PlayStation, Rework, Repair, PS3, GPU, CPU, Game Console, PCB, BGA, Station

All Zephyrtronics Equipment is Engineered and Manufactured in the United States of America.

PlayStation ® Repair: Your Solution for GPU, CPU, BGA, SMT & CSP Rework, Reflow, Repair & Reballing

PlayStation® Repair Made Easy

ZEPHYRTRONICS ZT-7-PSR HOT AIR REFLOW CENTER

Soldering, De-Soldering & ReBalling the GPU, CPU on the PlayStation® Console Boards

Repairing Sony's popular PlayStation® printed circuit board (PCB) is now easier than ever with the Zephyrtronics ZT-7-PSR Hot Air Soldering Benchtop System. The ZT-7 System makes either 1.) just reflowing the chips; or 2.) de-soldering and removing the GPU and CPU and then replacing and re-soldering them back to the PCB is a breeze. And best of all, the ZT-7 System is also very affordable and is manufactured by Zephyrtronics.

Don't be fooled by IR systems that might repair the PCB temporarily, but that can actually do more harm than good to the board and chips. You want complete reflow of then entire ball of solder on every connection, not just tangential reflow that can open up again if the board flexes when the PlayStation® is being used again. The ZT-7 System is equally effective for repairing XBox360's which you can learn about at this direct link: XBox360 Rework Station. But, for now, let's get back to the PlayStation.

PlayStation, PCB, Printed Circuit Board, Repair, Rework

Above you can see a PlayStation® printed circuit board (PCB) populated with its components including the two, larger critical GPU and CPU chips. These two components, because they are large, because they have full metallic tops on the chips, and because they use lead-free solder alloys, they require effective, forced convection (hot air) preheating from below the PC board in order to achieve a proper reflow of the solder joints on the solder balls underneath the chips (see the yellow highlighted sidebar for further explanation).

				In the photo at the left, you can see one of the two large processors used on the Sony® PlayStation® . As mentioned before, the high metal content on top of the chip can make it very difficult to remove, reball and replace and re-solder without damaging the chip. It is imperative that the both the PCB and the chip be carefully preheated first, and preferably with hot air so that the rework will reach solder melt, but not at excessively high temperatures. Effective, pre-heating is simply required for successful reflow or rework the PlayStation® chips. And this is where IR systems fail.
One of the PlayStation® BGA's Shown Above
One of the PlayStation® BGA's Shown Above

The ZT-7 is the very same soldering system that was used by NASA to place and solder the critical, high-reliability I.C.'s on the two Mars Rovers whose mission was so successful in 2003 and 2004.

Good enough for NASA and, yet easy enough to repair a PlayStation® or an XBox® 360 PCB! And at a great price!

Click here for greater detail on the ZT-7 Hot Air Station.

ZT-7 Benchtop System

Helpful Rework Guide: Zephyrtronics ships every ZT-7 with a detailed and helpful owners manual along with the 39-page report by NASA for its employees which features approximately 300 photographs filled with technical tips and techniques. In addition, for those reworking and repairing PlayStation® modules, Zephyrtronics also includes a step-by-step illustrated guide for removing and replacing the components and even practice printed circuit boards and chips!

A Word of Warning from NASA About IR Rework Systems: "Hot plates and infrared pre-heaters are not recommended...The reason that they should not be used is that the thermal reaction times, energy transfer rates and efficiency are never consistent." The Zephyrtronics ZT-7 System uses no IR whatsover, but the decades-long proven industry standard of forced convection hot air.

For more information and to learn more about the pitfalls with IR preheating systems, see a summary of the 4 Methods of Preheating which illustrates the advantages of bottom-side forced convection preheating and why it is an industry standard in PCB work worldwide.

Understanding the GPU, CPU, Memory Chips and Ball Grid Arrays (BGA's):

Q: What are these chip packages that Microsoft® and Sony® call the GPU, the CPU, and the Memory Chips? And why do they look so different from other components?

A: These are electronic chips that are packaged in what are called Ball Grid Array formats (BGA's). They are a relatively new form of Surface Mount Devices (SMD) and are similar to other components in that they have an integrated circuit (die) within the package and that they have connections to be soldered. However, instead of leads at the side of the chip, the connections are balls underneath the chip (See Below):

XBox 360, BGA, GPU, CPU, Memory Chip

Above Left: Bottom Side of a QFP Surface Mount Chip with the leads at the side for soldering to the PCB.

Above Right: Bottom Side of a Ball Grid Array (BGA) Chip with solder spheres (balls) at the bottom for soldering to the PCB.

Many of the chips on today's PlayStations® and XBOX 360® Printed Circuit Boards are packaged in the BGA format shown above including the GPU, CPU and Memory Chips. Indeed, most consumer electronic PCB's today incorporate more and more BGA style chips as they are more robust in construction and have faster gate speed for processing.

Once the BGA is placed and soldered onto the PCB, you can no longer "see" the connections (balls) as they are underneath the chip and no longer visible to the eye.

Finally, the PlayStation® or XBOX 360® PCB's components are all soldered to the pads with lead-free solder, not the traditional solder that everyone is familiar with. Lead-free solder requires higher than traditional temperatures which makes preheating the PCB imperative.

Good News! Believe it or not, BGA's are surprisingly easy to remove and replace with the right equipment, the proper procedures. And Zephyrtronics has built into the popular ZT-7 System so many great features including effective preheating fo those lead-free solder joints so as to make your job now much easier to perform.

The ZT-7 is easy to operate and includes closed-loop and digital temperature control, plus digital countdown timing, bottom-side pre-heating and thermal ramping to enhance the quality of your work. Of course, the ZT-7 is not limited to just working on PlayStation® PCB's, but is ideal for prototyping tasks, low volume production runs and rework and repair of your SMT and BGA tasks.

For more specifications and product details, click here to see the full webpage on the ZT-7 Hot Air BGA & SMT Rework Center. Also, feel free to call us at our factory in Los Angeles County between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM Monday through Friday at (909) 865-2595 or e-mail us at david@zeph.com. We are here and happy to help.

ZT-7-PSR REWORK COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM
Description		Item	Price
	The ZT-7-PSR System Comprehensive BGA & SMT Hot Air Bench Top Reflow System Includes: The ZT-7-MIL (shown above) and The ZT-1-BGS-DPU AirBath The ABC-1 Adjustable Board Cradle ZT-7-PSK Benchtop Supply Kit Includes the 42.5mm X 42.5mm BGA Nozzle for the GPU & CPU and Your Soldering & DeSoldering Supplies	ZT-7-MIL ZT-1-BGS-DPU ABC-1 ZLK-PS	~~$7,175~~ LIMITED TIME OFFER! $6,495

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