Oven size

If an oven has enough surface it can solder several boards at once. The eC-reflow-mate has an effective soldering surface of 350 x 250 mm. However, a large surface is only useful when the oven distributes the heat evenly over it. You want all the boards soldered correctly, not just the ones in the middle. The same thing applies to large boards, where an even heat distribution is important to solder all the parts the same way. In the eC-reflow-mate four full-width quartz infrared lamps together with an air circulation system ensure even heat distribution. Connected in a special way, they avoid the traditional Gaussian temperature curve of a chamber oven with a maximum temperature difference of only 14 °C over the soldering area of 350 x 250 mm as result.

 
Eurocircuits eC-reflow-mate PCB holder
PCB holders ensure that board heating is not influenced by the bracket.

Thermal profiles

Part manufacturers often specify reflow profiles for their parts that, when followed, ensure correct soldering without breaking them. Because boards combine parts with different profiles, the oven must allow specifying a profile suitable for all parts as a whole.

The board itself has a heat-up (and cooling-down) time that depends on its material, the copper and component density, while the board’s color can be of importance too. The user must compensate for this thermal inertia by adapting the thermal profile.

eC-reflow-pilot

The computer program eC-reflow-pilot, capable of controlling the eC-reflow-mate, allows the creation of elaborate solder profiles. The user can define up to three preheating zones (temperature + duration), plus the reflow peak, and the cooling-down phase. Because it is a PC program, there is virtually no limit to the number of profiles that you can store. The oven itself has room for five profile presets, making it suitable for stand-alone operation.

Because the board does not have the same temperature as the oven’s heaters, the eC-reflow-mate has an optional separate (“external”) temperature sensor to be stuck on a strategic place on the board. This sensor offers the user even more control over the thermal profile.