Author Topic: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?  (Read 229685 times)

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Offline cgf5

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #175 on: September 07, 2021, 02:21:05 pm »
I have T3A T245 with "120W" marking on PCB (BTW: this marking is painted over with white paint, looks like they want to hide it :D). Unit draws 180W+ peaks from wall when soldering. Also, I can draw more than 7A from 24V barrel jack on back. After 8A voltage sharply falls bellow 20V. So you can't get 200W but you can 190W (at least for a couple of minutes). This was done with no handle connected. So is this 120W power supply? Maybe it's 120W rated supply with 160% over current limit. Nobody knows only manufacturer. But who cares? Power supply doesn't matter unless it's total garbage or not safe. Resulting soldering performance is more important than what power supply is inside.

If you don't trust this power supply then throw it away and replace it with something you trust. You will never get high quality power supply in cheap clone.

I'm using T3A T245 with cheap C245 tips, and it works great so far. Only minor issue is - C245 clone tips have large temperature offset. Display always read lower. In one case 400C on display resulted in 480C on tip! Most of the time it's not that bad - more like 300C on display 330C on tip. This offset is not constant either (seems like the higher the temperature and/or the bigger the tip the more offset you will see). You need to check with thermometer. This is tip issue not T3A issue. Just be aware.

I see improvement over KSGER T12 everywhere (at identical tip temperature) even on single layer boards. Of course the biggest difference is seen on ground planes where KSGER T12 struggles much more. T3A T245 is overall easier and more enjoyable to solder with in comparison with T12. You can set temperature higher on T12 and then the difference will not be seen on low thermal mass boards. Also, I can get large 6.6mm tip for T245 and I can't get such tip for T12. So for me T245 is great improvement even with cheap C245 tips.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2021, 02:46:05 pm by cgf5 »
 
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Offline mastershake

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #176 on: September 07, 2021, 07:30:02 pm »
since cgf5 posted i got super curious and called the office and i had one of my employees take a quick look at the two i have in the office he said one did not have any markings he could see and the other was painted over as said above, but one was blank there. one showed around 187w when in use the other reached 192w. those are short term peaks though. also when first turned on it peaked during heat up but then went down. he doesnt think it will sustain 190w long term looking at the board but it is capable for short term as said above. now if they are simply overdriving the psu i cant tell yet till i get home and have more hands on but that might be the case which would not be the way i would prefer. my best guess is they modded a 120w psu and thats how they are claiming 200w. he also said the jack on the back of one maxxed at just under 7a while the other was good for just over before it fell off. so the consistency may not be great from unit to unit. he will put one on the scope tonight or possibly tomm he said and check it out more then.
 

Offline dreamcat4

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #177 on: September 07, 2021, 08:04:47 pm »
so if you took the biggest tip available for the t245, and were outside soldering copper pipes and plumbing fittings on a freezing winters day.... then you would want some sort of an overheating shutdown or other protection / recovery mode for the psu. to never have a situation occur that it may overheat and blow itself up. but especially in the form of over temperature protections for really hot ambient environments

it seems rather difficult situation to get into though, right? i suppose if you were on a production line doing board after board soldering large connectors for an extented period of time. then it could realistically be over stressing the PSU.

and i'm sure we would all feel a lot better and prefer for there to be sufficient protections in place. but what do you think? is it really worth the extra scrutiny and investigations / extended to doing our own burn in testing?

i think most of us would not go to those length (personally speaking). when we know that most of the time its just 1-2 of the occasional really tough solder joints. but nothing sustained for so long. but maybe some of you do have some real life extended heat sinking tasks in mind? for specific practical tasks you like to do, that are a bit outside of the regular soldering. after all it is supposed to be a pretty high performance soldering station. so that might draw some people with such things in mind
 

Offline thm_w

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #178 on: September 07, 2021, 11:52:43 pm »
so if you took the biggest tip available for the t245, and were outside soldering copper pipes and plumbing fittings on a freezing winters day.... then you would want some sort of an overheating shutdown or other protection / recovery mode for the psu. to never have a situation occur that it may overheat and blow itself up. but especially in the form of over temperature protections for really hot ambient environments

it seems rather difficult situation to get into though, right? i suppose if you were on a production line doing board after board soldering large connectors for an extented period of time. then it could realistically be over stressing the PSU.

Yes, exactly.
Go and try to pull even 120W from a normal tip and see if that is possible on a PCB. Unless its at start up you won't be doing this. A small tip uses <30W continuous.
See the SDG video where a massive tip only hit 80W for a second then slowly drops down.

JBC undersizes their transformers, specifically states 150W PEAK power, not continuous, and people are worried that this thing can only put out 120W continuous?
:P

edit: yeah don't try to pull 8A continuous from that DC jack on the back either, its a ~4A rated jack at best.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2021, 11:55:01 pm by thm_w »
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Offline mastershake

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #179 on: September 08, 2021, 12:05:54 am »
i never said it was a good idea i just said it was able to for short times.
 

Offline cgf5

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #180 on: September 08, 2021, 08:47:07 am »
There is no reason to have regular 200W power supply. You would never use it to full potential. This 120W power supply with capacity for large peaks (up to 200W) is just fine. This kind of design makes sense. Soldering is all about short peaks. So nobody needs to worry about this 200W vs 120W thing. Just think of 200W as peak value not continuous. I think Aixun didn't specify what 200W means exactly so I don't think anything wrong was done here. JBC also doesn't specify anything other than "Output Peak Power".

I don't think any soldering use case can use 120W continuous let alone 200W. The only realistic way how to overload this station is to use the barrel jack on back. Don't use it, and it should be fine.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2021, 08:48:44 am by cgf5 »
 

Offline dreamcat4

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #181 on: September 08, 2021, 09:03:03 am »
yes indeed. all very good points made

what seems to be the greater risk here is that after some time aixun may change the internal design (of either the psu, the controller, or both). that ends up with worse components or otherwise creating new issues later on. that didnt exist before in the original units

now this might not happen and therefore should not be any undue concern. but it would really benefit everybody to remain vigilant. and keep checking the internals of new units over the months. this is an especialy important considering during these extended component shortages. hopefully it won't happen here. we just need to keep an eye on that every so often
 
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Offline DavidAlfa

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #182 on: September 08, 2021, 12:59:34 pm »
Meh, the shortages affect hi-tech nanometer fab process parts, not regular stuff made with older technology, like discrete parts(transistors, diodes, passives) and standard ICs (smps controllers, op-amps...).

Do you notice the hypochondriac smell? :D
Unless you make something stupid, like heating a water tank with the soldering tip, the power supply will be fine.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2021, 01:05:46 pm by DavidAlfa »
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Offline ltwin8

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #183 on: September 13, 2021, 04:18:40 pm »
Hello, could you please provide the file? The link shown is not functional.
I sadly have FW1.17 and the same menu powercycle problem.
 

Offline Ungolian

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #184 on: September 13, 2021, 04:50:57 pm »
Here you go.  Scroll down to number 10.

https://www.jcprogrammer.com/download
 
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Offline Ungolian

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #185 on: September 13, 2021, 04:54:20 pm »
Also:

not sure if it will help but there is a firmware update to 1.18 i think you can download the software once you connect it to the computer it will automatically start the update

Important! Before you plug in a USB-C cable into the station, unplug it from mains !!!!! My laptop was very unhappy so say the least (it just shut off luckily, nothing blew). I should have known better but to expect proper isolation in that thing.

The firmware update to 1.18  did indeed fix the English setting. The software is Chinese only as far as I can see. The only way to get through it for me was to use a OCR translator on my phone.

Steps:

1. Go to https://www.jcprogrammer.com/download-center
2. Download the "AiXun Platform installation package" and install it. (Windows only of course)
3. Open the AIXUN app and click on the last icon with the little rocket.
4. Click on the button right next to the "FT232" icon. That will install a driver. Reboot as requested.
5. Repeat step 3 and connect in the station with a USB-C cable. It should auto update the firmware.
 
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Offline ltwin8

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #186 on: September 13, 2021, 06:54:03 pm »
thanks, software 1.19 installed, heating more accurate? can't test but seems more reasonable looking at power graph (not full power than instant off)

software can be switched to English.
 

Offline cgf5

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #187 on: September 15, 2021, 06:22:08 am »
I have 1.19 few weeks, and I can't see any noticeable change. Absolute temperature is as much off as it has ever been (with cheap tips anyway). BTW: changelog can be found on web too - don't need to plug station to see.
 

Offline mastershake

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #188 on: September 15, 2021, 07:44:24 am »
how is your unit with real jbc tips? the ones i have are really close to spot on with the t3a. i agree the knock off tips are meh at best
 

Offline Eltax1693

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #189 on: September 21, 2021, 02:37:41 pm »
I replaced the caps as Steve suggested in the video, and reduced the ESR with 50%.

Found a screw rattling around inside. Inductor cracked. Fuse damaged by a soldering iron. Alot of flux residue.















 

Offline exe

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #190 on: September 21, 2021, 08:52:30 pm »
Found a screw rattling around inside. Inductor cracked. Fuse damaged by a soldering iron. Alot of flux residue.

Was that AiXun T3A?
 

Offline cgf5

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #191 on: September 22, 2021, 08:29:00 am »
how is your unit with real jbc tips?

T3A 300C set point and 300C on display. I did give some time to stabilize. Original C245906 (from local distributor) has around 320C idle temperature. C245-944 clone 315C. Bigger C245-741 clone 340C and huge C245-966 clone 325C.
Perhaps not all temperature inaccuracy is about tips? I measured many tips and on average all have +20C. Not one has under +15C. Even genuine JBC. Looks like the majority of this inaccuracy comes from somewhere else? Thermometer? Or more likely T3A calibration?
 

Offline Eltax1693

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #192 on: September 22, 2021, 02:59:59 pm »
Found a screw rattling around inside. Inductor cracked. Fuse damaged by a soldering iron. Alot of flux residue.

Was that AiXun T3A?

Yes, it's correct.
 

Offline Ungolian

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #193 on: September 22, 2021, 07:44:18 pm »
Looks like we should be kind of concerned about the build quality.  Just for general safety, you should probably open up the back and inspect the power supply before first use.  If that screw had touched the wrong places, it would be bad.  And from SteveyG's pics, it looks like the controller board is generally OK, but there's a bodge, a diode, and terminal connectors that appear to be soldered by hand.  It's pretty obvious that whoever is doing the soldering has minimal experience.
 
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Offline dreamcat4

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #194 on: September 22, 2021, 07:55:31 pm »
yes indeed. worth opening and checking upon arrival. also i wonder about are the specific set of  precautions are taken against vibrations in shipping. for example in this case above: if they did not put thread locker on the screw. then if it gets sent via container ship. well they have these very large diesel engines, huge in fact. the slow vibrations from the engine will transmit through the ship. and such aspect not always considered so carefully at the factory
 

Offline mastershake

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #195 on: September 22, 2021, 08:34:51 pm »
the two t3a and one t3b here are all fine and actually half way decently soldered. one of them has the diode added to the board and the other does not. i did not take the whole panel off to see if they changed the layout or not. but nothing loose inside and no broken components, def not the best soldering ive seen but acceptable. but i agree its worth checking them to know for sure
 

Offline ltwin8

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #196 on: September 23, 2021, 04:48:53 am »
Hello, if the components are broken and you wouldn’t mind to test… is it possible to fire up with 48V (voltage divider should be easy to mod, but what stepdown is used to get the local supply, what mosfet is used? Maybe it would be possible to use the C470 system on 48V ;)
 

Offline Eltax1693

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #197 on: September 23, 2021, 01:18:41 pm »
Sounds like a good idea.

quote author=Ungolian link=topic=285108.msg3704863#msg3704863 date=1632339858]
Looks like we should be kind of concerned about the build quality.  Just for general safety, you should probably open up the back and inspect the power supply before first use.  If that screw had touched the wrong places, it would be bad.  And from SteveyG's pics, it looks like the controller board is generally OK, but there's a bodge, a diode, and terminal connectors that appear to be soldered by hand.  It's pretty obvious that whoever is doing the soldering has minimal experience.
[/quote]
 

Offline Ungolian

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #198 on: September 23, 2021, 05:04:44 pm »
I'm a little curious how that screw got in there in the first place.  That's a flat head countersunk screw, which seems to be only used for the front and back panels.  The ones under the front panel can't go anywhere because they are covered, and the ones on the back are too big to fit through the vent.  It looks like someone just dropped one in there and was too lazy to bother removing it.  Which only adds to the questionable quality control.  For the price, you can't really complain.  Plus the majority of the people here on the forum have the skills, equipment, and desire to fix stuff like this.  I can't guess what the percentage is of getting a unit with issues, but for total beginners buying their first station, or people that aren't on this forum, it's probably a good idea to post some of these concerns/issues in the feedback on AliExpress.  Plus it might get Aixun to address these random problems. 
 

Offline Eltax1693

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Re: Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?
« Reply #199 on: September 23, 2021, 06:08:20 pm »
No screws were missing. Seems like someone dropped it.

I'm a little curious how that screw got in there in the first place.  That's a flat head countersunk screw, which seems to be only used for the front and back panels.  The ones under the front panel can't go anywhere because they are covered, and the ones on the back are too big to fit through the vent.  It looks like someone just dropped one in there and was too lazy to bother removing it.  Which only adds to the questionable quality control.  For the price, you can't really complain.  Plus the majority of the people here on the forum have the skills, equipment, and desire to fix stuff like this.  I can't guess what the percentage is of getting a unit with issues, but for total beginners buying their first station, or people that aren't on this forum, it's probably a good idea to post some of these concerns/issues in the feedback on AliExpress.  Plus it might get Aixun to address these random problems.
 


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