- Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:59 pm
#11019
From what I've read by Sparky and others hotplate reflowing works great, better then other methods such as toaster oven reflowing. As I see it there are a few issues that need to be tackled to perfect this method.
The issues I speak of are profile control, plate flatness, high voltage interface and wattage requirements. I feel that these obstacles can be overcome but there is a price. Hot plates/skillets from Target may be cheap but if you are planning on reflowing more then a board or two a month why not buy a better plate?
What better plate is there? The Corning PC-600 [1] or one of its smaller siblings [2]. Now a PC-600 is going to run you more the $300 new but you get a quality piece of equipment. This puppy sports a 1000 watt element capable of heating to 1022°F (550°C), its damn flat and has a quite uniform thermal output across the 10"x10" ceramic top.
Another nice feature is the accessory socket for connection to external temperature controller (this is a proprietary interface but I'm sure it can be reverse engineered). This interface would keep all the HV inside a professionally manufactured device that has been designed and built work in hazardous environments (chem labs).
What do you all think? It may be considerably more expensive but I feel that it is much better suited to the task.
--adam
[1] http://catalog2.corning.com/Lifescience ... anguage=EN
[2] http://catalog2.corning.com/Lifescience ... anguage=EN
The issues I speak of are profile control, plate flatness, high voltage interface and wattage requirements. I feel that these obstacles can be overcome but there is a price. Hot plates/skillets from Target may be cheap but if you are planning on reflowing more then a board or two a month why not buy a better plate?
What better plate is there? The Corning PC-600 [1] or one of its smaller siblings [2]. Now a PC-600 is going to run you more the $300 new but you get a quality piece of equipment. This puppy sports a 1000 watt element capable of heating to 1022°F (550°C), its damn flat and has a quite uniform thermal output across the 10"x10" ceramic top.
Another nice feature is the accessory socket for connection to external temperature controller (this is a proprietary interface but I'm sure it can be reverse engineered). This interface would keep all the HV inside a professionally manufactured device that has been designed and built work in hazardous environments (chem labs).
What do you all think? It may be considerably more expensive but I feel that it is much better suited to the task.
--adam
[1] http://catalog2.corning.com/Lifescience ... anguage=EN
[2] http://catalog2.corning.com/Lifescience ... anguage=EN
