Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Use Tabletop Reflow Oven For Reflow Soldering

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.

Cautious care needs to be taken so that the electrical component isn't overheated or damaged, so these machines are utilized to slowly and progressively melt the solder paste into a mold. There are four gradual stages of temperature the machine goes through in total. The device goes from preheating, soaking, re-flow melting, then cooling.

The preheat zone takes the longest time out the four stages. During preheating, the heat increases between 1 to 3 degrees Celsius per second. This rate of increase in heat is called the ramp-up rate. The equipment offer a controlled ramp-up rate so that the component is gradually heated, rather than giving it a heat shock that can cause damage.

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.

As a general rule, this temperature will be below 200 and 60 degrees Celsius, as this is the temperature at which damage may occur to the internal makeup of the components. The TAL is as important as selecting the correct temperature because only the correct time above reflow will allow the individual solder powders to combine and form the required bond. Incorrect TAL can result in either drying of the paste or create defective joints.

The cooling stage is the final step the re-flow oven performs. As the name suggests, this involves the gradual cooling of the board and newly attached components. This process is important in inhibiting the formation of excess intermetallic formations, as well as avoiding thermal shock. This is a short process because fast cooling rate creates the most mechanically sound structure. A commonly used cooling rate is around four degrees Celsius per second.




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1 comment:

  1. Very interesting information you have written in your blog. I am really enjoyed it after reading content and congrats you for providing me that i am looking for a long time.

    Reflow soldering machine

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