I was wondering if the space has a reflow oven?
I was wondering if the space has a reflow oven?
just remembered the tools page… but not seeing one. 
No, we don’t, reflow oven are useful machine when you need them , maybe we can think about a small bed infrared one 
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I have a reflow oven that can do 180x230mm boards both with lead and lead free or if it’s a smallish job we have a heat gun, flux and solder late in the space…
What’s the plan ? Is it a one off or a special job ?
Courty
London Hackspace has a reflow oven, although having used it I couldn’t vouch for it’s reliability and/or availability…
There are a few easily pledge-able ovens on the market if the @electrotechs have the stomach for a pledge drive?
Edit: I’d stick in some cash, as in the not terribly distant future I want to SMD the crap out of some things…
I did try a while back but no one bit so I bough my own…
My suggestion was one of the Chinese T962 ones, change the insulation and reflash the software and it’s a great piece of kit with change out of £200
Courty
Or I’ve got a part finished toaster oven I’m happy to donate if someone wants to finish it
Courty
Just resurrecting this thread to check that we still don’t have a reflow oven? I’m going to do an SMD board soon and wondered if this would be the way to go instead of using my trusty soldering iron.
we has a reflow oven.
Yes we do. I have used it for a fair amount of batches of boards recently with fairly decent results although most of my boards needed additional hot air after as the heat is not even. What kind of components are you soldering?
Aha! Is there any great knack to using it?
This is an audio kit project with various typical bits, resistors, caps, diodes, some ICs, including op-amps and transistors. Mostly 0805 case size. And a few through the hole parts.
Would you say this is a quicker and easier method than soldering?
Yes, There is a nack to it.
Main advice is to warm the boards before putting the paste and components on as this help cure the paste and stick the components down.
Next, use some old board to try and lift your board(s) off the metal floor of the draw, this makes the flow a bit more even. Lastly, don’t overload the oven, small batches work better.
@Calum_Nicoll, what are you seeing on your boards ? I can turn the heat up a little or make the peak bake last a bit longer if that would help ?
Courty
For the record, here’s some things about said reflow oven:
Risk Assessment Thread:
https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/t/t-962-smd-reflow-oven-draft/6122
Pledge drive:
Mainly the ends of the boards (so near the edges of the reflow oven) were being underbaked - also same with larger/more heatsinky components e.g i had 10 bolts to attach and they were often underdone too. It seemed (looking at the front display) like it tried to follow the time profile rather than waiting to see if it was long enough to get to the temp at that specific time - so yeah a slightly longer peak bake would be great.
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Any tips on making double-sided boards with the oven?
Almost certainly more hassle than it’s worth - I’d just use hot air. But if you must - epoxy is used to glue the parts down on the first side, you reflow that side, which also cures epoxy, then flip and do the other.
Alternatively you could try to do the side with the lighter components first - if they are small enough they probably wont fall off.
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OK, maybe I’ll try doing the more populated side in the oven, then use my soldering iron for the other side. I used my soldering iron for the last SMT board I made and it worked out OK. I don’t have a hot air station, so can’t compare.
Do we have paste in the space? Maybe if I come along on a Thursday evening someone could give me some pointers.
Pretty sure we have hot air in the space - it’s very useful.
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