Miniware MHP50

[Pandor]

I was about to order this puppy, but what is the difference between the Aluminum with Anodized Surface plate, and the Brass with Nano Ceremic Coating plate? I know the 30*30 only comes in Brass, so why the anodized Alu? Is there any benefit to that one?

[orzel]

I was about to order this puppy, but what is the difference between the Aluminum with Anodized Surface plate, and the Brass with Nano Ceremic Coating plate? I know the 30*30 only comes in Brass, so why the anodized Alu? Is there any benefit to that one?

I have no idea. I took the ceramic one out of random.

[_Harry_]

asked that myself too.
Have you seen this?



Physically:

Aluminum has better thermal conductivity than brass; that's why they say, alu has a "more evenly heated surface". But considering the small area of 5x5 cm, I don't think there is much difference between the aluminum and brass MHP50.

Brass is not as "hard" as Aluminium. That could be the reason, why they spend an nano ceramic coating in addition; as side effect it is easier to clean. I read somewhere, that brass needs more time to reach the same temperature compared with aluminium.

Regarding the more evenly heated surface my decision was for the AL50 Hot Plate.

[orzel]

as side effect it is easier to clean.

I confirm it's very easy to clean. I expected it to be more difficult..

[Pandor]

asked that myself too.
Have you seen this?

(Attachment Link)

Physically:

Aluminum has better thermal conductivity than brass; that's why they say, alu has a "more evenly heated surface". But considering the small area of 5x5 cm, I don't think there is much difference between the aluminum and brass MHP50.

Brass is not as "hard" as Aluminium. That could be the reason, why they spend an nano ceramic coating in addition; as side effect it is easier to clean. I read somewhere, that brass needs more time to reach the same temperature compared with aluminium.

Regarding the more evenly heated surface my decision was for the AL50 Hot Plate.

I did have a look at their website beforehand, and seen the picture you're refiring to but the "shine bright like a diamond" didn't make much sense.. must be lost in translation somewhere 

How easy is the anodized surface to clean from flux and smeared solder?

I'm tilting towards the brass plate, but not sure. Maybe there's less hot/cold spots (before fully reaching set temp), so a more stable heat spread with the alu? that could be and advantage when using the reflow option it has...

[_Harry_]

About AL55 surface cleaning - I have no experience. I returned my MHP50 because

• I got one with PCB v0.7
• The reflow welding temperature can't be set below 230 °C (at least with FW v1.0). That's bad for low temp. soldering (e. g. 150 °C), as you unnecessarily stress your PCB with much more heat than actually needed.

The build quality at all was really very good. Only the spacing between the temp. digits was not perfect on the display; that could be improoved by a FW update.

[ius]

It is recommended to prepare a power supply that supports the PD3.1 protocol. In the upcoming MHP50 firmware, we have added PD3.1 protocol support and can work at 140W power.

Note that in fact it is already supported in SV 1.00 (which everyone seems to already be on). I got a 28V PD trigger (for 28V DC input, which is also supported) but turns out there's no need.

Make sure you get a 140W PD3.1 power supply and a 240W rated cable: the one Miniware provides only supports up to 20V/100W.

About AL55 surface cleaning - I have no experience. I returned my MHP50 because

• I got one with PCB v0.7
• The reflow welding temperature can't be set below 230 °C (at least with FW v1.0). That's bad for low temp. soldering (e. g. 150 °C), as you unnecessarily stress your PCB with much more heat than actually needed.

There is no '1.00' and apparently Miniware felt it was ready for market. I don't see the point of returning it over a number which has little meaning if you're not the manufacturer.

Agree on the second point though. It seems to be an arbitrary limitation - hopefully they'll fix it in a future firmware update.

[_Harry_]

There is no '1.00' and apparently Miniware felt it was ready for market. I don't see the point of returning it over a number which has little meaning if you're not the manufacturer.

Believe me or not. No professional industrial company would start final PCB series below rev 1.0.
They call those "prototype" or  "0-series".
And ask yourself, why they stated "H_Ver: 1.0" in the manual - someone at miniware / e-design knows that very exactly ... 
Anyway - 0.7 seems to work properly. Have fun!
 

[thm_w]

What? Revision numbers are completely arbitrary, I could start at A or 0.0 or 0.1 or 1, or 0, or whatever you want.
Even if your statement was true, this is not a "professional industrial company" they are just making low cost soldering products, primarily for hobbyists.

[orzel]

...  they are just making low cost soldering products, primarily for hobbyists.

I (respectfully) disagree. The MHP50 is expensive !

[thm_w]

...  they are just making low cost soldering products, primarily for hobbyists.

I (respectfully) disagree. The MHP50 is expensive !

For hobbyists yes you are right. As a comparison, though not quite the same product, Hakko's low end preheater is $360, metcal $600, pace $1,200.

[SteveyG]

Apologies for the long delay, I've release the video on this finally.
It took a while for my PD3.1 power supply to arrive, but it works well at 28V

[thomasx]

Greath thread! 

Any supplier in Europe having the MHP50 in stock?

AliExpress does not seem to have in any of their European warehouses.

I need one urgently

[Mattchu]

Hey all, this is my first post so hopefully I don’t butcher this too hard…

I’m a bit confused whether the BS-50 plate is brass or copper…
I took a look at the actual miniware website for this product https://e-design.com.cn/ProductDetail/9555590.html and I noticed that it kept saying “copper” rather than brass (I think?) in chinese.  The product listing was saying 铜 (copper) rather than 黄铜 (yellow copper, aka brass).  As a sanity check I went to their MHP30 page, and there it specifically said 黄铜 (brass) so these products are definitely listed as having different materials.

Not too sure what to think about this, everything in english is saying brass but would they really write the wrong material in their main language then put the correct one in english?

Anyways, I want one, should I get the Alu or the ?brass/copper? One? 

[thm_w]

Anyways, I want one, should I get the Alu or the ?brass/copper? One?

BS-50 would imply brass. But its very common for 3D printer parts to mix up brass and copper, and just call it copper colored metal or something.

Aluminum will heat up faster, brass will have greater thermal capacity. If you want very fast temperature ramp get Alu, if not brass should be good, more consistent temperature.
Brass: ~140 W/mK, 8.7g/m3
Alu: ~220 W/mK, 2.6g/m3

[2X]

But how to choose the material of the heating table? Which one is suitable, copper or aluminum alloy

[artag]

It is a bit overpriced.  But the segment is underrepresented.  And Miniware are riding on their name a bit.  I bought the TS100 when it first came out and to this day it still works.  So at least I have some faith in the quality of their products.

I have a TS100, I bought it after the first flush but before all the clones appeared. I'm still pleased with it but I had to replace the Oled display. It faded and died quite quickly. It came from an ebay supplier who specifically said it was the right size for a TS100 .. why do you think that might be ? 

I also have an MHP30. Apparently my TS100 experience was good enough to encourage that . I find it useful despite it's small size but have now bought a much bigger 200mm hot plate, mostly for doing assembly a bit faster than the MHP30.
I think the Oled is fading, so it may be going the same way as the TS100, though not as fast. I'm not sure why this is - do Miniware overdrive them ? Use a bad source (my replacement TS100 display has now lasted longer than the original).

[artag]

For hobbyists yes you are right. As a comparison, though not quite the same product, Hakko's low end preheater is $360, metcal $600, pace $1,200.

These are pretty cheap. Some suppliers play silly games with the shipping cost.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005968258483.html

I'm not saying they're comparable in quality with Hakko, Metcal or even Miniware. But they may be adequate.

[fichamba]

Hi everybody!

I have the MHP50 and it's amazing. A bit expensive?, well, maybe. But it is extremely well made. I have the aluminum one. And it's FAST!.

BUT, I have a problem: I can't update the FW!. It comes with V.1.00 and I had downloaded 1.01, followed the (minimal) instructions, but no device appears like a USB pendrive in DFU mode (the screwdriver does). Could you comment something to this regard, please?. I am doing it in a Windows 11 Home PC.

TIA

EDIT: SILLY ME!!! I was connecting the MHP50 to the computer via a charge-only cable!. Now it has FW V.1.01  8--------)

[Trinakie]

I am interested in this hot plate but I would like to use it with a solder paste that melts at 138C. Do you know if with the latest firmware the lowest reflow temperature is still 230C?

[bdeianov]

I am interested in this hot plate but I would like to use it with a solder paste that melts at 138C. Do you know if with the latest firmware the lowest reflow temperature is still 230C?

The lowest is still 230C. Miniware have promised a "major update", which would include lower temperature settings, but no word on the timeline. Interestingly, my unit came with firmware 1.02 while the latest on the website is 1.01, but the temperature limits are unchanged.

This is the thread on their official forum, if you feel like adding to the chorus of people requesting this change:
https://forum.minidso.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5656

The download page:
https://e-design.com.cn/en/NewsDetail/4203645.html

[fons]

Hi there!

I am a bit of a newbie and this would be my first hotplate. I am about to press the buy button on the MHP50 but, unlike other hotplates I found online, it doesn't come with a PCB holder.

When using the MHP50 as a preheat plate, how to do you guys hold the PCB in place to work on it?

[Tony.T]

Is it possible to order a new plate ONLY?

Haven´t seen it at all even if i tried to google for it.

I have the coated one but as it is possible to change...why not also order a aluminium plate.

But where to find?

[Svgeesus]

Since I recently got a laser infrared thermometer, I thought it would be interesting to compare the set and measured temperatures. I used an Etekcity Lasergrip 1080  infrared thermometer (accuracy & precision unknown)
( USD25 on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DMI632G )

Lacking any higher precision measuring device or any thermal standards, no claim is made as to absolute accuracy.

Temperature measured at center of plate from around 15 inches. Plate stabilized for 2 min before each measurement.
Temperatures in Celsius.

Set: 180    Measured: 186   +3.3%
Set: 200    Measured: 213   +6.5%
Set: 220    Measured: 234   +6.4%
Set: 240    Measured: 253   +5.4%
Set: 260    Measured: 273   +5.0%
Set: 280    Measured: 298   +6.4%
Set: 300    Measured: 312   +4.0%
Set: 320    Measured: 338   +5.6%

No real conclusion beyond "seems ok" - maybe it is slightly hotter than set, maybe my thermometer reads a bit high.

Edit: Using the black coated top plate. Power was a 24V 8A brick, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B17Z1V6B

[lololo]

new firmware available :

https://forum.minidso.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5652&extra=page%3D1