Since their introduction into the market nearly 10 years ago, the Hotflow series reflow ovens from Ersa have been an important player in the industry for high-end reflow machines. The new Hotflow is the third generation machine based on the company’s multijet heating technology. The R&D of this series had its focus on improved heat transfer via a complete redesign of the process tunnel, reduced energy and N2 consumption, improved cooling, as well as optimized process control.
The process tunnel has been completely redesigned in order to bring the forced convection closer to the PCB thereby optimizing heat transfer. The heating modules significantly reduce the delta T, especially between small and large mass components. A new ultra low-mass center support plays an important role in delta T reduction. Zone separation has been optimized via a new interactive zone cooling concept. The switchable internal/external cooling unit also allows for the setting of a specific cooling gradient which guarantees a cooler PCB coming out of the oven. Finally, the 100 % gas sealed process tunnel with lowest energy & N2 consumption is augmented by a new process control software to ensure process safety and stability. From a productivity versus floor space requirement standpoint, the series reflow ovens reportedly set a new industry standard. With both dual and now triple track options, it is now possible to increase throughput by as high 300 % without increasing floor space. Each track runs its own set speed and its own PCB width for maximum flexibility. It is now possible to run as many as three different products simultaneously. Cleaning and maintenance of a reflow oven is a necessary step which results in machine downtime as much as 2 hours per week in a multiple shift production. Via a specially designed dual filter system, Ersa’s on-the-fly-maintenance allows operators to clean the flux management system during full operation of the machine. Retractable heating modules and all major parts are exchangeable within only 15 minutes in order to keep machine downtime to an absolute minimum. According to the company, as a result these reflow ovens guarantee the highest machine availability. The Hotflow 3/20 is the first machine which was launched at Productronica. This 10 zone oven has a total process length of 5.13 m by a total machine length of 6.59 m.
SMT, booth 9-330
EPP Europe 440
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