I'm in the market for a HIGH end BGA rework machine, any recommendations?

I've used VJ Electronics Summit series of rework machine. I liked the programing interface. You can used canned scripts for basic removal/replacement processes or you edit/write your own if you want a customized work flow.

The machines are very operator friendly as well. Once your engineer sets up the profile, any reasonable competent operator can run it. Cost wise, depending what features you want, you should be able to find a model anywhere in your price range.

They have a solder scavenging feature, however my machine did not have this, so I can't comment on it.

Another option I considered was Air-Vac. Those units are a little less expensive but I really liked the solder vacuum they had.

http://www.vjelectronix.com/ http://www.air-vac-eng.com/products.html

Insert standard "I receive no benefit nor compensation from the aforementioned companies"

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Rather than provide an endorsement of a particular brand, I'd like to give you some factors to consider in your selection: 1.) Bottom heater capacity and capability. The bottom heater is a key driver in a successful rework process. You want to evenly heat your substrate to limit localized CTE impact. It is critical that your bottom heater be able to heat the boards that you intend to build. An 800W heater may not be good enough for a 14 layer board with 1 oz copper but may be fine for an 8 layer board with 1/2 oz. 2.) Availability of nozzles and tooling. You need to apply top heat with a chimney or nozzle. How cost effective are they? How readily available are they? You'll build up quite a collection of nozzles. 3.) What type of parts can you handle. The standard pick up tube on "the major platforms" can't handle tiny CSP and WLP packages. They need a special pickup tube or adapter. How easy is this to install? What is the cost associated? 4.) Scavenging... Why? If you're reworking a slew of boards, scavenging is great. If you're swapping out one or two BTCs, the cost of set up and maintenance of the scavenging system isn't worth it. The big guys both make great scavengers but they come with a cost.

There are other things to think about such as support and spare parts availability as well as ease of use. Just my two cents. That might have been 10 cents worth. Sorry about the lengthy reply.

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