Tutorial: Heatgunning Without Damaging Anything, Isolation especially... Options

[Wilhelm_I]

Heatgunning the mainboard is a risky thing as it will definitely start smoking if you dont isolate it properly most people will have noticed that already.
I heatgun all the boards before I replace the X-Clamps and played around with different isolations(rockwool, aluminium foil etc.)
This one was the cheapest and best in my opinion though because I didnt have to clean the mainboard after I was done like with the rockwool and it is much better to handle..

Well what you need:
- Completely disassembled xbox 360 mainboard(always remove the heatsinks or you can trash the board after you reflowed the solder...)
- A heatgun obviously
- Some aluminium foil
- tape
- Some thick plastic foil(like on the picture, the thicker the better)

The pictures were resized so just click one to see the high def version of it...
Well lets start...


This is the foil I used


Then cut out a hole for the CPU etc


So that it looks like that


Then fix it with the tape and make sure you close everything so that no air can come through...


Same procedure for the other side, cut and fix with tape


Use some tape to fix the rest on the backside, dont put any foil over the holes of the screws though cause it will melt then


Then cover everything with aluminium foil make sure that there are no holes again


Now you are done. Get your heatgun and use it on the lowest step to warm it up for a minute. Never keep it at the same spot, move it over the whole area in circles. Then switch to the next step (thats a 500°C for me) and heatgun it for another 3 minutes.
The solder get a golden/yellowish glance when it reflowed, then you are done. Also make sure that you never move the board or accidently hit the table while you are reflowing it because this might fuck it up completely...


Then let it cool down for at least 45 minutes and after that carefully remove the aluminium foil and the rest of the isolation. You will see that the plastic melted but the most important components are still covered(like the big caps). If you still got the time turn the mainboard around and heatgun it from the other side as well thats what I always do but the first time should have been enough already. On the backside you wont have to isolate anything as there isnt anything that melts at low temps just watch out for the plastic parts(you shouldnt be anywhere near them while heatgunning though because it is not the area that you want to reflow...)

Now you are done, congrats!


This is a little example of what happens if you dont isolate it properly...
On the right side I only used aluminium foil, the big caps that the arrays point at melted at the bottom and the top is burned and raised a bit. If I wouldnt have stopped when they started smoking I bet they would have blown up...

I hope the tutorial helped you if you have anymore questions though just post a reply or send me a PM...

It would be nice if a moderator could move it to the Hardware Chat forum because I was to retarded to notice that I was in Xbox360 Case / Hardware Modding.
Thank You

[redwolf]

great tutorial...thx

[meduquaine1]

Should you foil anything while just heating the bottom of the board?

[redhound12]

its best when reflowing to use some spray rework flux this helps the process,also for a chip the same applies but a fine tip iron and a good magnifing glass will work and the flux helps prevent solder bridges.

[Wilhelm_I]

Should you foil anything while just heating the bottom of the board?

Nope you dont have to isolate anything then because there arent any big caps but watch out for the buttons and the connectors because they might melt as well if they get too hot. So never direct the heatgun at them

[bonzof.pl]

Portugal brazil? http://youtube.com/watch?v=8dowXG7wZ4Q

This post has been edited by bonzof.pl: May 25 2008, 08:18 PM

[grim_d]

i hope you arent heatgunning for customers before replacing the x-clamps, cause if you are you have no idea if you acctually fixed the problem with the x-clamp replacement.

If a box is fixable with x-clamp replacement it should need nothing more, if it does you have not acctually fixed the problem, just prolonged its life.

This post has been edited by grim_d: May 25 2008, 08:24 PM

[Wilhelm_I]

i hope you arent heatgunning for customers before replacing the x-clamps, cause if you are you have no idea if you acctually fixed the problem with the x-clamp replacement.

If a box is fixable with x-clamp replacement it should need nothing more, if it does you have not acctually fixed the problem, just prolonged its life.

Well I started fixing them like a 10 months ago for friends and family and lately I am also doing it for customers, I work in one of these modding shops.
I do it like that, when I get one I first check the errorcode etc so that I dont waste time on unnecessary things.
If it is actually GPU related I remove the X-Clamps of the GPU+ the screws etc so that I only have the plain heatsink
Then I start the 360 with the heatsink on, most still ROD then. Then I put some more pressure on the heatsink and try to boot it again if it boots I know it is one of the solder joints. Then I heatgun it properly from both sides like described here and apply the X-Clamp replacement afterwards. So far none of the 360s that I fixed like that have RODd again, I know that it is not such a long time range but this method has worked way better than the X-Clamp replacement did. Only with the X-Clamp replacement most 360s RODd again after 3weeks-5 months

[Shareef187]

i hope you arent heatgunning for customers before replacing the x-clamps, cause if you are you have no idea if you acctually fixed the problem with the x-clamp replacement.

If a box is fixable with x-clamp replacement it should need nothing more, if it does you have not acctually fixed the problem, just prolonged its life.

Honestly, doing the X-clamp replacement alone rarely was enough for me. I was having many units come back to me within 1 month's time after doing the X-clamp replacement alone (RBJtech MK3 method followed to a T). I did, I've since begun implementing usage of a heatgun as standard, and not only do the units always work immediately upon reassembly (before I would often have to make several adjustments, or bake attempts before the ROD would disappear), I have not had 1 single unit return. Period.

Also, I used to do the whole foil/isolation bit, but I have since stopped, and find it completely unnecessary as long as I focus using the heat gun on the areas that do not require it and/or will melt, and I have not had any problems, nor even the slightest signs of them being affected. Not only does it save me time, but I had also had one instance were 2 caps actually stuck to the foil, and detached from the motherboard upon the removal of the foil... but, admittedly, for your average individual, it probably is recommended that they do use the foil.

Great tut!

Honestly, doing the X-clamp replacement alone rarely was enough for me. I was having many units come back to me within 1 month's time after doing the X-clamp replacement alone (RBJtech MK3 method followed to a T).

I forgot to mention that I did, however, fix a couple units where the X-clamp replacement alone WAS enough, so that goes to show that it definitely wasn't my implementation of the technique that was incorrect on the other's where it was not sufficient.

I just have yet to find a case where careful implementation of a heat gun, in addition to the X-clamp replacement, would have an adverse effect from just using the X-clamp replacement alone, therefore I think it is perfectly viable to use it as part of a standard procedure. I'd be happy to be proven otherwise, though.

[Wilhelm_I]

My host just deleted my account(too much traffic I guess..) , sorry about that guys...
It would be nice if a moderator could update the links of the pictures in my first post, I am going to post them here in the order like above with the new links...
Thanks in advance












This post has been edited by Wilhelm_I: May 31 2008, 12:29 PM

[gamesfreak]

1) Doesn't the melted plastic screw up the board at all. I hope it doesn't become to messy to remove.
2) What distance do you keep your heatgun from the mobo.
3) Do you focus on any one particular area at all or is it uniform motion across all uncovered parts in the pics.
4) Can you upload a pic of the th yellow glance on the solder please. I dont want to underdo or overdo the process.

[NEWBIEMUPPET]

hi I've just tried this method, be careful if the electrolitics get hot they go bang really, I'm lucky not to be blinded Guess I was to far away the whole board was cooking, but the solder not soft though. Pay particualr attention to masking off. I think the distance I had about 3 to 4 inches away was to far to.

Questin, what tape did you use to fix it down.

WEAR Goggles/Safety Glasses

back to ebay for another kit

[Wilhelm_I]

I just used a lot of transparent tape(Tesa) because I didnt have any isolation tape...
The trick is to close all holes so that no air can go through especially with the aluminum foil
The melted plastic foil is quite easy to get off it doesnt glue itself to the components or so(at least not the one I used)
You heatgun it from like 5-7 cm in circles make sure that you never keep it at the same spot because then you will burn it you want to gradually heat it up to its melting point...

@ NEWBIEPUPPET
Did you even isolate it at all?
If you would have done it like me there wouldnt have been the danger that the caps blow up in your face the foils would hold it back if it even got hot enough

@ gamesfreak
Here is a picture of what it looks like kind of but the guy who heatgunned this mainboard overdid it.
However this is kind of the color that the solder should have when you got to stop immediately...

[RYU81]

what the alternative for foil ?I don't have same as you used it.

[HackerSupreme]

Ya where did you find the plastic foil?

Is it possible to just use like a couple of layers of aluminum paper?