While possible, it can be challenging to solder SMD components with a soldering iron or a heat gun, and going with a reflow oven is much easier and normally yields better results. But reflow ovens are usually fairly bulky, and somewhat expensive. MagixBox’ REFLO Air PCB reflow machine is much more compact making it more portable, open source hardware, and affordably priced since the early bird pledge starts at $199 on Crowd Supply.
REFLO Air specifications:
- Control panel with LCD segment display and buttons
- Heat Control
- 100-300°C temperature control
- K-type thermometer
- Cooling fan
- Power Supply-110V-220VAC
- Max Power – 200 Watts
- Dimensions – 138 x 138 x 51 mm
- Weight – 900 g
The company also offers optional accessories for its PCB reflow machine with a 3D-printed phone holder to use the phone’s camera to magnify the reflow area, a mini vice made of aluminum, and a semi-automated XY table.
The documentation and resources have not been made public right now, but they’ll be made available as the crowdfunding campaign progresses. You can see REFLO Air in action in the video below with two main phases: pre-heating and reflow.
Beside the basic kit with the REFLO Air only, you may instead consider getting a Deluxe Kit with a mini vice, magnifier holder, and solder for $249 (early bird). The XY table is offered separately for $99. As usual on Crowd Supply, shipping is free to the US, but you’d have to add $30 for shipping to the rest of the world. Rewards are expected to ship by the end of July 2019.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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It looks more like a 40$ one
Which one looks like a 200$ one?
>While possible, it can be challenging to solder SMD components with a soldering iron or a heat gun,
>and going with a reflow oven is much easier and normally yields better results.
Soldering 0805 or 0603 passives with a soldering iron is easy. 0402 is easy with a hot air rework station.
If you’re doing multiple complete boards you’d get the toaster or hot plate out.
This doesn’t seem to be any better than a cheap hot air station for incrementally bringing up boards or doing rework and it also looks useless for properly reflowing complete boards.
A $100 hot air tool, a good soldering iron with a fine tip, and $200 for a good used binocular microscope is a much better value. You can easily do 0603 parts with an iron, 0402 with a steady hand.
When the economy of scale takes over and this thing is priced under $100, it will be a much better value.