Oven Toaster As Tabletop Reflow Oven

By Tanisha Berg


Activities involving electrical components are inevitable anywhere, in offices, in factories and even at home. For instance, computers are now playing very significant roles in the every day living of the people. Communication, transactions and just about everything are done electronically nowadays. Indeed, we are now living in an electronic world.

If we get down to it, electronics, in its simplest term, is metal parts working together to make electrical devices work. Simply put, metal parts are joined together to create an electrical circuit. The work is called reflow soldering and it gets done in large ovens. However, amateur electronics guys could do without the expensive ovens. They can make their own tabletop reflow oven using oven toasters.

The process of soldering goes like this. A mechanical bond is created between the two metal parts to be joined and that is done by the solder. In short, it is what joins the pieces together. It is also used in making jewelries and in plumbing. However, burning is a danger that is why the melting point of the solder is significantly lower than the metals. It also serves other purpose like allowing the assembly to cool down and settle quick.

Afterward, the whole set is heated to melt the solder and permanently connects the jointed parts. This is where the ovens are needed. This process is primarily applied to attach surface mount components to circuit boards. Although other alternatives can be used like using infrared lamps or individual parts can be soldered together using a hot air pencil.

Infrared and convection and vapor phase are the two types of reflow ovens. The first one contains many heating zones followed by cooling zones and moves through each chamber through conveyor belts in a preset time. This is make to sure that the process will be safe and will have high quality.

In the latter type, a liquid goes through a transition that will convert heat into thermal energy. The emitted energy then does the soldering. You have to make sure that the medium used here, meaning the liquid, matches the boiling point of the solder so that it will not burn and destroy the process.

Since the convection type uses nitrogen all the time to maintain a no oxygen atmosphere inside the chamber which increases the costs of the work, the vapor phase type is more advantageous. It is already an oxygen free process and totally nitrogen free, too making it more cost effective. Also, overheating cannot happen because the maximum temperature the set can reach will depend on the boiling point of the liquid. You just have to be extra careful in choosing the medium for the process.

However, if you are just staring up and is low on budget, you can make one good alternative to industrial reflow ovens. You can use oven toasters, may it be brand new or secondhand. There are just some modifications to be made in its wiring and electronic parts to serve as a good reflow oven. One advantage aside from it can reduce cost significantly is that it is very convenient and handy since you can just put it on top of a table. It would not occupy too much of your workplace.

You do not need to rent a big space because you can do the work on a tabletop. You just have to know the proper steps to convert one into a reflow oven. The best thing to do is to consult with an electronics expert and not doing the job on your own. With little knowledge, you are just risking your safety. The field of electronics can be more dangerous than you think.




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