Lead-free reflow oven used successfully

To answer the need for increased reflow temperatures, due to the lead-free directive, a UK circuit board maker has recently purchased a versatile reflow oven with additional heaters.

Because of the need for increased reflow temperatures due to the lead-free directive Phase 1 Electronics, Portsmouth, have recently purchased a Dima Solano reflow oven from Kaisertech.

The company manufactures a wide range of circuit boards for many industries so a versatile machine was very important.

When specifying the unit Phase 1 opted for additional heaters on the underside to cover any future eventualities with board design and component packing densities.

Also the addition of the pin conveyor that sits above the mesh enables them to reflow double-sided boards without the risk of components on the underside being displaced.

The company profiles every board type it builds and has several hundred profiles stored in the system.

Regular reprofiling is carried out to check the machine's stability over time, although experience has shown stability to be spot on.

Phase 1 also reports that throughput times and accurate process repeatability have both improved and their first runs with lead free pastes have been made much easier and with excellent results due to the Solano.

Tony Stanley, Phase 1's managing director, said that they looked at a number of reflow ovens and decided on the Solano due to its value for money, size and excellent support they have had with previous DIMA ovens, not to mention their reliability.

He added: "We do not expect to need the services of Kaisertech too much with this machine but we are confident that their response will be as good in the future as it has been in the past." The Solano has been designed from the outset for lead-free and will handle 500mm wide PCBs through its 2m long tunnel.

The process chambers allow exact control of each cell for uniform airflow across the board and stability under varying loads.

Rapid response heaters give uniform heating and flat panels heat the underside of the boards.

Temperature differences between two cells can be varied by up to 140 deg C.

Separate top and bottom fans cool the PCB and an Ioniser protects the PCB from static.

A filtration system removes flux from the exhaust air to keep the oven clean on the inside.

Individual microprocessor control is provided for top and bottom heating zones and a graphic display allows temperature profiles to be plotted on screen.

Windows based software is optional for linking the unit to a PC so that the operator can analyse process information and produce printed documentation for quality assurance.

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