Sep 20, 2008 
Essemtec, a leading manufacturer of surface mount technology production equipment, announces that it will showcase RO300FC-C full convection reflow oven with RO-CONTROL software in booth907 at the upcoming IPC Midwest exhibition & conference, scheduled to take place September 24-25, 2008 in Schaumburg, IL.
Soldering of complex SMD PCBs and new housing technologies require an exact controlled soldering process. The RO300FC-C is a full convection oven that allows fast and homogenous heating, as well as high-temperature soldering of sensitive electronics. The integrated convection technology offers a unique and innovative and efficient way of heating - with a vertical hot air stream that evenly heats the complete PCB. Both standard and lead-free pastes can be used.
As an innovative new feature, RO300FC-C now features RO-CONTROL software for increased process simulation and control. RO-CONTROL combines all the important functions for the process evaluation and process control for reflow ovens. This technologically advanced software offers many of the same features as thermal profilers, but for less than half the price. Also, because the software is within the RO300FC, Essemtec is able to offer users an industry first.
The high air volume of the RO300FC-C guarantees equal heating rates in all the components and the substrate, which leads to a minimum Delta-T and guarantees a perfect soldering process at every location on the PCB. This 80" long oven offers many of the same options - including chain conveyor for double-sided boards, computer control and an N2 option - as those available on ovens that are three to four times more expensive.
The temperature of the pre-heat and the peak zones along with the conveyor speed are programmable to obtain the required soldering profile. Measuring the zone temperatures directly in the convection airflow guarantees reproducible results with lowest Delta-T values (±2°C). Different profiles for solder and glue are already integrated in the microprocessor control.
The RO300FC-C provides a significant amount of capability at a small footprint and price. The oven can be used for prototypes, small batches and production runs up to 700 boards in an eight-hour shift. The oven can produce prototypes or production with lead-free products with minimum space and low power requirements, providing major cost benefits to users.
RO-CONTROL Software enables the simulation of soldering profiles at different settings and the comparison with a solder paste library. The number of profiles managed with RO-CONTROL is unlimited. The software also controls and supervises the reflow oven, ensuring a save operation. A saved parameter set can be selected from the profile library and can be transmitted to the reflow oven. RO-CONTROL steers and supervises the oven, and the actual status is displayed on the screen. Additionally, the paste editor allows the design and save profile references for different solder pastes. These references can be used by the profile simulator for comparison. The software also has the capability to save the process changeover to a lead-free process.
The RO300FC-C with RO-CONTROL Software is built in Switzerland with the highest quality parts. The Essemtec five-year warranty on heaters and blowers is the highest in the industry for small ovens. The oven offers simple and straightforward maintainability/reparability with the ability to completely remove each zone and clean them individually, along with full access to the electrical and electronics through drawers in the front of the oven.
Environmental factors are key and include low power consumption and low noise levels. The RO300FC-C is delivered complete with 20 preset profiles for production tasks and materials. For process specialists, the oven control offers additional memory for customized temperature settings and optional PC control with built-in oven profiling software. Because of this feature, the operator finds it extremely easy to use and can process even difficult lead-free pastes without extensive setup time.
Essemtec is a worldwide leader in the manufacturer of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) production equipment. Essemtec specializes in high mix production equipment for Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) using Surface Mount Technology.
Essemtec is the only manufacturer to cover the entire production process, from Printers and/or Dispensers, to Pick-and-Place and Soldering equipment. Therefore, customers benefit from unparallel knowledge and the ability to select, from a single source, a complete process solution to meet their requirements.
