Tabletop Reflow Oven For Successful Soldering

Posted by Brett Slansky | 5:28 AM | 0 comments »

By Coleen Torres


Reflow soldering is widely used to manufacture a wide range of electrical components. The tabletop reflow oven forms an integral part of the soldering process, and are also great for DIY component makers. The bench top design of it calls for minimal installation and simple operation for the home or commercial user.

Reflow soldering is commonly used to attach surface mounted components to a circuit board. Less commonly, reflowing can also be used to attach through-hole components to the circuit boards. Solder paste (solder mixed with flux) is used to temporarily attach electrical components to a contact pad. This newly assembled contact pad and attached electrical components are then subject to heating in order to melt the solder, creating a permanent joint. This second step is where the use of this machine comes in.

Reflow ovens must be used so that the areas other than the paste aren't burnt or heated to the point of damage. The four specific features of the oven successfully targets the paste. These consist of preheat, soak, reflow, and cooling stages.

The longest stage of the soldering machine is the first preheating feature. Between 1 to 3 degrees Celsius rises per second through the entire time. This gradual increase by a static number of degrees Celsius is often referred to as ramp-up rate. The ramp-up rate is an important feature the machine offer so that the intensity of heat on the component is safely progressive rather than abrupt.

The second stage after preheating is calling the thermal soak zone, which is about one to two minutes. Thermal soaking briefly stabilizes the paste and stimulates the fluxes. If the temperature is too high, the components may splatter or oxidize, so the oven is used to regulate a narrow range of heat. The range must be narrow because too low a temperature won't stimulate the fluxes enough.

The third feature of the re-flow oven that offers peak temperatures is the reflow zone. Temperatures during this stage usually range between 20 to 40 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the specific temperature relies on the lowest heat tolerance of the component inside.

Apart from the temperature itself, the required amount of time the oven stays in this stage to fully melt the paste relies on the TAL calculations, or time above liquidus. The component must stay in the reflow stage throughout the TAL, or else the paste might not melt fully and produce a dry and frail connection.

The re-flow process ends with the completion of the cooling stage. This is where the oven slowly cools the fully combined component. The steady decrease in heat prevents thermal shock, while also preventing intermetallic formations in the component to occur. Although it is gradual to prohibit shock, a fairly quick cooling rate is needed to create the strongest connection for the component. Compared to the 1 to 3 degree Celsius rate during heating, cooling requires about 4 degrees Celsius per second. As mentioned, extreme care should be taken in all the processes.




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