Preheat Zone
Maximum slope is a temperature/time relationship that measures how fast the temperature on the printed circuit board changes. The preheat zone is often the lengthiest of the zones and often establishes the ramp-rate. The ramp–up rate is usually somewhere between 1.0 °C and 3.0 °C per second, often falling between 2.0 °C and 3.0 °C (4 °F to 5 °F) per second. If the rate exceeds the maximum slope, damage to components from thermal shock or cracking can occur. Solder paste can also have a spattering effect. The preheat section is where the solvent in the paste begins to evaporate, and if the rise rate (or temperature level) is too low, evaporation of flux volatiles is incomplete.
Read more about this topic: Reflow Soldering
Famous quotes containing the word zone:
“In the zone of perdition where my youth went as if to complete its education, one would have said that the portents of an imminent collapse of the whole edifice of civilization had made an appointment.”
—Guy Debord (b. 1931)