Mini-Condens-IT:en
Mini-Condens-IT from IMDES Creative Solutions[1] is a vapour phase soldering oven.
Vapour phase is an alternative to IR reflow ovens. Vapour phase offers a better consistency in quality than small reflow ovens.
With vapour phase soldering, the PCB is submerged in hot Galden (perfluorpolyeter) vapour. This vapour transfers heat to the PCB and melts the solder.
Because the Galden vapour is always at the same temperature, the process is very reliable. No components are overheated and no solderjoints are underheated.
Usage
- Pour the right amount of Galden in the bottom of the container. You only need to do this the first time before use.
- Switch on the device.
- Place the ready-to-solder PCB on the grid.
- Close the lid and wait until the Standby LED is green.
- You can start the soldering process by pressing the start button.
- The Galden at the bottom of the container is now heated and the vapour will rise until above the PCB.
- When the device registers that the vapour has risen above the PCB, it will shut down the heating and it starts cooling the container with fans.
- The vapour will condense and will flow back into the bottom of the container.
- You can take out the soldered PCB now. Use protective gloves, because it is still hot.
- The whole process only takes about 10 minutes.
The Galden liquid needs to be purchased separately. You need a minimum of 200ml to use the Mini Condens-IT. Each soldering cycle a few ml of Galden gets used up.
Over use the Galden will get contaminated with solder residue. You can simply filter the Galden with a paper filter (like a coffee filter).
Safety
- is the galden fluid (or the vapour) toxic?
- is there a safety interlock on the lid of the machine?
Disadvantages
There is actually only 1 small disadvantage: the Galden fluid is quite expensive. Fortunately, the oven is designed so that there is very little consumption. Ideally, all Galden fluid can stay in the box, but in practice a small amount will always escape. The Galden fluid is not poisonous or dangerous as long as it does not get warmer than 300 degrees. The system is double secured against this. As long as the bin is never opened during the soldering process, the consumption will not be more than about 0.5L per 100 prints. If we compare these costs with the costs of an IR reflow oven (which also delivers less quality prints), then more than 1000 prints can be soldered before the costs of this solution become higher.
Documentation
Data sheets
- Mini-Condens-IT technical data(PDF)
- Galden LS230 PFPE
- Condensation soldering is there now for everyone
Specifications
- Power: 1000 W
- cycle duration: 10 minutes
- filling capacity: 450 - 500 ml
- soldering dimensions: 240 x 170 x 20 mm (length, width, height)
- weight: 6 kg
