Removing the DNA 200 Buttons and replacing with Tactiles

[xevape]

[Advanced Soldering]


https://instagram.com/p/5vV3PNAWNI/?taken-by=xevape

https://instagram.com/p/5vZjK4AWDK/?taken-by=xevape

https://instagram.com/p/5vZ0HUAWDp/?taken-by=xevape

https://instagram.com/p/5vZ0HUAWDp/?taken-by=xevape

https://instagram.com/p/5veO9yAWMU/?taken-by=xevape

Came out pretty damn good...just gotta finish up the case tomorrow.

-xevape

[JLIT]

Was going to do the same. Thanks for showing some clean re-populating of the replacement tact switches

[John]

Before too many people get big ideas about this, I should mention that this is a MASTERFUL soldering job xevape did here. That is coming from me, and I don't impress or praise easily. 

The old DNA buttons were pretty easy to remove. These are constructed differently and are hard to get off without causing board damage. 

[xevape]

John said:

Before too many people get big ideas about this, I should mention that this is a MASTERFUL soldering job xevape did here. That is coming from me, and I don't impress or praise easily. 

The old DNA buttons were pretty easy to remove. These are constructed differently and are hard to get off without causing board damage. 

I would like to add that the DNA200 pcb mounted buttons are wrapped and flowed under the actual button to a pad.   If you try to do this with a radioshack iron you are going to lift the pads and have some issues.

In other words,  dont try this at home.

I used TWO JBC CD-1BD Solder Irons at 720F with identical tips to touch all four pins on the pcb mounted switches and then carefully lifted them once the solder melted.   My wife is hard to pursway in regards to buying the JBC Reflow station I wanted to use.

John,  check out the final product in a 1590A with 1000mah 60C Battery.   https://instagram.com/p/5xDeB4AWCs/?taken-by=xevape

[dsidab81]

Would you guys think it would be feasible to flow some chip quick alloy onto these button pads and use an IR board heating station to get these loose?
Chip quick would lower the melting point to 100-200C, and most board heaters I think tap out at around 250C.  I've done similar to remove large flat packs.....~200 legs.

[xevape]

dsidab81 said:

Would you guys think it would be feasible to flow some chip quick alloy onto these button pads and use an IR board heating station to get these loose?
Chip quick would lower the melting point to 100-200C, and most board heaters I think tap out at around 250C.  I've done similar to remove large flat packs.....~200 legs.

I'll leave this up to Evolv to answer definitively but I must state that once you remove buttons or do PCB work I'm assuming the warranty on the chip is void.

As far as me personally I don't re-flow to remove items I re-flow for BGA issues.    When working with a PCB and requiring removal of working items that are being replaced I tend to opt-out of heating other items on the board potentially causing failure.   This instance I chose to do two irons and just touch all 4 points to remove the buttons.   10 boards doing just this took me 15 minutes for removal of all buttons.    I then changed tips and found the exact point to snip the tact button legs so that when mounted the USB connector did not stick out.   Lastly with 12 legs holding the board up I tested pressure

Thank you
@XEVape

[dsidab81]

I agree xevape, heating the whole pca isn't ideal.   That removal alloy stays fluid for 6 seconds or so, so it theory I could rotate heating all four contacts with an iron and remove by suction on top.
With a lower melting point, it could allow you to use less heat/application time and hopefully doing this would eliminate the chance of melting a pad free...

Simply posting this as an alternative, not trying to take anything from your approach!
Great looking mods by the way.

Are you pca's adhered to the chassis by the tactile buttons?  Is this why you are testing applied pressure?

[xevape]

dsidab81 said:

I agree xevape, heating the whole pca isn't ideal.   That removal alloy stays fluid for 6 seconds or so, so it theory I could rotate heating all four contacts with an iron and remove by suction on top.
With a lower melting point, it could allow you to use less heat/application time and hopefully doing this would eliminate the chance of melting a pad free...

Simply posting this as an alternative, not trying to take anything from your approach!
Great looking mods by the way.

Are you pca's adhered to the chassis by the tactile buttons?  Is this why you are testing applied pressure?

I have absolutely no concerns of users taking my approach in fact I condone it.  At this point the tact switches I use have a surface area around the actual clicky push button.   The hole I slide the tact switches into are VERY slightly offset to make contact with the surface area of the tact in conjunction allow the switch to be, again very slightly, held in place.   The 14AWG ground wire holds the top portion of the PCB in place because of its thickness.   The 510 + is looped so that when pressure is applied the PCB pad doesn't have any resistance and pull off the board.    The bottom portion tact buttons UP and DOWN simply hold the bottom portion in place and the position of the charger connector holds the bottom.    I then place a sized pad in between the battery and the pcb which holds the center and absorbs any press on the DNA chip.    With this approach the entire construction has 0 Epoxy and 0 Glue.

Enjoy

[John]

If you booger up one board swapping buttons around, we'll be nice and replace it. If you start making a habit of it, then we may get less understanding. 

[xevape]

Signs of an amazing company right there!

[John]

Sign of an understanding company. I've murdered my share of electronics over the years! Not even always intentionally. 

[xevape]

John said:

Sign of an understanding company. I've murdered my share of electronics over the years! Not even always intentionally. 

Your demeanor in every post I read reminds me of the way I run my business.  

Keep up the good work!

[JLIT]

Very understanding company! I read John's and XEVape's following posts regarding multiple irons and decided not to. I'm still ironing out my choice of enclosure and internal fitment of wire running to get a repeatable method that holds up under heavy usage. Thanks everyone who commented

[Chowderhead72]

I'm having a problem with the fire button on one of my bottom fed dna200s. The switch works about 60% of the time. What's weird is if I hold it down the screen will light up but it takes about 5-6 seconds to actually fire. I'm thinking the switches you have posted would give me a great reason to play with the fx-100. Do you have a link for the actual switches?

[blank]

xevape said:

[QUOTE=John]Before too many people get big ideas about this, I should mention that this is a MASTERFUL soldering job xevape did here. That is coming from me, and I don't impress or praise easily. 

The old DNA buttons were pretty easy to remove. These are constructed differently and are hard to get off without causing board damage. 

I would like to add that the DNA200 pcb mounted buttons are wrapped and flowed under the actual button to a pad.   If you try to do this with a radioshack iron you are going to lift the pads and have some issues.

In other words,  dont try this at home.

I used TWO JBC CD-1BD Solder Irons at 720F with identical tips to touch all four pins on the pcb mounted switches and then carefully lifted them once the solder melted.   My wife is hard to pursway in regards to buying the JBC Reflow station I wanted to use.

John,  check out the final product in a 1590A with 1000mah 60C Battery.   https://instagram.com/p/5xDeB4AWCs/?taken-by=xevape[/QUOTE]

Is there room to wire the tactile switch so that your index finger can hit the fire button? 

[xevape]

Chowderhead72 said:

I'm having a problem with the fire button on one of my bottom fed dna200s. The switch works about 60% of the time. What's weird is if I hold it down the screen will light up but it takes about 5-6 seconds to actually fire. I'm thinking the switches you have posted would give me a great reason to play with the fx-100. Do you have a link for the actual switches?

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=8LLMQjkBYsIQvOYeECRfXQ%3d%3d

[Mangiman]

Hello DNA's users, i built my own DNA 200 about 4 days ago, i used my own mitec switchs up/down and Fire, last night my dna box started firing itself, i had to remove the battery so it will stop showing check atomizer after i removed the atomizer, so far i check all three swichts with a multimeter and works fine, the problem comes back when i connect the battery starts on itself and fires itself.... Any help will be appreciate!!!!!