Summary of Making A SMD Reflow Oven
The article discusses the transition from through-hole to surface mount device (SMD) components in electronics hobby projects. It outlines various methods for soldering SMDs: hand soldering for larger parts, electric frying pans for small boards with limited temperature control, and toaster ovens as the most promising solution. The author describes building a custom toaster oven reflow controller, which can handle large boards and small production runs. Many available controllers are Arduino-based, with options ranging from simple plug-in devices to fully integrated oven modifications.
Parts used in the SMD Reflow Oven project:
- Toaster oven
- Arduino microcontroller
- Temperature sensor
- Solid state relay (SSR)
- Control electronics (PCB or breadboard with components)
- Soldering tools (iron, fine solder)
I have been an electronics hobbyist for many years and have always stuck with through-hole components when making a project. However as time goes by, not only are more and more components are becoming available only in SMD (surface mount device) but also more interesting projects are also SMD based.
There are several options for doing your own SMD soldering:
Hand Soldering – Using a fine-tipped soldering iron and small-diameter solder you can work with the larger of the SMD devices. However it can be pretty tedious and take a long time if you have lots of parts.
Electric Frying Pan – This can work for smaller boards but the temperature control is pretty difficult so it can be hit and miss.
Toaster Oven – This seems the most promising for the hobbyist and while you can just wing it with the manual controls there are also a range of control options for automation and temperature control. This essentially mimics a commercial reflow oven.
I decided to put together a toaster oven and wanted something that could handle large boards and possibly do small production runs. Doing a web search, you will find many options for toaster oven reflow controllers. They range from one-off designs to DIY boards to full kits. A large number of them are Arduino based. Some controllers just allow the oven to plug in (so you don’t need to take the oven apart) while others integrate completely inside the oven (more work but a much better product in the end).
For more detail: Making A SMD Reflow Oven
