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10 reviews
The cheapest way to get yourself a reflow oven
I purchased the kit after much research. What I found in my research is that there are several videos out there of people building their own reflow ovens using this kit, and the process appears to be clean cut. There's also a web site that offers extremely detailed step-by-step instructions, including excellent photos of the process. So after reviewing all of this, I decided to go for it. I bought the exact oven from Amazon for about $20 with Prime (free) shipping. I highly recommend getting the same oven, so that the instructions you read will match exactly what you have. There is some additional work that you need to do. First, you'll need to drill some metal, so make sure you have a drill and a selection of drill bits. You'll need some pliers to crimp the electrical connectors. Also, the oven isn't exactly sealed, so you may also want to use silicone caulk (should be one that is can take on very high temperatures) to seal the cracks of the cage from the outside. And, when you're using the gold tape, don't over-use it, otherwise you'll run out of it, and the stuff is expensive. Before you start working on the project, watch the videos and read the photo instructions - you should not make any shortcuts, and don't skip around in the steps.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
Outstanding Tool
I first purchased the cheap Chinese T962 ovens for building LED board prototypes. I was disappointed in the uniformity of heat, the top-down heat source (putting too much heat into the LEDs), and the small working area (effectively 3" x 4" where the heat is consistent.)
I decided to pick up the ControLeo2 kit and the recommended B&D oven and give it a try. Seemed strange to put $189 for parts into a $45 toaster oven, but what the heck, it's a box with heating elements, the rest gets binned in the build. The end result is better than I expected. The kit is complete, the instructions super easy to follow. 6 hours later I had a re-flow oven up and running. The heat distribution is excellent, and the process could not be easier.
Building the oven is a bit fussy, mainly with installing the insulation - but it is not massively difficult. Taping the door open is a big help.
I purchased two additional insulation components. I added one pc of Boom Mat to the rear wall of the oven, and wrapped the top and sides of the oven box with high temp fiber insulation to keep the exterior cooler and hold more heat in the box. I also made a new bracket to mount the controller more rigidly, but overall found no fault with the kit - I'm just finicky about the fab parts.
Started immediately after assembly, only required one learning pass, and flowed my first board at the end of the day. I also connected it to my PC and updated the firmware as instructed - another trouble free process.
This is a great setup for creating LED boards up to 5" x 10" using current SMT devices and related components. I could not be happier.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
ControlLeo2 Reflow Oven contrller
Excellent value, well thought out and designed. Worked perfectly with my oven, as advertised. One improvement would be to store an additional reflow profile which will help soldering double-sided boards. With the current software you must recalibrate the oven every time you change the type of solder paste. The assembly instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I highly recommend this controller.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
An excellent kit for a DIY reflow oven
Everything you need is packed into one simple kit. Online instructions have all the steps needed to convert the oven shown in the pics (I recommend it, since other components have been designed for it, and it is proven to work!)
I broke up my conversion over two days. The first day I spent a few hours taking the unit apart, drilling holes, mounting and aligning the servo, etc. Make sure your drill bits are good and sharp!
The second day I spent a significant amount of time applying the gold foil. I suggest you use a craft paper cutting board to keep the edges straight and perpendicular.
When soldering the extra components to the board, make sure you pay attention to where the leads go, the picture is not 100% clear on how the leads go. Be sure to use tape on the standoffs like the instructions suggest, otherwise you will waste time trying to assemble while everything keeps moving around.
Once everything was assembled, it all worked as expected. Within minutes I had the oven calibrating!
Good luck with your build...
-AndrewRead full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
Excellent project!
This was really my first attempt at a traditional "kit build" (usually I just do everything from scratch) and i must say it went quite well! I was very impressed by the fact that I started my weekend with no way to do board reflows, and ended it with an oven fully capable of reflowing circuit boards! Definitely more than met my expectations! I'm not sure I could recommend a project any stronger.
A few recommendations - I would definitely do the same thing I did and order a brand new Black and Decker oven identical to the one described in the whizoo project. For an additional $24 (shipping included from Amazon) for an identical oven, it seemed crazy to me to risk having things not match up exactly. On the other hand, I've only done this once - perhaps things would have gone just as well had I used the toaster oven I already had in my basement.
Also, I would recommend reading through and understanding the entire instruction before you start drilling holes and putting things together. One spot that could have bitten me (but didn't - lucked out) is that you want to make sure to have your solid state relay board mounted far enough forward to allow space for the 5v power supply to be zip tied to the inside back of the oven.
Finally, there's a brilliant tip about using solderless quick connect crimps to connect to the 5v power supply blades - do this and you don't have to do anything crazy like solder to the AC blades. I read this tip DIRECTLY AFTER doing something crazy like soldering to the AC blades! Again, no harm, no foul, just should have read through the entire direction set.
One more thing worth mentioning - there was a note in the instructions that the PC board tray was the "most important" piece of the project! In all honesty, I really just couldn't believe this was true. Once I finished the build, I ran the oven twice in learning mode - the first time the reflow failed because the temperature wouldn't rise fast enough. The next time it failed because it rose too fast. The next day, I went out and bought the recommended 1/32" aluminum tray, cut it to size and put it in the oven. My next reflow was right on the money - no problems. And the one after that. And the on after that! Maybe it didn't matter, maybe it was absolutely key, I have no idea. All I know is that following these directions put a working reflow oven on my workbench!
Thanks so much for a simply brilliant kit!
Respectfully,
MarshallRead full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
A high quality option for reflowing.
High quality parts.
Took me about 5 minutes to contour my solder paste (ESP256) to the oven.
Excellent communication, all questions answered.
Boards reflowed perfectly, even sensitive parts.<br>Take your time building the oven, I recommend using the B&D oven they suggest. I think this is a better and, in the long run, cheaper option than the Chinese ovens. When done right it's not even close to a toaster oven. Go to their site for excellent instructions.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
really good oven controller
I built a reflow oven using a Sunbeam BT2500 toaster oven and the ControLeo 2 kit. The BT2500 oven came from Bing Lee (Australia) for $60 and is perfect for the job - being small and powerful. I made sure there was plenty of insulation in the cavity using a fibre-glass fire blanket that can be bought cheaply from department stores. The result is a great reflow oven that works really well.
If buying this kit from Australia; note that it will probably take at least 2 weeks to arrive and that the tracking info on the US postal service is only valid to the point the package leaves the US.
Peter from Australia
Happy cooking!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
Great little reflow oven
This reflow oven works really well. Like others I would recommend the Black and Decker oven. To mount the servo, I used 2-56 machine screws and washers. The phillips screws provided were a little tough to work with. I did not have to use the band-aid, but would suggest to others that the sharp edges on the oven be "protected" with blue masking tape.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
Loads of Fun, Wish I had bought this sooner
Took a few hours to put it together, but it has worked perfectly. Saves a lot of time when making a small batch of PCBs.
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade
So good. A must have piece of equipment.
This controller works beautifully!!! The hardest part of building the oven is adding the insulation so take your time and do it right. I'm very happy with the results I have had using an oven built around this controller. Highly recommended.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: madeatrade