Help to remove MCM heatsink
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johnorun



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
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Location: Chicago, IL- US

PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:13 pm    Post subject: Help to remove MCM heatsink Reply with quote

How do you remove these brittle metal heatsink sections from the dies underneath on this MCM chip? Moderate prying with a screwdriver doesn't budge anything.
I don't want to damage the dies, but these heatsinks are flush with the dies.
epoxy? superglue?

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CPUShack



Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

small propane torch and heat the heatspreaders evenly, then you can pry them off with a padded screwdriver
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johnorun



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CPUShack wrote:
small propane torch and heat the heatspreaders evenly, then you can pry them off with a padded screwdriver

Thanks John.
I've removed every type of heatsink except this type. Do you know what the bonding agent is made of? Does the heat loosen the dies at all?

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CPUShack



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have never had a die come off with propane, No idea what its made with, but it gets a bit more workable with heat (300-400F)
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johnorun



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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. I'll post a picture of the result when it's done.
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mavroxur



Joined: 06 Jul 2005
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Would a heatgun not be safer?
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Glory_Cloud



Joined: 24 Jul 2010
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might need an industrial strength heat gun and not a simple
hair dryer I would imagine.
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CPUShack



Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yah its gotta be hot, I havent had a prob with propane
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johnorun



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CPUShack wrote:
yah its gotta be hot, I havent had a prob with propane


I heated up the heatsinks with a propane torch and twisted with a screwdriver blade to pop them off, one by one. Next I scraped the hard film off of the silicon chip surfaces with a box cutter blade while the chip was still hot.
I don't think any heat-gun would have worked on these MCMs since the mass of the ceramic package absorbed so much heat.
Next I cleaned off the grey putty-like thermal paste from the entire ceramic surface with mineral spirits and an old toothbrush and rag. Finally, I cleaned the remaining tough film off the silicon with some fine steel wool. The super hard thermal compound surrounding each chip die seems impossible to remove without damaging the silicon.

It was hard work, but the result is the clean exposed chips below...

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CPUShack



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nice work, yah steel wool works well to clean the dies, but that epoxy stuff on the edges doesn't come off lol
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aberco



Joined: 05 Sep 2013
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Location: Paris France

PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice Power4 MCMs!

Quote:
Next I scraped the hard film off of the silicon chip surfaces with a box cutter blade while the chip was still hot.


I had to do that while hot as well on my Power4 and Power4+ single chip CPUs, otherwise that white stuff is really hard.
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Vegeta



Joined: 13 Apr 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good job! Nice MCMs! I'm afraid my MCM heat Sad You have spare?
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johnorun



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vegeta wrote:
Good job! Nice MCMs! I'm afraid my MCM heat Sad You have spare?


I will sell the two spares in the top row. Some chips on edges or corners, but the dies are in perfect condition. PM if interested.

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Glory_Cloud



Joined: 24 Jul 2010
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great job! They look awesome!
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Vlasta



Joined: 15 May 2012
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can one of our Chinese colleagues get hold of this and try it to remove that very hard glue?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BGA-IC-30ml-IC-BGA-CPU-Chip-Epoxy-Glue-Remover-Adhesive-Solution-Solvent-Liquid-/321295231692?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aceb02acc

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