How to Select the Right Reflow Oven for Your Business?

Introduction

In modern electronics manufacturing, reflow oven serves as a core component of SMT production lines, directly impacting product soldering quality and production efficiency. Faced with the wide variety of reflow oven available on the market, procurement professionals often find themselves overwhelmed by significant price discrepancies, struggling to make an informed decision. Today, we will provide a detailed guide on how to select the right reflow oven for your business.

I. Physical Dimensions of the Reflow Soldering Equipment

Generally, the larger the volume of the reflow soldering machine, the longer the heating zone. Compared to smaller-sized reflow soldering equipment, larger models offer superior heating performance. Therefore, when selecting reflow soldering equipment, it is essential to first determine the number of temperature zones the equipment has, then check the heating length. Under the same price conditions, the longer the heating segment, the higher the cost-effectiveness.

II. Conveying and Transportation of Reflow Soldering Machine 

High-quality reflow soldering machine should operate smoothly during operation, without any shaking or vibration. If the conveyor belt vibrates, it may cause defects such as solder joint displacement, bridging, or cold soldering.

III. Condition of the Furnace Chamber in Reflow Soldering Machine 

Early furnace chambers did not have fans and relied solely on the heat dissipation function of heating elements to heat the PCB. Later, more advanced fine-tube blowing technology, known as hot air microcirculation, was developed. However, hot air microcirculation technology is relatively expensive. After years of production process improvements and continuous innovation, domestic reflow soldering technology has now reached a solid technical foundation. Currently, many manufacturers simplify certain aspects of their production processes to reduce costs and attract customers, particularly for small, economical reflow soldering equipment.

IV. Heating Components of Reflow Soldering

Simply lift the lid and open the upper furnace chamber to view the heating elements. Typically, small-scale economical reflow soldering systems primarily utilize heating tubes for heat generation, which come in two types: those with heat sinks and those with bare rods. Among these, heating tubes with heat sinks outperform bare-rod types in terms of performance.

V. What Parameters Should Be Considered When Purchasing a Reflow Soldering System?

1. The conveyor belt width must accommodate the maximum PCB size requirements.

2. The lateral temperature difference of the conveyor belt should be within ±5°C, otherwise, soldering quality cannot be guaranteed.

3. Temperature control accuracy should be within ±0.1 to 0.2°C. This requires the temperature sensor to have high sensitivity.

4. The equipment should have temperature curve testing functionality. If the equipment lacks this feature, a temperature curve data logger must be purchased separately.

5. The longer the heating zone length and the greater the number of heating zones, the easier it is to adjust and control the temperature curve. For general small to medium-volume production, a reflow oven with 4–5 temperature zones and a heating zone length of approximately 1.8m is sufficient to meet requirements. Additionally, the upper and lower heaters should have independent temperature control to better adjust and control the temperature curve.

6. The conveyor belt should operate smoothly to avoid defects such as misalignment, bridging, or cold soldering caused by vibration.

7. The maximum heating temperature is generally 300–350°C. If lead-free solder or metal substrates are considered, a reflow soldering equipment with a temperature above 350°C should be selected.

VI. Selecting a reliable supplier partner

The selection of equipment brands and suppliers is equally important. It is recommended to evaluate from the following dimensions:

• Manufacturer’s capabilities: Assess the supplier’s technical R&D capabilities, market reputation, and successful case studies, and prioritize well-known brands with extensive industry experience.
• Equipment reliability: Understand the equipment’s mean time between failures, the brands and quality of key components, and historical failure rate statistics.
• After-sales service: A comprehensive after-sales service network, rapid response capability, and timely spare parts supply all impact the long-term stable operation of the equipment.

Conclusion

Selecting suitable reflow soldering machine is a systematic decision-making process that requires comprehensive consideration of technical performance, cost-effectiveness, service support, and other factors. The right choice not only enhances production efficiency and product quality but also provides long-term competitive advantages for the company.

As a professional SMT equipment manufacturer, we possess extensive industry experience and a professional technical team, capable of providing comprehensive equipment selection consulting and technical support services. Whether you are making an initial purchase or upgrading equipment, we will recommend the most suitable solution based on your specific needs.

Quick facts about NeoDen

1) Established in 2010, 200 + employees, 27000+ Sq.m. factory.

2) NeoDen Products:Different Series PnP machines, NeoDen YY1, NeoDen4, NeoDen5, NeoDen K1830, NeoDen9, NeoDen N10P. Reflow Oven IN Series, as well as complete SMT Line includes all necessary SMT equipment.

3) Successful 10000+ customers across the globe.

4) 40+ Global Agents covered in Asia, Europe, America, Oceania and Africa.

5) R&D Center: 3 R&D departments with 25+ professional R&D engineers.

6) Listed with CE and got 70+ patents.

7) 30+ quality control and technical support engineers, 15+ senior international sales, for timely customer responding within 8 hours, and professional solutions providing within 24 hours.