SMT Reflow Soldering Oven Advantages

By Tiffany Gill


SMT Reflow Soldering Oven is a device used for connecting electrical components. It uses a special soldering paste made of flux and powdered solder and a computer controlled heat to attach the components to a board or the contact pads. Depending on the particular purpose, different models are available, including those designed for very small or sensitive parts.

This method is the most commonly used one when it comes to attaching surface mount components to a circuit board. The biggest advantage of using this method is that the assembly costs are reduced, and the controlled heat doesn't cause damages to electrical components. Typical oven consists of several zones, or stages.

In the first stage, often called the preheat zone, the solvent in the paste begins to evaporate. In thermal soak zone the fluxes are temporarily attached. In the third stage, also called the reflow zone, the maximum temperature is reached. This temperature depends on the component with the lowest tolerance on high temperature.

Cooling zone is important part of the process. In this stage, the board is gradually cooled, and the joints are solidified. A cooling rate depends on components sensitivity as well. Generally, the rate of four degrees of Celsius per second is the most commonly used. Cooling rates have a significant effect on solder joint grain structure.

SMT reflow ovens are mostly categorized in mid to high volume devices, bench top models and nitrogen ovens. They are all designed to provide at least the same performance level compared to standard devices used for this purpose, but they do take up less space and provide very good performance.

Mid to high volume devices have four independent reflow zones, several thermocouple inputs and LCD touchscreen controls. This type of devices is often used for testing and prototyping. Their stainless steel mesh conveyor accepts up to twenty inch wide boards, and the combination conveyor provides maximum handling flexibility.

Thanks to the large touchscreen, everything is clearly visible and easy to profile. It is simple to make a set of parameters and to save it for future needs. You can use the set as it is, or to adjust some parameters to suit your particular needs. For example, you could change only upper and lower limits and leave the existing conveyor speeds.

These devices provide advanced temperature profiling and thermal management functions. They are compact sized and consume reasonable amounts of electricity. This combination of energy saving and production preparedness is making them more than convenient for all types of industries. All systems also include the timed automatic start-up and shutdown, as well as different audible and visual alarms.

Larger SMT ovens provide up to ten controlled upper and lower full-convection heating zones. They provide maximum functionality, automatic hood-life mechanism and high precision conveyor mechanism. This is a reliable solution for all medium and high volume manufacturers. It combines high mass heat sources with efficient thermal heat transfer, ensuring very good process stability.

Different types of SMT reflow soldering oven with pin over mesh conveyor system meet any production requirement. Pin conveyors permit inline and double-sided processing. All components are built of high quality stainless steel, to maintain dimensional tolerances at the high temperature lead-free processing. All systems are equipped with special battery backup.




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