Pledge: PCB Reflow Oven: Difference between revisions

* The PCB Reflow Oven is used to solder surface mount components on to a PCBs. Small surface mount components are very difficult to solder by hand. A reflow oven allows you to stick the components to the board with solder paste, then heat the board up in the oven, which melts the solder and fixes the component. Using the oven also means all the connections are molten at the same time, and surface tension pulls the components in to alignment, delivering a better quality PCB than could ever me achieved with hand soldering. The oven can also be used to reflow existing boards. Sometimes board acquires a fault after a while, and reflowing the components sometimes fixes this. Using a professional oven also means the temperature of the oven follows the recommended temperature path, for both lead and lead free solders. Although a domestic oven can be used to reflow boards, you do not have the same level of control over the temperature gradient.