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How to Choose the Proper Hot Air Nozzle
“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make, makes you.” John C Maxwell an American author, and public speaker, said this regarding the choices we make throughout our lifetime. Some choices can be as difficult as knowing how to choose the proper hot air nozzle. This month, we’re going to explain how to choose the correct hot air nozzle for your rework application.
In the past we’ve discussed how to select the right soldering iron tip, which you can read here. When choosing a nozzle for your hot air rework station, there are a few important factors you need to consider.
• Type of component being reworked.
• Size of the component being reworked.
• Any contributing factors to the nozzle’s performance, such as where is the heat / airflow being directed
When all the above factors have been considered, choosing a hot air nozzle for your application will be much simpler. It’s best practice to first, whenever possible, find the data sheet from the manufacturer that corresponds to the chip you will be working with.
For example, say we’re working with a BGA package with 23 x 23mm dimensions with 241 leads underneath. We want the heat to be directed to all 241 leads on the package. What we need is a nozzle that is as close to the size of the package as possible to have optimal air flow to heat up the entire BGA. For a 23 x 23mm BGA package, the best fit would be our N51-21 (24mm x 24mm) nozzle.
Other important factors to consider are if there will be any masking around the component to protect other components from excessive heat? You want to make sure that you can properly mask any heat sensitive components immediately surrounding the component you want removed from exposure to heat. This can affect the type of nozzle you are able to work with due to the direction and location of airflow exiting the nozzle.
Will the component you are removing require vacuum pick-up or will other means of removal be necessary? Depending on the physical construction of your nozzle vacuum pickup function may not be available.
Lastly, consider the temperature setting and what will be the optimal air flow for the nozzle. One of the most important factors when choosing a nozzle is knowing the correct combination of airflow and heat to use on your application. Incorrect combinations can cause degradation in the performance of the hot air unit or potential damage to the application. For recommendations on air flow and heat combinations please reference the Temperature Distribution Chart on your Hot Air Station Owner's Manual. 
In the event no nozzles are available for your application, you may contact American Hakko Products, with as much information about the component/application as possible, and our customer service representative will work with you in creating a custom nozzle for your specific application.
For more information on our hot air stations and hot air nozzles, visit us at www.HakkoUSA.com or to inquire about custom nozzles please contact us at 1-800-88-HAKKO (42556) or at [email protected].
-HakkoUSA