If a chip on your server motherboard is damaged, simply scrapping it would increase costs significantly. It’s worth noting that server motherboards vary greatly in price among different brands, depending on the functions of the chips. Some server motherboard chips can cost from thousands to hundreds of thousands. Using a machine to remove and re-solder BGA chips can save a considerable amount of costs. Yes! You guessed it right, a high-precision BGA rework station can do the job! Below, I’ll explain how to use a BGA rework station to remove and re-solder a damaged BGA chip on a server motherboard.
Firstly, before repairing the chip on the server motherboard, we need to identify the cause of the chip damage. Since the South Bridge chip is widely used for tasks like booting up, standby, power loss, etc., its failure rate is relatively high. Therefore, when you receive a damaged server motherboard, you can test it to identify the problem and then proceed with targeted repairs. After confirming the chip damage, if needed, we should remove the damaged BGA chip and then solder a new one. To solder a BGA properly, we need to find a way to remove it first. This is where professional BGA rework equipment comes into play.
When removing the chip, it’s important to note that some server motherboard chips use a BIOS battery. To prevent the battery from exploding due to high temperatures during BGA removal, it’s necessary to remove the battery before the BGA removal process for safety. After removing the battery, check if there is any adhesive around the server motherboard chip. If there is adhesive, it needs to be removed first. Then, fix the server motherboard chip on the fixture of the BGA rework station.
Next, set the temperature curve. If your server motherboard chip has leaded solder balls, set the temperature to around 185-215 degrees Celsius. If it’s lead-free solder balls, the temperature needs to be set to around 215-235 degrees Celsius to ensure that the temperature is sufficient for BGA removal. If you’re unsure whether it contains lead, you can test the temperature first using the leaded temperature to avoid damaging the chip due to excessive temperature or inability to remove it due to low temperature.
Once the temperature curve is set, open the optical alignment system of the fully computerized precision optical BGA rework station DEZ-R870 and perform alignment. Then, align the upper and lower nozzles with the position of the chip to be removed, confirm it’s correct, and start the device for heating. When the temperature reaches the position where the BGA chip can be removed, the machine automatically sucks the damaged BGA chip on the server motherboard. Then, the suction nozzle slowly rises, and the removed BGA chip is automatically placed in the waste bin.
The removal of the BGA chip is fully automated, and the entire process does not require manual intervention to prevent the chip from hitting surrounding components when it’s removed. After the machine completes the removal, the server motherboard needs to be cleaned. Mainly, the residual solder paste needs to be scraped off.
After the machine stops heating, it’s important not to move the chip immediately. Moving the chip immediately after heating stops may cause deformation due to incomplete soldering, potentially causing a short circuit in the chip.
