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

1994
The "early days" of the company as David Jacks & Randy Walston lay ground work, engineer, R&D, test & evaluate & apply for patents on their new, milestone low temp approach to benchtop soldering & rework.

1995
The Company introduces world’s first stand-alone, bottom-side preheating system, The AirBath™. 

1996
Zephyrtronics awarded the "Vision Award" for Best New Product of the Year at the Surface Mount Int'l Expo in Silicon Valley.

1997
SMT Magazine's editorial staff calls Zephyrtronics one of the three most innovative companies  that year. Boeing chooses our AirBaths for the International Space Station Project.

1998
 U.S. Department of Defense selects Zephyrtronics as supplier. Boeing tests & approves Zephyrtronics AirBath™
& DeSolder for
SMD removal

1999
Raytheon and
National Semiconductor recommend Zephyrtronics in published papers.

2000
Zephyrtronics continues
 3-year string as fastest growing soldering equipment manufacturer in the U.S.A. Also: Introduction of     dispensing product line.

2001
  Raytheon  touts  Zephyrtronics after Six Sigma Study.

2002
Our ZT-7-MIL is selected by The J.P.L. Mars Rover Project for BGA tasks.

2003
 International Rectifier recommends Zephyrtronics
for BGA rework.

2004
NASA issues 39-page touting Zephyrtronics for making "mounting & removal of thru-hole and SMT/BGA easier than routine bench methods"

2005
 Zephyrtronics expands its preheating line with our
MegaGrid™ AirBath.

2006
 Introduction of ZeroLead® branded lead-free solder paste and ZeroLead® LowMelt® DeSolder Wire.  both are RoHS Compliant.

2007
Zephyrtronics launches
 e-commerce site for the our world-wide customers.

Your Solution for BGA, SMT and CSP Rework & Repair and Reballing
 

XBOX 360 REPAIR EASY WITH YOUR
  ZEPHYRTRONICS ZT-7 HOT AIR REFLOW CENTER

Soldering & De-Soldering the GPU, CPU & the Samsung "Memory Chip"
 
 

Repairing the wildly popular Microsoft® Xbox 360 printed circuit board (PCB) is now easier that ever with the Zephyrtronics ZT-7 Hot Air Soldering Benchtop System. The ZT-7 System makes both de-soldering and removing the GPU, CPU and Memory Chips and /or replacing and re-soldering them back to the PCB a breeze. And best of all, the ZT-7 System is also very affordable and is manufactured by Zephyrtronics.

Above you can see the XBOX 360 printed circuit board populated with its components including the critical GPU, CPU and Memory Chip chips. And shown below is the XBOX CPU component which is Ball Grid Array (BGA) styled package (see the yellow highlighted sidebar for further explanation, if needed).

Because BGA's such as this CPU chip have less metal content than the old traditional components with leads, these chips are more sensitive to high temperatures requiring that the PCB be preheated before any rework can be performed so as not to damage them during your rework or repair.

The ZT-7 BGA & SMT Hot Air Reflow Center is a comprehensive, yet not expensive benchtop system that incorporates both bottom-side preheating (AirBath) and top-side hot air for the final soldering or desoldering of the chip (See below).

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 an XBox 360 PCB!

 zt7_bgs_small_copy

Above: ZT-7 Benchtop System
 

X-Box Repair 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 X-Box modules, Zephyrtronics also includes a step-by-step illustrated guide for removing and replacing the GPU's, CPU's and Memory Chips on the X-box 360 PCB's. The X-Box Repair Guide also is filled with photographs and detailed technical explanations of the process.

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 XBox 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.

 

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

Q: What are these chip packages that Microsoft® calls 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):

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 the XBOX 360 Printed Circuit Board 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 XBOX 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.
 
 
 

DESCRIPTION

PART #

PRICE

zt7_bgs_small_copy

The ZT-7-XBOX 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
ZLK-XBOX Benchtop Supply Kit Includes the following BGA Nozzles ZT-7-3021 (31 X 31MM), ZT-7-3007 (35 X 35MM), ZT-7-3082 (11 X 14MM) and ZT-7-3005 (23 X 23MM) 
 

ZT-7-MIL
ZT-1-BGS-DPU
ABC-1
ZLK-XBOX
 


$7,175

LIMITED
TIME
OFFER!

$6,495

 

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©1996 - 2008 Zephyrtronics®. All rights reserved. The information you receive online from Zephyrtronics® is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, retransmitting, or repurposing of any copyright-protected material. Zephyrtronics is the registered trademark property of JTI, Inc. "The Science of Zephyrtronics" and "Simplicity Through Innovation" and "Zephlux" and "ZeroLead" and "Zero Balling" and "Zero Residue" and "Post Cooling" are the protected trademark property of JTI, Inc. "Zephyrtronics" and "Low Melt" and "Air Fountain" and "Fountainhead" are the registered trademark properties of JTI Inc. *The above names are the registered property of their respective owners.

CLICK HERE to go directly to our easy-to-navigate and illustrated Product Directory.

SMD Rework, SMT Rework
AirBath Air Bath, SMD Rework Stations, Hot Air Pencil Soldering, BGA Rework Stations, CSP Rework Stations, Preheating Systems, PCB Preheaters, Pre-Heat SMT/ SMD, Low Temp Rework, SMT DeSoldering Tools, Vacuum Pickup Tools, Circuit Board Holders, PCB Fixtures, Board Cradles, Rework Solder Paste, No-Clean Solder Paste, Low Melt® De-Solder Wire, DeSolder Wire, Hot Air Rework Stations, Fume Extractors, SMT Dental Probes, SMT, SMD Rework Kit, BGA Rework Kit, LMK Kit, BGA Re-Balling Kit, SMD Tweezers, Power Palm Plunger

How To - SMT, CSP, BGA Rework
 How To - BGA Alignment; How To - SMT Rework; How To - PCB Preheating, How To - BGA & CSP Rework; How To - Quickly Solder SMD Packages Effectively; How To - CSP Alignment; How To - Lead-Free Rework; How To - SMD Removal Economical; How To - SMD Removal Professional; How To - Hot Air Pencil / AirPencil Soldering; How To - SMD Quick Chip Removal; How To - BGA Re-Balling; How To - Rework PLCC, QFP, QFN, LCC, SOIC, SOL, Shielded SMD, TSOP; How To - Solder & Rework Ceramic Capacitors; How To - Solder & Rework Glass Diodes

Soldering, De-Soldering
 Soldering Accessories, Solder Wire, No-Clean Solder Wire, Eutectic Solder Wire, Solder Wire Dispenser, Solder Paste, Lead-Free Solder Paste, Flux, Solder Paste Dispensers, Low Melt® DeSolder Wire, De-Solder Wire, Soldering Irons, Digital Soldering Station, MIL-Spec Soldering Station, ESD Soldering Station, Soldering Tips, Thru-Hole DeSoldering Tools, DeSoldering Tips, Tips for DeSoldering, De-Solder Wick, Smoke Extractors, Fume Extractor Filters, Carbon Activated Filters, SolderMill™, Pre-heating Systems, Preheat Thru-Hole, PCB Pre-heaters, Flux Solvent, How To - Connector Rework; How To - PC/104 Soldering and Rework; How To - Thru-Hole / Through Hole Desolder / De-Solder; How To - Low Melt® Desolder Wire; How To- Stop Lifting Pads; How To- Desolder / De-Solder Heavy Ground Planes; How To - Lead-Free Soldering and De-Soldering; Pre-Heaters for Lead-Free Rework and Soldering

Dispensing
 Dispensing Systems, Dispensing Syringes, Dispensing Barrels, Tapered Dispensing Tips, Blunt Needles, Stainless Steel Needles, Dispensing Needles, Industrial Needles, Dispensing Tips, Dispensing Accessories, Solder Paste in Syringe, Paste Rack Solder Paste Holder™, Dispensing Supplies, Power Palm Plunger, Manual Dispensing, Automatic Dispensing

Benchtop Accessories, Bench Supplies, Benchtop Tools
SMD Solder Paste, Solder Wire, LowMelt®, No-Clean Flux, BGA Flux, Rework Tack Flux, Non-Flammable Flux Remover, Inspection Equipment, Magnification Equipment, Magnifying Worklight, ESD Magnifier,Pen Vac, SMT Tweezers, Fume Extraction, SMD Tweezers, PC Board Fixtures, Hot Air Tips, AirTips, Replacement Soldering Sponges, Iron Plated Soldering Tips, Foam Swabs, Anti-Static Foam Swabs, Thru-Hole Brushes, LMK Rework Kits, X-BOX 360 Repair