Tips to Consider When Buying a Benchtop Reflow Oven
Reflow ovens are mainly used in most electronic industries dealing with the production of printed circuit boards. The reflow process is based on conventional heating of given solder paste and components. With the rapid evolution in the world of technology better means of soldering are available. A benchtop reflow oven, for instance, is a good fit. Knowing the best benchtop reflow oven that will effectively meet your needs a crucial achievement. This, however, comes with its own share of difficulties. Here are the major factors to consider when buying a benchtop reflow machine.
The intended throughput should be the first thing that guides your decision on the best reflow oven to buy. Therefore there is a need to have in mind the number of boards you aim at producing within a given duration of time. Consider also the number of zones contained in the oven. Having more zones will give room for flexibility and better control over your profiling.
The heating method applicable to a given oven is important. Ideally, there are three heating methods. In the convention method, boards are passed through heated circulating air from a conventional electrical heat source. Infrared heating makes use of direct infrared heat source while the vapor phase applies the technique where heat from vapor is transferred to a circuit board just above the melting point of the solder.
Consider the ease of maintenance. Your benchtop reflow machine needs to be one that costs less to handle and the cost that would be needed to make repairs in case of breakdown should be less. You will also need to go for one with less maintenance downtime. The continuity of your work is paramount and as such should be guaranteed without interruptions.
Consider the cost of getting a benchtop reflow machine. Ideally, other types of reflow ovens such as stand-alone ovens exist and therefore the cost of buying a benchtop reflow oven should out rule the decision for any other type. Go for affordable yet quality benchtop reflow ovens for a guarantee of quality output.
The seller of your reflow oven is also important to consider. You will want to buy your reflow oven from a genuine and reputable dealer. Some dealers are known to offer good quality at a relatively affordable cost while others will sell to you just for business sake. Do a profile search, therefore, to enable you to decide on the best dealer. Seeking referrals can go a long way into aiding this.
It is important also to assess your need for a reflow machine. This will guide the size of the reflow oven you get. Where you are dealing with huge workloads, bigger reflow ovens are best suited for large targeted production.
To guide your purchase, it is equally important to consider weighing the available options. Seek information online on reviews and recommendations on the best benchtop reflow oven. The information you gather will form a basis for your decision on what type to buy. Likewise, for bestsellers, you can obtain information through the internet or by listening to suggestions on the best dealer of the benchtop reflow oven.
The quality of work done is key. At the end of the day, what you a looking for is a machine that is able to simplify your soldering job in the most efficient way possible. Therefore consider the quality of the output you get from a benchtop reflow oven in comparison with other ovens. The ease of operating the machine should be among your concerns as well.