ZEPHYRTRONICS® HOT AIRPENCIL ZT-2-MIL
SMT Pin-Point Precision and Non Contact Soldering Reflow System

The Essential SMD Soldering Tool: Here's the most popular SMT touch-free, precision soldering tool on earth! The ZT-2 Hot Air Pencil is loaded with premium features including full closed-loop electronic & dial-adjustable temperature control; a variable air flow control dial with an 'ultra-light' air volume setting for your miniature chips; an ultra-thin and featherweight pencil hand-piece that operates at a safer, low 24 volts; an integrated holder for the pencil centered into the design (for right or left handed use), its own self-contained air source (no air hook-ups required) all in an rugged, steel and ESD-safe casing. This is true hot air soldering.

"Touch-Free Soldering: The ZT-2-MIL is your non-contact and safer method method of soldering thermally sensitive semi-conductors (QFP's, PLCC's, SOIC's) and delicate and heat-sensitive ceramic capacitors, glass diodes and SMD resistors.

The Hot AirPencil Presents Many Advantages of the Traditional Soldering Iron: As mentioned above, first and foremost, the hot air pencil is completely non-invasive because provides precision, pin-pointed, yet non-contact and low-velocity hot air directly to the individual component leads. But that's hardly the beginning:

Hot AirPencil vs the Soldering Iron: Additional advantages of the hot air pencil over a contact soldering iron are:

Touch-Free, Hot Air Soldering Presents Many Advantages Over Traditional Contact Soldering Irons

Ceramic Capacitors Must Always Be Soldered With "Touch-Free" AirPencils --And Never With Contact Soldering Irons-- To Prevent Thermal Shock, Fissuring & Chip Cracking.

So Many Features! Rewriting all the rules, the engineers at Zephyrtronics pulled out all the stops when designing the ZT-2-MIL AirPencil’s hand-piece/pencil. Consider the following 3 issues:

1) The system delivers up to 530ºC at the Air Tip exit and, yet is powered by only an extra-safe, extra-low 24 volts (Be sure to investigate the high voltages of our so-called "competition").

2) It's featherweight and pencil-thin hand piece is, to our knowledge, now the lightest and thinnest AirPencil ever, making soldering a joy rather than a drudge.

3) Our precision air velocity control dial has 3 full rotations for the finest of adjustments ---separating it from all other high-velocity so-called "hot air tools" which can and do blow tiny chips away during reflow and/or scatter solder balls up under IC's. Our unique 3-turn dial puts you in control while you work.

The ZT-2AirPencil Features a Unique 3-Turn Air Velocity Control Dial Putting You In Control When Working With Tiny Chips and When Working With Solder Paste.

The AirPencil & Solder Paste! What a Great Combination: And because of the extra low adjustment to the air velocity, you can now, at long last, work successfully with solder paste for your high quality reflow creating solder joints replete with fillets at the toes, heels and sides of the SMD's. Wait until you experience the difference!  Did we say solder paste reflow at the bench? Want to see how to use the ZT-2-MIL AirPencil? Just check out our color pictorial process page, "SMD Soldering Made Easy at the Bench".

The Zephyrtronics ZT-2-MIL AirPencil belongs at every work bench where critical SMT rework is being performed. And for enhanced results, it is recommended that the system be used in concert with any of our now world-famous ZT-1 AirBaths for quality thermal profiles through pre-heating.

 The ZT-2-MIL Belongs at Every Bench Where SMT Soldering & DeSoldering Is Performed. This is the Tool You Want to Have at Your Fingertips.

All Hot Air Pencils Are Not Created Equal:  Here is why the ZT-2-MIL is just so superior to other so-called "air pencils" and why it is unique in design and utility:

1.) Zero Level Static: The ZT-2-MIL AirPencil was evaluated by Motorola's ESD Lab and found not only to be ESD-Safe, but was the only hot air tool to qualify for its extra-tough standard of "Zero Static Level" for space applications. Just so superior.

2.) Ultra-Skinny Profile Provides Easy Visibility to See The Chip You Are Soldering! The ZT-2-MIL AirPencil has the sleekest, pencil-thin profile of any hot air pencil. Other manufacturers have crudely packaged their "hot air pencils" into essentially their large, bulky solder iron handles which obstruct vision to small components like chip capacitors and resistors and chip scale size packages. You simply can not "see around" such big, goofy hot air tools. Just so superior.

3.) Ergonomic, Feather-Weight Hand-piece! The ZT-2-MIL AirPencil is truly an air "pencil". Its lightweight hand-piece puts all other air pencils to shame and makes soldering a joy rather than a drudge. Just so superior.

4.) Only 24 Volts in the Handle! Again, most all other hot air pencils require technicians to wield high voltages of 120 or up to 240 Volts in their hands. Yikes! But our ZT-2-MIL AirPencil easily reflows even high temp, lead-free solder alloys with ease with only 24 Volts! How? Our effective internal air heating chamber agitates air providing up to 510°C at the exit point of the AirTip at the maximum setting. Now, clearly we don't think one should be soldering at those temperatures, but we wanted to assure you that a properly engineered 24-volt tool can deliver all the punch that those high voltage tools do. Just so superior.

5.) Variable Air Flow With a Truly "Ultra-Light" Range! As mentioned above, our precision air velocity control dial has 3 full rotations for the finest of adjustments ---separating it from all other high-velocity so-called "hot air tools" which can and do blow tiny chips away during reflow and/or scatter solder balls up under IC's. Just so superior.

A Wide Selection of Air Focusing Tips Are Available: Unlike traditional soldering "tips" which oxidize, the ZT-2-MIL utilizes long life stainless steel Air Tips including the popular Oval Air Tip which, by the way, ships out standard with each system.  A selection of 5 styles of these very affordable Air Tips are available from Zephyrtronics. Plus, every ZT-2-MIL AirPencil System comes with a set of two non-magnetic, stainless SMD steel tweezers for cool chip replacement and removal.

Above Right Photo: The ZT-2-MIL AirPencil Is Shown Used With the Popular Zephyrtronics AirBath Bottom-Side PCB Preheaters for Generating the Optimum Reflow Profile.   Still, the ZT-2-MIL is a Stand-Alone Product.

This is the AirPencil Used By NASA and JPL!  Yes, the ZT-2-MIL AirPencil is the very same one used at NASA and JPL for soldering on the two successful Mars Rovers launched in 2003.

NASA wrote that the Zephyrtronics system makes "mounting/removal of through-hole and surface mount components easier than routine benchtop methods" and that it "minimizes thermal stresses due to temperature differentials during assembly and rework" saying that the ZT-2-MIL "is a touch-free precision soldering method." -- NASA 39-Page Report, January 9, 2004

First Rover "Spirit" Launched
 June 10, '03. Arrival on Mars Jan. 3, '04

Non-Contact Reflow for Fine Pitch Gull Wing QFP's

Easy Reflow of
J-Leaded SOJ's, PLCC's, SOIC's

Rapid Removal & Replacement of Components

Adjustable Air Flow & Variable Temp Control

The Rover, "Opportunity" Launched
 July 7, '03. Arrival on Mars: Jan. 24, '04

* * * Photographs Courtesy of NASA * * *

For even further information, refer to our Technical Papers, "The Hot Air Pencil: History & Theory of Making High Quality Solder Joints at the Bench" and our color pictorial process page "Quality SMD Soldering at the Bench".

Fully MIL-Spec Compliant and Approved for Space Applications!