control or quality of the equipment just the advantage of one design strategy over another. Say Metcal used the same components arranged the way is done in the YiHUA version (the blower will be smaller as it will need to do less work being so much closer to the heating element).
@@electrodacus it's vibration for me. used a friends handpiece mounted one and instantly hated it. the in-housing ones are more or less vibration proof. also no 'gyroscopic' effects
@@tamtgirl There is no vibration on my unit (likely depends on the quality of the blower) and I also did not noticed any gyroscopic effect as the mass of the fan blade is super small and so is the diameter.
Yes I completely agree, in 90%+ of scenarios the handpiece blower (858D style) makes more sense, as you get the lighter weight and higher flexibility. However, few issues: - There are no high end 858D models, eg with 1000W heater and silicone cable. So the cable will easily melt, and is not super flexible as it could be. - Then when you get to high air flow situations, the 858D just cannot keep up. The 500W heater does not matter when the airflow isn't enough to actually draw 500W continuously (go hook up a killawatt and youll see for yourself). These centrifugal blowers just provide wayyy more airflow. Once you need to work on large BGAs or do fast rework, you'll see need for beyond the 858D.
1:55 A USB port for firmware upgrades? It's a hot air station! How much can a manufacturer get wrong on such a simple device that it would require a firmware upgrade?
Without desktop stand I will not consider any hot air soldering station anymore. It's just pointless. You need to keep this brick close and with the clutter it's hard to reach and easy to burn something. You pull this 100s of times per day.
Honestly can’t justify the price over the Quick, which still has a better UI in my opinion. The only next step up in my eyes is the JBC micro work hot air station if you need the precision.
The HCT2-200 is more affordable than the JBC if you need precision. Having used the JBC it doesn't have anything that justifies the cost and the UI is more fiddly.
@@sdgelectronics Something about those Germans I guess. I will say outside some sort of ultra traceable lab, both really aren't needed. But, it looks to me the management and control of such devices would be better on the JBC.
i realize that this is 'pro' station but... the real only way it can possibly be actually better is the housing and most certainly a better blower. is that worth the extra $500? i guess if it's on an assembly line where it HAS to work yea. but for the home run shop or hobbyist no way
PCBWay 3D Printing and Fabrication: www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/
Metcal HCT 910: info.metcal.com/hot-air-rework-system
Support the Channel with Patreon: www.patreon.com/sdgelectronics
Praise the gods - a modern piece of kit with a proper die-cast metal shell. Takes me back to my childhood. So much ABS plastic junk these days or paper-thin folded sheet steel. Very nice unit, well worth the price, imho, as you'd use it for years (decades in my case.)
I took a look through the brief user manual for this unit. I'm surprised that Metcal don't explain how their calibration is done. Without knowing that, it's hard for the user to know what to expect from the handpiece, or how to use it so that the desired temperature is achieved at the component. If you can get that info from Metcal, please do mention it in a future video. As always, you've made a thorough and entertaining review. Thanks, Steve!
I'm sorry but I'll stick with my cheaper atten 862d even for work.. it works great.. comes with a super strong stand.. and a bunch of tips..I had to buy my own silicone pad to remove tips also but holy cow.. it gets to the proper temperature and moves a lot of air... use it daily for years now and it's been great.. can't see spending that kind of money for less features.. if it was a clearly far superior unit in every way, had a stand, and something to make it worth the money I'd advocate for it but jeesh..
I agree a standlone stand for the nozzle and having the presets available on the menu is what is even available in the cheaper units/
@13:00 I don’t like the wires from the blower rubbing on the heatsink, the vibration from motor moving will eventually cause the insulation to be worn away.
Glad that metcal marketing got their heads out of their asses and sent you some free gear.
Agree about the presets, should be readily available. For my workflow, I would never get anything without dedicated preset buttons. So much more convenient.
Metcal is great if you can justify the expense. I suspect most viewers are hobbyists.
Thanks for the test Steve ! Still quite pricy, for "just" hot air station 🤨 For the price of two metcal nozzles you can buy one of that supercheap chinese hotair stations with set of nozzles 😀 BTW, at 13:00 i dont like how that wires touch the triac cooler...could cause problem in future.
Just received mine, was dealing with the uk rep and ive asked him if there is a desktop stand and hes said no. which is a shame. In the process of designing a 3d printed mount to hold the originl mount, it will still face the nozzle forward but will make it more usable in more situations
A little better interface than the HCT1000, but still crap for the money it costs.
Why do proper soldering equipment companies insist on stupid "minimalistic" or extremely complicated/buggy Linux based interface for their soldering stations?
These things are tools, not toys, we need a simple interface that works reliably on the job!
I don't get why they fake a segmented display with a dot matrix display when they could display digits more readably.
time make changes = cost
£711 including tax in the uk with a single nozzle. £28 including tax for each additional nozzle and £71 inc tax for a new heating element.
I cant see any shake proof washers or paint on the earth tags to stop them coming lose with time/vibration....
Bit surprised to see a 7805. I use them a lot myself but I figured most people considered those a bit obsolete.
I have the OKI HCT-900 professional for something like 10 years or so. Great tool, a lot better as the Metcal MFR1351 junk. I made a list with the temperature settings and do not miss the display. Changing the airflow does not influence the temperature. Like it should be. How ever, it is far from silent but I do not mind.
Great piece of kit, but falls a little short on it's design. Vertical stand is an essential - IMO, needs to ship with that silicone pad (although this may not be needed with a vertical stand). Not that keen on the paint job and should come with more than 1 nozzle for it's price. I also got a spare heating element with mine and it wasn't half this price.
Metcal, Hakko, Weller, or JBC, which one is the Apple computer of soldering equipment? Obviously, it's the Metcal! The cast aluminum housing is hilarious! Most would be happy with melt-proof sheetmetal or the ding proof ABS plastic. But geez, talk about no expense spared!
I just don't understand the engineering/product_managing of this unit. It would cost them additional $1 to add a second encoder/variable resistor so user could instantly change air flow rate without hitting a button -> then rotating. It's so clunky and not thought-out at all. They're already charging $700 for that unit. It's so annoying to see another brand with a very long history that produces a tank of a reliable unit with otherwise impressive performance but fall absolutely flat on user experience with interface of $0.99 Chinese weather station/alarm clock. The guy responsible/approving design is either some boomer with attitude "meh, that'll be enough for them" or a guy that never watched how various professionals actually use it in all sorts of cases and what experience other products on a market give.
They'll probably sell a stand as a separate product, that can be fixed if they desire. But interface of the unit will remain very outdated.
Thanks for review, as always.
A year on:
Have the software options changed?
Is there a desktop atand?
Nice to see a product that has a proper earth fitted from the factory.
But Metcal have been going for so long that it must be old hat to meet the different safety standards around the world.
Not that it’s too difficult as most are just a rewrite of the EN standards.
When are you moving to a warehouse to get the space for all these devices?
Those wires literally are rubbing on that triac heatsink literally going under to sliding on the side of the heatsink is a huge NO. The reason is that over time, those wires will rub right through as that blower will vibrate, especially when it spins up.
I'm on team blue just now (WXR3).The 65W pencil has limited range, the hot air is more limited. The desolder pencil filter falls out.
Team charcoal has a confusing number of products, there;s always a lot new but with that many discontinuations.
I prefer an analogue interface rather than menus for temperature and flow rate so I can adjust even while using the microscope.
They are all seemingly expensive but for a repair shop something that works well in the hands of an experienced competent user and lasts can be paid back in weeks, days or hours even.
I might jump to team orange.
My Chinese hot air station has a magnetic sensor in the cradle for standby - I'd imagine that's much more convenient than the button this one uses.
can you review the JBC JTSE that would be very cool, amazing vids as always.
METCAL is amazing. They are the best …… period. Extremely nice kit no matter what they make.
Great review. I don’t like the new colour scheme. Thanks regards Chris
Not sure I can see any advantage on this classical hot air stations where the blower is in the desk unit and it requires that inconvenient thick hose. I have one of those cheap hot air station YiHUA where the handpiece is connected through a soft wire and the blower fan is in that handpiece witch is small end light and I feel much easier to handle as there is no hose.
Try using your YiHUA on an aluminium pcb. Then you'll see the advantage.
@@ianhaylock7409 I did use it on aluminium PCB's. Not sure why there will be a difference if the same power is delivered by both.
The only difference is that blower fan is inside the station and connected through a long hose to handpiece vs blower is inside the hand piece. The blower in the handpiece can be smaller and lighter as it will not need to deal with the energy loss in the thin and long hose so while hand piece will be just slightly heavier due to blower fan it more than compensates with the fact that it is not connected to a heavy hose.
I'm not talking about the way different brands implement the temperature control or quality of the equipment just the advantage of one design strategy over another.
Say Metcal used the same components arranged the way is done in the YiHUA version (the blower will be smaller as it will need to do less work being so much closer to the heating element).
@@electrodacus it's vibration for me. used a friends handpiece mounted one and instantly hated it. the in-housing ones are more or less vibration proof. also no 'gyroscopic' effects
@@tamtgirl There is no vibration on my unit (likely depends on the quality of the blower) and I also did not noticed any gyroscopic effect as the mass of the fan blade is super small and so is the diameter.
Yes I completely agree, in 90%+ of scenarios the handpiece blower (858D style) makes more sense, as you get the lighter weight and higher flexibility. However, few issues:
- There are no high end 858D models, eg with 1000W heater and silicone cable. So the cable will easily melt, and is not super flexible as it could be.
- Then when you get to high air flow situations, the 858D just cannot keep up. The 500W heater does not matter when the airflow isn't enough to actually draw 500W continuously (go hook up a killawatt and youll see for yourself). These centrifugal blowers just provide wayyy more airflow. Once you need to work on large BGAs or do fast rework, you'll see need for beyond the 858D.
1:55
A USB port for firmware upgrades?
It's a hot air station! How much can a manufacturer get wrong on such a simple device that it would require a firmware upgrade?
On the display menu, wouldn't B and C be brightness and contrast?
25£ for nozzle they make this from gold ?
unobtainium
Without desktop stand I will not consider any hot air soldering station anymore. It's just pointless. You need to keep this brick close and with the clutter it's hard to reach and easy to burn something. You pull this 100s of times per day.
Honestly can’t justify the price over the Quick, which still has a better UI in my opinion. The only next step up in my eyes is the JBC micro work hot air station if you need the precision.
The HCT2-200 is more affordable than the JBC if you need precision. Having used the JBC it doesn't have anything that justifies the cost and the UI is more fiddly.
@@sdgelectronics Something about those Germans I guess. I will say outside some sort of ultra traceable lab, both really aren't needed. But, it looks to me the management and control of such devices would be better on the JBC.
i realize that this is 'pro' station but... the real only way it can possibly be actually better is the housing and most certainly a better blower. is that worth the extra $500? i guess if it's on an assembly line where it HAS to work yea. but for the home run shop or hobbyist no way
First again...
i think, a turbine is worst than air pump.
This îs desapointing for 750 dolars .