Vapour phase oven Mini Condens IT

What is vapour phase soldering?

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 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.

How to use the Mini Condens-IT?

• 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).

Are there disadvantages?

Er is eigenlijk maar 1 klein nadeel: de Galden vloeistof is behoorlijk prijzig. Gelukkig is de oven zodanig ontworpen dat er maar heel weinig verbruik is - in het ideale geval kan alle Galden zelf in de bak blijven, maar in de praktijk zal altijd een klein beetje ontsnappen. Galden is niet giftig of gevaarlijk zolang het niet warmer wordt dan 300 graden (waartegen het systeem dubbel beveiligd is). Zolang de bak nooit geopend wordt tijdens het solderen en er dus niet teveel Galden ontsnapt, zal het verbruik niet meer dan ca 0.5 L per 100 prints zijn. Als we deze kosten vergelijken met de kosten van een IR reflow oven (die een minder goed resultaat geeft) dan kunnen er al gauw meer dan 1000 prints gesoldeerd worden voordat de kosten van deze oplossing hoger worden.

There is actually only 1 small disadvantage: the Galde 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.

Specifications

More information

Please don't hesitate to contact us in case you would like to have more information about the system. For example, we have an English (or Dutch or German) very detailed manual available, which we are happy to e-mail to you on request. Also the price of the Mini Condens IT can be discussed.

On request, we can offer a 115V version too. The price of this option is € 100. Please contact us if you need this.