Solder sucker

A solder sucker is a device which is used to remove solder from a printed circuit board (PCB), as opposed to a desoldering bulb or solder wick. It is usually a small, spring-loaded device that "sucks", as the name implies, the solder off the previously soldered connection. The way one typically works is, it's first applied to a heated solder connection, then the user activates the device (usually via button) to "suck" the solder away. Other models use a motor powered vacuum pump instead of spring to generate the vacuum.

Performance

The performance of different suckers varies significantly. Because the tool uses the fast flow of air to suck solder, the solder solidifies almost instantly. Hence for an effective tool, the flow of air must be fast enough to get most of the solder through the narrow opening of the tool before it solidifies. High operating speed is primarily dependent on small size of moving parts, hence generally the larger suckers perform less well.

However, solder suckers that rely on sudden, fast flow of air could damage the fragile SMT components. Hence, high-end solder sucker uses a vacuum pump that gives constant airflow, which is much less damaging than the sudden vacuum of air from a spring-loaded solder sucker.

ee also

* Soldering
* Desoldering

References

Hrynkiw, Dave/ Tilden, Mark W.(2002). "Junkbots, Bugbots & Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots with BEAM Technology"p.57-58. California:McGraw-Hill/ Osborne. ISBN 0-07-222601-3