Improving a cheap vacuum desolder-station (ZD-915)
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- Опубликовано: 13 фев 2018
- Watch also this (more easy to realize) mod of the same model:
• A better mod to improv...
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Better vacuum-action with an easy DIY-mod for the Zhongdi Vacuum Desolder-Stations.
Comparable stations: ZD-915, ZD-985, ZD-8925
Combined solder/desolder stations: ZD-917, ZD-987, ZD-8917
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This is exactly what I was thinking of doing with my old Weller DS600. I was going to use a vacuum sensor to shut off the pump when presure is high enough. I may look at using a refrigerator compressor for more silent operation.
I'm late to seeing this video, but thank you so much for the inspiration. I'm going to order some parts to modify mine now.
Your "meticulous" explanation on how to do the modification is awesome....
Good, GOOD improvement! Great idea! Thank you!
Thanks for this, but I accomplished something similar for my Aoyue Int701A++ by holding the trigger while kinking the hose. I then alternately straighten and kink the hose as if the pinched hose were my press/release trigger. It works gloriously! This station has an AC pump that just can’t get up the vacuum while the solder is still flowing unless you trick it like this. It went from nearly useless to actually working well! Though this is free and works well, I imagine I will sometimes need my other hand free instead of using it to manipulate the hose. I’d like to use a momentary foot switch to run the pump and then I will actuate a valve connected to the trigger like you do. Thanks!
I think the big container is a good idea, its like a big capacitor with lots of sucking capacity, if you want to do multiple desoldering with lots of joints and you have to keep waiting for vacuum to build up(as suggested by other posts to remove the tub and add a delay) before it allows a trigger it will become very annoying.
Wow good idea sir.
You are a genius, sir.
More expensive units have a 2 part trigger. When you pull the trigger part way in the pump starts. Then pulling the trigger fully a solenoid opens the air tube to the vacuum. The solenoid is only enabled for about half a second as to not cool the tip too much if a second attempt is needed.
That´s exactly how I want to do it in an alternate version :-)
(2 Studids, same thought as we say here in Germany)
Yes, I agree with this - with the wind-up the solder can cool quickly before full potential is reached meaning you can't get everything without heating twice, but with the full potential of the vacuum reached instantly then you'll pull more solder... so it is a great feature... there are a few adjustments I'd make though..
You should add a pressure switch. Once it reaches optimum pressure turn off... This is a fantastic idea and I'm considering modifying my existing 853D rework station to add this capability for a desoldering gun ( I modified it already so I can remove the heat want as it always got in the way ) my plan is to either add a new connection, or use the heat gun or solder-gun port or controls with a switch to control what is active so I don't need to make a new case and add all of the electronics for controlling temperature, etc... plus buttons and the line...
It should have enough free area inside for the vacuum and maybe even a small sphere for a vacuum chamber as you have designed since it'll only be used in short bursts anyway...
In addition to adding a pressure switch to control when it shuts off, I'd add another feature so when you hit the trigger, it instantly turns the internal pump on too so the air lost is then replenished... Ideally I'd have calculated how much air / pressure it processes over time and synchronize it with how much is used per second so if I hold for 1 second and it only needs .5 seconds to refill then I can run it at half power or 75% or so... It shouldn't be too difficult to add the first 2 changes, the more intelligent sync system would take a bit more effort although if the pump is underpowered for the container then it doesn't matter if it runs the entire time the trigger is pulled... if it is overpowered then reducing the power is easy enough too...
You should also watch the followup video with a more simple to implement mod: ruclips.net/video/j8LMdIZuDyw/видео.html
That get´s away with the constantly running vacuum-pump and the large reservoir container.
so... did you do it? i am now considering doing the same to my 853 lol
a check valve on the "output" side of the chamber would allow the chamber to stay in a "vacuum" state while the pump isnt powered. or... you could spring for another solenoid in the opposite configuration... a good idea using a chamber.. hmmm.. nice work!
I'm a bit disappointed you didn't show any footage of it actually de-soldering a joint, maybe a comparison to the original in high speed. I know it woudn't be particularly easy to film that.
Personally I use a similar model with it all built into the gun and no base station and I've never had any problems de-soldering anything with it. I do wonder if the volume of space in the tube between the pump and the tip makes a difference.
The reason why I didn´t show a comparison is just the time and effort to shoot this. You just have to believe me that it really is a perceptible improvement.
You probably mean the volume of air in the vacuum-hose/tubing.
Yes. I think that does make a difference because of the flexibility of the tubing. That further delays the onset of an "instant" vacuum action.
That´s why I inserted the kind of vacuum-reservoir with the vacuuming-container (or box or however this is called).
When the pump is sitting directly at the desolder-gun (as in your model) then all these complications probably are non-existent.
Good idea!
Habe das ganze mit einem grossen gurkenglas gebaut, funktioniert super die ide 👌🏻
Move the fan over the powersupply and cut out some bars in the power supply shield.drill sme holes down on the p.supply side off the case.I have the ZD-8915 witch have a better deigned gun.Inside the case it is similar.when i moved the fan fron the back to over the power supply everything in the supply where much cooler under load witch mean longer life.Always when i buy stuff like this a changes the capasitors to good brand,s Nothing expencive.Just reliable parts. i also swat the triac in solder station from 6 somthing to total incapsuled bt 8somthing.It handles 200 more
Sir, how became doble cyleder use in zd915
I just bought the same thing and was wondering if the coil hum during heating up is something that other people have with theirs as well, do you?
Btw, I don't think it's a good idea to have that pump running all the time. I bet it will crap out soon. As some other people here have suggested, you should make it a two part thing, or, if adding a second trigger to the gun is not feasible, put a little timer in there.
Do you mean transformer hum from the SMPS?
At my station the little fan on the backside makes so much noise that I didn´t recognize any other sounds from the station.
Yes. It was quite noticeable to me.
I want to do this with mine! The pump is... terrible :( Do you have a parts list please? Excellent mod btw :D
I can only give you the link to the German Ebay-items I used:
Ebay article-number 222330050857 is the vacuuming food-box on www.ebay.de
Ebay article-number 180485452525 is the 12V/24V magnet-valve on www.ebay.de
I have trieb some termas on the US Ebay-site for the vacuuming food-container but there were not the right items showing up. So maybe there is a different designation for this (or vacuuming food in boxes is not popular in the US?).
For the magnet valve search terms "electric solenoid valve 12V" should work.
And BTW it mustn´t be a special "vacuum valve" as I called it in the video.
Probably every valve you find on Ebay will do the job :-)
Thank you so much :D
Try change the 18v to 12V board with 2 resistors to a dc step down converter.
With this better power source, allegedly also the suction power increase.
Do you have a link for the vacuum container?
Search for "food saver" or "vacuum food container" on EBay
I silencer is missing at the output of pump.
Fit a vacuum sensor to protect motor
Easier to add only the valve, with delayed opening after the pump starts...? Then the noisy pump isn't running all the time and wearing out...
Yep. That would probably be a better solution.
BTW when the lid is closed the small fan is just as loud as the punp :-)
Have to replace that one with a low-noise Papst-type or similar.
Despite its problems, is the ZD-915 still better than the OrangeA S-993A desoldering gun?
I don´t have the S-993A and can´t tell you about the "sucking-quality" of the S-993A compared to the ZD-915.
I like my ZD-915. :-)
@@KainkaLabs I have both units, and the ZD-915 is orders of magnitude better than the S-993A. It's not even close.
Have a problem with you leaving the pump on permanently , it will wear the pump too fast and mate, no one want's to hear that noise constantly especially when doing a great deal of de- soldering which I do. All the more expensive de-soldering stations operate in the same way and there is a technique in using them so instant vacuum is not required. It is basically to do with your wrist action moving in a circular motion around the soldered joint so heating the solder all through the plated hole so it's all in a fluid state before the trigger is pulled. Timing is most critical. This works best with 60/40 solder not the lead variety as too much heat is required and damage to the traces will result.
Take a look at the follow-up video which should be linked in the video-description.
I know the desoldering-technique you decribe. But when you have double-sided boards with through-plated vias and leadfree solder you are at a loss when you don´t have a "hard suck" (don´t know if that is the right expression).
And in my view the most important thing for not lifting the traces is a good flux-paste. But that will be the topic of another video. Desoldering without destructing the component or the traces/vias is quite an art :-)
I come from a military background and the soldering and de-soldering course that was taught at the RAAF School of Radio (where I eventually taught electronics theory as a SGT) took 3 months full time to complete. This was way before the days of lead free solder which in my opinion is a backward step for repair work, actually 63/37 eutectic solder with 2 to 3% silver content is the best. De-soldering on plated through boards is one of the hardest skills to teach as it really requires excellent hand eye coordination hence plenty of practice with the right techniques. As someone else has said here a strong instantaneous vacuum pump is what is required. I use several of these soldering/de-soldering stations as the type number ZX917 and don't really have a problem with them except the heat has to be turned up when there is a ground plane attached to the connection. Sometimes heat from both sides of the board is required (another soldering iron) with the board being held in a PCB vice (good types of these are not cheap either). A high level of concentration plus an equally high degree of manual dexterity seems to be required for the best results, practice and practice again on some scrap board that you have about the workshop to learn the skill required........Regards Robert
The “wiggle until it melts on both sides” technique barely works on my Aoyue Int701A++ and is certainly no substitute for this mod. :)
Mine is the old version with the AC pump that takes too long to build up vacuum/suction. The solder on the other side will freeze because it first removes solder from the bottom which stops conducting heat to the top before the suction strength builds up enough.
It’s almost unusable without extremely high temperatures and, even then, you will have clogs on any plated through hole with a beefy trace for power or ground. Every DIP chip or multi-pin connector has them making it a fight every time. I shouldn’t have to fight with braid or a solder sucker and a second iron requiring three (sometimes FOUR!) hands when I have one of these.
I simulated his mod by pinching the hose while holding the trigger, then releasing the hose to trigger suction at full force. It worked so well I used it to do one of my most common jobs and it went smoother than ever BY FAR. That would be removing the CPU and PPU from a Nintendo Entertainment System (both DIP40), which I’ve done around 100 times before. Adding a solenoid will free my other hand, but I wish I had thought to try this for the stubborn ones all along.
I was recently frustrated when removing the analog AV port on two original XBOX consoles since every other pin and then some is connected to ground on the other side of a plated through hole that is covered by the port itself (no “second iron” trick). It was almost impossible without ChipQuik but I managed it using every trick in the book including hot air preheat/soak and hot-swapping solder iron to desolder iron at very high temps with high thermal mass tips.
I guess my point here is don’t knock it! Even though I managed to accomplish the same with technique (pinching the hose), Roger’s mods are very useful for people with crappy equipment like mine. :)
Does this station have a brushless DC or AC motor?
These vacuum desolder-stations all have a membrane-pump driven by a little standard DC-motor (non-brushless).
What´s the point?.
@@KainkaLabs That person ask that same question on every de solder station review.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the vacuum motor running constantly. That will lead to premature failure of the motor and/or bladder/seals.
What might be a good modification here, would be to add a pressure sensor to the jar and at a certain vacuum number, have it turn off the motor.
As the pressure drops to a preset point, then the motor kicks in again.
I can see an Arduino with pressure sensor handling this easily.
There is a follow-up video where I added a vacuum-valve and a simple delay-circuit for the valve. So when acting the switch on the vacuum-gun, the pump is turned on and after 2 seconds the vacuum-valve turns on.
Mine has U03 error when i switch it on does anyone know what this is? Thanks
The controller recognizes whean either the temperature probe and/or the heater element breks down.
You can get a new "desolder-gun" relatively cheap on Ebay, AleExpress etc as a replacement part. Also the combined heater-element/temperature probes are available as replacement parts. Try to measure at the pins if you have a loh ohmic connection between 2 pins. If not, the heater element is broken.
@@KainkaLabs the thing is it heats up fine no issues i just need to know exactly what u03 means
Don´t know.
Wtf is happaning at frame 126 2:06 ???? Sparks???
External EMI noise creeping into the microphone. Has nothing to do with the vacuum pump.
I think a better solution would be to just use a larger vacuum pump.
No. Because there would be the same effect that the vacuum takes some time to build up.
A larger pump has larger "chambers" (with a bigger volume) that take the same time to build up a vacuum of lets´s say 500 mbar below ambient pressure.
I guess you've never looked at other professional desoldering systems such as the Pace? They all use a larger pump that only runs when you press the button and it works just fine.
You´re missing the point and comparing apples with oranges.
A bigger pump of the same type (membrane-pump) would make things even worse with THIS desolder-station.
First these pump-types always have a delay between switching on and full vacuum.
Second the power supply would probably slow down the ramping up of the DC-motor because it isn´t designed for a heavier load and thus the build-up time of full vacuum would further be extended.
This video is about improving exactly THIS budget desolder-station with easy means and a small investment.
qwaqwa1960 had a better suggestion (the post below) by just using the valve with a little delay after the pump has started.
Another way would be to seal the vacuum reservoir on both ends with a solenoid valve so that the pump doens´t have to run all the time but only if the vacuum in the reservoir drops below a certain level.
Using the valve with a little delay after the pump has started sounds like a good idea. I couldn't stand having the pump running all the time.
The pump is not so loud when the case is closed. (Even the shitty little fan inside is just as loud as the pump :-)
I will perhaps try the solution with the valve attached directly to the gun and a little delay-circuit with a 555-timer. If that works OK, that would give a more "compact" arrangement by getting rid of the big vacuum-reservoir box. On the other hand it of course takes longer to build due to the extra electronics.
Let´s see if I find the time.
as you can see its absolu.........oops
Not that cheap