The other aspect of the Reflow process is the size of the
chip, meaning the temperature needed in order to get the lead free solder to
the point of melt is also based on the size of the chip. The greater the size of the chip or area the
greater the heat plus amount of time it will take to get to the point of
melt. Using a heat gun to get the GPU to
the point of melt while the heat is blowing around other components that are
very small in size will cause smaller components to get too hot, the solder
will liquefy and the smaller chips will move out of place and cause permanent
damage to the board. Also, in using a
heat gun you will need to monitor the temperature of the GPU as you are
attempting the Reflow since you do not want to go above the 400 degree Fahrenheit
mark or 200 Celsius.
There is the amount of time that the GPU should be heated
base of the size of the area of the chip that must be adhered to as well. Based on the specifications for getting
solder to the point of melt, you cannot just blast the chip to 400 degrees
Fahrenheit and expect any type of good results.
You are trying to get the lead free solder to the point of melt at a
safe rate. If you get the chip to 220
Celsius then the time to liquid (TAL) is about 30 seconds, meaning if you took
the chip to the highest degree over several minutes, then maintained that for
an addition 30 seconds the lead free solder would flow, which is not what we
are trying to accomplish. There are four
steps in the reflow process which need to be followed; the first step is the
Preheat Zone; this is where you are getting the entire motherboard warmed and
avoiding thermal shock. Again you are
trying to avoid ramping up heat to quickly to keep from damaging sensitive
components on the motherboard. The next step
in the process is the Soak Zone; this is where you are safely bringing the
temperature of the board up to the Reflow Zone.
Obviously, the next step in the process is the Reflow Zone which is
where you are maintaining a level of heat adequate to get the solder to the
point of melt over a short period of time.
The last part of the process is the Cooling Zone; this is where you will
bring the temperature of the board down slowly over a short period of time to
keep from causing any weak solder joints.
Preparation is actually one of the very first steps and
very important step in repairing the Xbox 360 from the RRoD. Once you have disassembled the Xbox 360, you
need to clean the motherboard. You can
use distilled water, but you would have to completely dry the board prior to
the Reflow process or you can use electro static alcohol made specifically for
electronic components. Also, you will
need to use liquid flux around the GPU and CPU prior to the Reflow process. The flux will help to clean up the lead free
solder and remove most of the oxidation that has built up around the solder
balls. At this point you are ready to reflow the GPU on the motherboard with
your heating device whether it is the heat gun, hot air solution or with the
preferred method of the Infrared system, like the PACE IR 1000. Once the motherboard has been properly heated
you are going to need to allow time for cooling of the motherboard; the time
needed to cool prior to assembly will depend again on the size of the chip that
was heated. With the chip cooled you are
ready to reassembly the console or device, whether it is an Xbox 360, PS3 or
other device.
GameDay Resources makes some minor changes to the Xbox 360
to help eliminate as much of the heat as possible by adding a small resistor to
the motherboard which will speed up the fan drawing out more of the heat that
is created by the Xbox 360. Adding the
resistor helps to speed up the fan as well as keep the fan quiet, as opposed to
rewiring the fan with the DVD power cable.
Rewiring the fan to the power cable will also increase the fan speed,
but it will also make the fan very loud which can take away from the enjoyment
of game play. We also make some changes
internally to help draw out some of the heat from the front of the console so
the overall temperature of the system runs cooler than the original
design. We have also developed some
methods for the PS3 during the reflow process to help increase the life
expectancy once the GPU has been heated. From our latest improvements to our
reflow process we have had very good results in units that had repeated failures
over a small period of time as well as seeing better results of units that did
not have repeated failures. GameDay
Resources continues to improve their processes with research and development in
an effort to provide our customers with the very best customer experience that
is available with today’s video game consoles.
