Reflow Oven for Small Production

[ActuatorJames]

Hello everyone, I work at a small startup and have been tasked with finding a better reflow oven than the T962 we have access to. I have definitely researched how to modify the T962 to be more consistent and reliable but my employer would prefer that I don't spend too much time hacking a product to get it to where we need or diying a toaster and they would prefer an off the shelf reflow oven, preferably for less than $1000 usd (don't think it exists). It would be used for some production (multiple business card sized pcbs) and prototyping. Right now the leading candidate is the Ready to Run oven from Whizoo.com that runs on the Controleo3 but if I can find a similar product for less than $1k I suspect that would be preferred. Second hand is also fine as long as it can come from a reputable reseller or refurbishing group. In that line I did find a Vitronics Isotherm 500 for only $300 which seemed suspiciously low but the rest of the price may be wrapped up in freight transport, wasn't very sure.

So with all that info, my question is what would you recommend for reflowing in this situation. At home I would just modify the T962 because we have access to it already, or diy a toaster with the controleo3 controller, but that is not currently an option. I would also avoid anything from the various makers of the T962, but the size is quite ideal otherwise. I have sent requests for quotes to multiple companies but I primarily wanted to know the ovens and manufacturers that are ideal in this price range and quality.

I also am not very familiar with resellers so if anyone could recommend any that they trust I would appreciate it.

[asmi]

I've been using an ZB2520HL oven for a couple of years now and I'm reasonably happy with it. Not sure how it would deal with production volumes, but for prototypes and small hand-assembled batches it was OK. This oven is actually a member of a family of ovens for different sizes, I've chosen ZB2520HL because it's the largest one I can run off 15 A outlet without tripping protection.
The next step up from this oven seems to be a conveyor-based Neoden IN6, but it's far beyond your $1k budget.

[PCBprototyping]

Hi,

do not use any oven with infrared heating, it needs to have hot-air(convection) heating. IR will have different effect on dark and bright components, so you will never get reliable results and profiling will always be a problem. Power should be as high as possible, because you will never get too much heating on single phase, be sure that heating ramp with PCB inside is 1°C/s or more. At least 2,5-3kW is needed, so it needs to be for 208VAC.
I know many Chinese manufacturers, but the only oven in this price range that is hot air and powerful enough is T-937M from various manufacturers, Puhui i.e.
Buy a used LPKF ProtoFlow S (not S4!), this will be your best choice. It's reliable and with very good soldering results.

[ActuatorJames]

So I have found the AS5080 which seems to be perfectly in the range. Right now it is probably the most likely candidate as I don't think I can convince the team to do the modifications to the T962 or diy projects. I have a lack of confidence in the products from PUHUI based off how the T962 is assembled. The AS5080 advertises IR and hot air circulation similar to the T937M

https://www.smtmax.com/detail.php?id=225

[JURP]

S5080, but it is a "rebrand" of the ZB3530HL.
And it really has 2400W? For 110V it's 21.8A, and in the US the limit for the socket is 20A.
For example, only SmallSmt lists 1800W for the 110V version.
My mapping last year before purchase (shipping is to Europe.):

ZB3530HL
WENZHOUZHENGBANG ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD.
$390 + shipping $305

RF-A350
iTECH (WENZHOUZHENGBANG)
$390 + shipping $305

HR-300
SMALLSMT
$1094 + shipping $50

RF100
FORTEX (Farnell)
$1160 + ship $234

HotAir-3000
BUNDGARD
Eur 1125, shipping only IT)

LY-store
LY-962C
$515  shipp ??

AS-5080
SMTmax
$945  ship ??


RF-A350 - I'm happy with her.
It works very well, but I feel it would benefit from an increase in power from say 2400W to 3000W. But so far maximum satisfaction.

I forgot to write: all mentioned models are rebrands of ZB3530HL.

[ActuatorJames]

This was exactly the kind of reply I was looking for! Thanks so much!

[shai]

I have a few questions about the ZB2520HL:

1. The fan in the back, does it actually pull the air out of the oven or push it in?
2. Is the fan in the back always on?
3. Does it leak fumes like the cheap T962 or relatively airtight? Any modifications required to keep fumes contained?
4. How much amps does it actually pull on 110V? I plan to purchase it here in USA and don't want to trip a breaker or start a fire in my wall.

[JURP]

I have a few questions about the ZB2520HL:

1. The fan in the back, does it actually pull the air out of the oven or push it in?
2. Is the fan in the back always on?
3. Does it leak fumes like the cheap T962 or relatively airtight? Any modifications required to keep fumes contained?
4. How much amps does it actually pull on 110V? I plan to purchase it here in USA and don't want to trip a breaker or start a fire in my wall.

ZB3530HL
1) Back fan - pull the air out
2) No, only when the temperature is exceeded and in cooling mode. Can't set "mini-exhaust" as with the T962A hack
3) A little escapes. I have by  rear fan the pipe from the filter unit, so it creates a slight vacuum and sucks out the fumes.
4) N.C., i have 230V

[asmi]

4. How much amps does it actually pull on 110V? I plan to purchase it here in USA and don't want to trip a breaker or start a fire in my wall.

I run ZB2520HL off a 15 A circuit and it never tripped, so it must be less than that. Besides, it only consumes full power for like a minute or two while it heats up, so assuming your wiring is up to sniff, it shouldn't be a problem. This is exactly why I picked ZB2520HL and not larger ZB2530HL.

[kermitfrog]

Built my oven from kit from Whizoo.com that runs on the Controleo3. Can't say enough good things about it....highly recommend

[jmelson]

I hacked a GE toaster oven with a thermocouple ramp and soak controller.  I poke a micro-size thermocouple into a plated-through hole in one of the boards to measure actual temperature.  the ramps and soak feature allows me to program multiple temp setpoints with time intervals between, so that defines the profile.  This oven has 4 heating elements that run left-right, two above and two below the rack.  I have reflowed over 2000 boards with this system with excellent results!
Jon

[Rat_Patrol]

Built my oven from kit from Whizoo.com that runs on the Controleo3. Can't say enough good things about it....highly recommend

I have a small fleet of 6 Controleo converted ovens, and they are reliable workhorses that give me good results. I put them under a large exhaust hood with fan, and they work well. I can get 3 to run on a single 20 amp circuit (but only 2 started at the same time) or 2 per 20 amp circuit w/o tripping ever, so keep that in mind. But after building them, they simply work, are extremely repeatable, and I I'm very happy. Also, with the multiple ovens comes redundancy; I don't have a single oven to break down and shut down production.

[dkonigs]

Whenever I look up most suggested alternatives to the T962A, they suspiciously all look like they're just the exact same thing with a different name/label slapped on the front.  Maybe someone in China makes a generic OEM reflow oven kit, which a dozen different shops slightly customize and resell, or maybe they really are all just the same thing.

I'm personally using a Controleo3 Ready-to-Run oven setup, though my use case is just building occasional prototypes. I've been quite happy with it, and really don't see anything else in its category that would work better.  If I did want to move up, I'd probably try and track down an LPKF Protoflow S or E (not sure which), though I'm not sure if they'd be better or just more expensive.

[tomgat]

Whenever I look up most suggested alternatives to the T962A, they suspiciously all look like they're just the exact same thing with a different name/label slapped on the front.  Maybe someone in China makes a generic OEM reflow oven kit, which a dozen different shops slightly customize and resell, or maybe they really are all just the same thing.

I'm personally using a Controleo3 Ready-to-Run oven setup, though my use case is just building occasional prototypes. I've been quite happy with it, and really don't see anything else in its category that would work better.  If I did want to move up, I'd probably try and track down an LPKF Protoflow S or E (not sure which), though I'm not sure if they'd be better or just more expensive.

I also too absolutely love the Controleo3 reflow controller.  I have several and have even modified its software to run an environmental chamber for regulatory testing.

My biggest issue is the batch ovens themselves.  Its really tough to find good cheap batch reflow oven that do not have hot/cold spots.  Also, toaster ovens work great if you are making small boards with similar sized small components.  The frustration comes when you have allot of different sized components where you really need even heat distribution.  Go too high on the profile and you bake your LEDs.  Go too low and you dont get proper reflow on the larger components.  Also, changing the soak profile only gets you so far.

[MR]

Hi,

do not use any oven with infrared heating, it needs to have hot-air(convection) heating. IR will have different effect on dark and bright components, so you will never get reliable results and profiling will always be a problem. Power should be as high as possible, because you will never get too much heating on single phase, be sure that heating ramp with PCB inside is 1°C/s or more. At least 2,5-3kW is needed, so it needs to be for 208VAC.
I know many Chinese manufacturers, but the only oven in this price range that is hot air and powerful enough is T-937M from various manufacturers, Puhui i.e.
Buy a used LPKF ProtoFlow S (not S4!), this will be your best choice. It's reliable and with very good soldering results.

I totally agree with that.
Either you know a really good oven by yourself or don't spare the money it will save you from a lot pain seriously.

[Reckless]

If anyone looking for industrial grade reflow ovens at reasonable prices, pm me.  I have 2 Essemtec, 1 Vitronics, & 1 Whizoo oven for sale located in Chicago that work really well as of August 2023. 

[SMTech]

Hi,

do not use any oven with infrared heating, it needs to have hot-air(convection) heating. IR will have different effect on dark and bright components, so you will never get reliable results and profiling will always be a problem. Power should be as high as possible, because you will never get too much heating on single phase, be sure that heating ramp with PCB inside is 1°C/s or more. At least 2,5-3kW is needed, so it needs to be for 208VAC.
I know many Chinese manufacturers, but the only oven in this price range that is hot air and powerful enough is T-937M from various manufacturers, Puhui i.e.
Buy a used LPKF ProtoFlow S (not S4!), this will be your best choice. It's reliable and with very good soldering results.

 

I totally agree with that.
Either you know a really good oven by yourself or don't spare the money it will save you from a lot pain seriously.

A very sweeping statement.. We ran an IR, conveyor based oven for years - one of these https://www.mekko.co.uk/ovens-for-reflow/ . Certainly it has its drawbacks but component colour was not really an issue with FIR elements, its biggest enemy was mass. Chonky inductors. SM transformers, 240pin FPGAs, already sub-optimal unbalanced layouts, these things were either basically impossible to reflow or came out with tombstoning. Your day to day boring circuits however, were fine and you would find many of these issues with an underpowered "convection" oven too with similar workarounds - cranking the temperature and longer process windows.

[PCBprototyping]

Well, I know LPKF ProtoFlow S very well and problems you describe with Mekko were not present in ProtoFlow, the only thing you had to adjust, is reflow time as it would need more time for bigger boards to reflow them. 240 pin FPGA was an easy job, it took more experience for BGAs above 500 pins, but they were doable. So FIR heaters are not as good as convection heating, I wonder why other tunnel oven manufacturers don't use them very often. Mekko ovens seem pretty outdated too, I believe there's a reason for that. Oven is good, when you can reflow all the boards, not just the easy ones.
Use convection or vapor phase, stay away from infrared.

[SMTech]

Well, I know LPKF ProtoFlow S very well and problems you describe with Mekko were not present in ProtoFlow, the only thing you had to adjust, is reflow time as it would need more time for bigger boards to reflow them. 240 pin FPGA was an easy job, it took more experience for BGAs above 500 pins, but they were doable. So FIR heaters are not as good as convection heating, I wonder why other tunnel oven manufacturers don't use them very often. Mekko ovens seem pretty outdated too, I believe there's a reason for that. Oven is good, when you can reflow all the boards, not just the easy ones.
Use convection or vapor phase, stay away from infrared.

I didn't say it was good, just perfectly acceptable for a pretty large range of use cases, including most things you'd be likely to build on a $5k PnP. They are indeed very outdated, extinct even (Mekko make dry cabinets now). No doubt being a large(ish) conveyor IR oven also helped vs a small static one, but IR isn't totally useless, the disconnect between IR lamp temp and your profile tho' is huge so guessing at what might work for an assembly thats very different to your normal can be quite hit and miss.

[Ihron1000]

Check out the Russian-made Saturn or Rainbow furnaces. Quite cheap and of high quality .

[Pinkus]

The T937 is one which looks similar to the T962 but is way larger and way better.
The only thing to complain is the lousy 40mm fan for cooling the electronics which needs to be changed.

[woody]

Not affiliated, and I do own the device myself:

https://eleshop.eu/vaporflow-275-vapour-phase-reflow-oven.html

No idea if you can source this in the USA, but I find it is a brilliant solution for the money.

[Reckless]

Interesting concept, 14 minutes is a very long time and pcb size is a bit small.  Good for prototyping but sucks for small runs but cool that it doesn't use nitrogen.

[woody]

When I got this I they had a larger model (twice the size) under way. So far I do not see it being available. Being larger it will probably take longer to heat.

The thing that I find very appealing about it is the simplicity. Maybe because I came from a pimped-up toaster oven. It had a PID controller, but I always needed to place the PCB exactly in the middle, attach the temp wire to a place central in the PCB and hope for the best. It mostly did the job but it cooled badly, so I always had to stay with it and open the door manually to prevent the PCB from overheating after soldering.  But still components overheated (lost their marking) while others did not solder (switches, larger fets). The white silk screen always came out slightly darker.

In comparison, with the vapor flow I place the PCB. Then turn on the fume extractor and the oven, select a profile and press start. I then go do something else, to come back 15 minutes later and find a nicely soldered PCB. Components large and small, no problem. Sometimes some solder balling, but that is easily sorted.

A while ago I blew a smart switch (TO252-5) on a proto I was torturing. This being a 4 layer PCB with a lot of thermal vias and cooling surfaces, it took a very large solder tip and quite some time to remove the component. Which made me question the feasibility of a soldering iron to get the new component on. So in the end I thought, what the h*ll, put some solder paste on the PCB, replaced the TO252-5 and put the PCB in the vapor phase oven for a second round. The results were amazing. The new component was soldered perfectly. All other SMD components were fine. PCB switches were fine. Most connectors were fine. All Molex KK connectors, the white ones, were affected. They now stand on the PCB like gravestones on a 150-year old graveyard. Still usable though. Next time I'll use the black ones. The only component that I had to replace was a thru-hole Recom DC-DC converter. Its housing was fine but it had completely melted off its legs.

For my use I like a vapor phase oven a lot better than my previous oven.

[gedass2000]

This one works perfect:
https://www.esdshop.eu/public/media/8115/hr-10-v.2.31-en.pdf