Reflow Ovens & Hotplates

Reflow soldering whole boards is a step beyond hand-soldering. The two paths are a hotplate (single-sided, fast, perfect for one-off prototypes and small panels) or a reflow oven (bigger boards, double-sided possible, more thermal mass). The hobbyist sweet spot in 2026 is a mini hotplate (MHP30, PCBite) for one-offs and a modded T-962 or toaster + Inkbird for occasional batch runs. Pair with Hot Air Rework for spot-fixes after reflow, PCB Tools for stencil work, and Microscopes for inspection. For BOM and assembly drawings see Assembly Documentation.

Mini hotplates (the prototype workflow)

• ★ Miniware MHP30 / MHP50 — the pocket hotplate that defined the category. ~$80–$130. USB-C PD powered, programmable profiles, decent uniformity over its ~30 mm or 50 mm bed. Closed firmware but rock-solid. The "first hotplate" pick.
• ★ PCBite Mini Hotplate (Sensepeek) — premium hotplate paired with their PCB-fixturing ecosystem; pricier (~$300) but uniform and well-instrumented.
• Aixun T3A series with hotplate option — Aixun's modular bench; OK if you're already in their ecosystem.
• Sugon BK-947 / BK-967 — sub-$100 mini hotplates; YMMV on uniformity.
• AiXun T12 / Whitelabel hotplates — many similar models; spec uniformity carefully.
• BetaLab / Shenzhen-3D mini hotplates — Tindie-tier custom hotplates with FOSS firmware (Reflow32 family).

Reflow ovens — converted appliance

• ★ T-962 / T-962A (modded) — the cheap Chinese reflow oven that everyone owns and immediately mods. Stock firmware is bad; the UnifiedEngineering / T-962-improvements firmware (open source) fixes thermocouple calibration, profile editing, and adds a USB CLI. Modded, it's a perfectly serviceable hobby reflow oven for ~$300.
• Puhui T-937M — bigger T-962 cousin; same firmware mods apply.
• Toaster oven + thermocouple + Inkbird ITC-100VH — the classic DIY: $50 toaster + $40 PID controller + a thermocouple = a usable reflow oven. Old-school but it works.
• Whitelabel Reflow Controller / Reflowduino / ControLeo3 — drop-in Arduino-based reflow controllers that drive a relay'd toaster. FOSS firmware, growing community.

Reflow ovens — purpose-built

• Atten ATM50C / ATM65C — small benchtop ovens; convection, programmable.
• PUHUI / Aoyue / Quick mini ovens — Chinese mid-tier benchtop ovens, $400–$1500.
• Inkbird ITC-100 / 110V controllers — controllers for converting any heating appliance.
• Manncorp / Heller / BTU production ovens — actual production ovens; tens of thousands of dollars and outside hobby scope.

Hotplate controllers / FOSS firmware

• ★ Reflow32 / Reflow-Pi / ESP-Reflow — community ESP32 / STM32 reflow controller projects on GitHub. Open hardware schematics, profile editor, USB or web UI. The DIY bench-hotplate path.
• Solder.js / OpenReflow / ksolder — emerging 2025–26 FOSS reflow controllers; pair with a relay-driven hotplate.
• T-962-improvements — see above; the de-facto T-962 firmware.

Stencil printing (paired with reflow)

• See PCB Tools for PrintMate STM Universal, Lehua manual stencil printer, and DIY stencil holders. A reflow workflow without good paste deposition is just a way to ruin small components.

Profiles — what to look for in any oven/hotplate

• Soak — 90–120 s at 150 °C to activate flux and pre-warm the board.
• Reflow — peak ~235 °C (Sn-Pb leaded) or ~245–250 °C (SAC305 lead-free) for 30–60 s above liquidus.
• Cooldown — controlled, ideally <6 °C/s.
• A thermocouple taped to a real board is the only honest way to verify a profile. Trust no firmware's reported temperature.

License / pricing notes

• MHP30 / MHP50 — closed firmware; quality is high so few people care.
• T-962 — stock firmware is closed and broken; T-962-improvements firmware is FOSS (GPL) and a near-mandatory upgrade.
• Reflow32 / Reflowduino / ksolder — FOSS hardware and firmware.
• Inkbird — closed firmware, fine for what it is.
• Lead-free reflow (SAC305) is harder than leaded because the process window is narrower; for hobby use, leaded paste is forgiving and worth considering for non-RoHS-bound projects.

Pick this if…

• First hotplate, one-off prototypes: Miniware MHP30 or MHP50.
• Premium hotplate paired with fixturing: PCBite Mini Hotplate.
• Small batches of boards, $300 budget: modded T-962 with FOSS firmware.
• DIY purist: toaster + Inkbird ITC-100 + thermocouple.
• You have an ESP32 and weekends: Reflow32 / ksolder firmware on a relay-driven hotplate.
• Production batches: purpose-built convection oven, not a converted toaster.