There are numerous methods for removing components from a circuit board, ranging from employing desoldering irons to shakily knocking breadboard components off the side of a table. Desoldering is a crucial skill to acquire once you’ve mastered soldering because it’s not unheard of for a soldering operation to go wrong.
How to Desolder Through Hole Components
The basic premise of desoldering is straightforward. You must first heat the solder, then figure out how to remove the component or wires cleanly, and last clean up any remaining solder on the board or component. The various processes and their steps of desoldering through hole components are given below.
Using a Soldering Iron
If you only have a soldering iron, your only alternative is to heat the solder and tinker with it until the components come out. First, heat up the solder using the iron. Then, to remove most of the solder from the junction, slide the iron up the pins.
Finally, while the components are still hot, carefully pull on them with pliers to remove their pins from the pin holes. To maintain component quality, it’s a good idea to tug on their leads rather than the components themselves.
Using Solder Wick
Desoldering braid, also known as solder wick, is a useful desoldering technique for removing undesired solder. It comes as a coil of wire strands that have been braided together. As copper conducts heat well and solder is attracted to heat, you can draw solder away from your part and into the braid by heating it up.
Flux is included in some desoldering braid, making it considerably easier and cleaner to remove a part. If your soldering braid doesn’t come with flux, you can make your own by dipping the section of braid you’ll be using into the flux. To proceed, at first, remove a few inches of braid from the coil and unwind it.
Then, place the braid on top of the reworked joint. To solder the braid and desired pin together, use a hot soldering iron. Wait for a few moments. Solder will flow from the pin onto the braid. Then, Take out the braid. At this time, the braid will be quite hot, so only touch the spool and not the braid itself. Finally, eliminate the component.
Using Desoldering Pump
Using a desoldering pump is one of the most comfortable ways to desolder a component. You can use the desoldering pump to pull the solder up and out of the way after it has been heated. First, using a soldering iron, heat the solder you want to remove. Then, push the plunger down.
Place the tip of the desoldering pump against the solder you wish to remove after it’s melted. Remove the bulb or plunger. Some desoldering pumps contain a release button so you don’t have to have your hand on it the entire time.
Take away the free component. Remove any excess solder by repeating the previous procedures. Finally, using the plunger, continually press down and release the solder inside the pump.
Using Heat Gun to Desolder
Fundamentally, a heat gun heats up the solder to the point where the components may be removed. Using a hot air station, which is essentially a heat gun specifically designed for desoldering, is a somewhat more professional and expensive means of doing this.
To desolder using a heat gun first set the heat gun on. Then, hold the circuit board over the air streaTim with pliers. Finally, remove the component off the board with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
Using Compressed Air
If you don’t have access to any of the tools indicated above, there are a few additional options for removing components if you need them right away, one of which is utilizing a compressed air can. By simply blasting molten solder away, you can eliminate solder from your component. There are two methods of using compressed air. Both of them are listed below.
Method 1
To proceed with this method, safety glasses are required as this procedure scatters molten solder bits all over the place. First, using a soldering iron, heat the solder. Then, get the nose of the compressed air can or gun up near the joint after the solder is hot. Finally, with the nozzle facing away from you, blast it with air.
Method 2
If you don’t have a soldering iron on hand, you can go for this method. When you turn the compressed air can upside down, a cold liquid solvent is sprayed out. This causes the solder to super-cool, making it exceedingly fragile.
For running this method, turn the compressed air car over on its side. Spritz it on the joints. While parts of the board will turn, they will return to normal in a few seconds. Using pliers, remove the components.
Conclusion
Desoldering is a hard affair, and many people have devised their own methods for removing components from circuit boards without damaging them. We’ve tried to cover some basic methods of desoldering through hole components in this article.
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