Toast-R-Reflow Controller

Name: Toast-R-Reflow Controller
SKU: 2847
Price: 60.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3.94 (8 reviews)

(8 Reviews)

Reflow oven controller with LCD display

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Reflow oven controller with LCD display

What is it? This item is one part of a DIY reflow oven - the controller and display. You connect this up to 7-12 VDC power, a Toast-R-Reflow power board, and a K type thermocouple and you have a comp…

What is it?

This item is one part of a DIY reflow oven - the controller and display. You connect this up to 7-12 VDC power, a Toast-R-Reflow power board, and a K type thermocouple and you have a complete reflow oven, ready to go.

Why did you make it?

When I started on the road of doing reflow work, I saw lots of other folks had done a toaster oven conversion, but there was always something I didn't like about the result.

I wanted my oven to be as safe as possible to both operate as well as debug and otherwise tinker with. I also wanted it to be simple to build and use, and inexpensive too.

I've been using this design since 2013 and still using the original Hamilton Beach 31138 oven, and it still works perfectly.

NEW! Model II available

I've made a new design for the controller. It uses an ATMega328P clocked at 16 MHz and a MAX31855. The benefits to the model II over the model I are:

More flash space - will allow for multiple temperature curve profiles (SnPb, RoHS, etc).
Wider temperature range and better granularity. The MAX31855 will read the entire range of a K thermocouple in 1/4 °C steps.
Three button inputs instead of one (there's still one button on the board).
An FTDI serial port - potentially for data logging or profile upload. Also, one could add an Arduino bootloader and upload replacement sketches with an FTDI cable (if desired).

At the moment, the firmware feature set is the same for both models, but model II will be capable of improvements to encompass the above feature list. The ATTiny84 controller in model I is maxed out.

Note

This particular item is only the controller. To complete the project you also need:

A toaster oven.
A K type thermocouple.
A Toast-R-Reflow power board kit.
A 7-12 volt @ 200 mA power supply.

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Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.00)

Documentation: (3.75)

Shipping: (4.00)

Communication: (4.00)

Jason | Jan. 5, 2023

Buggy design on Model I

Not very impressed with the build quality (the ground plane was puckered from the board in the middle implying excess heat), but the board did light up and seemed to work. I was having all kinds of problems getting my temperature probe to work. I finally discovered that while the schematic calls for a FT533DA which is a 1.8V regulator (the D designation despite its deceptive 33 in the name) for the ADC voltage reference, the chip installed is labeled WXS which is likely a Microchip 3.3V regulator: the reference voltage is indeed 3.3V. This explains why the temperature probe readings were about 50% off at higher temperatures. I needed to bodge a voltage divider to get to the 1.8V reference correct as I don't have any 1.8V regulators lying around. Also there's no mounting holes for panel-mounting, so you've got to double-up the LCD-to-board holes for mounting and find the right size and length screws to get it to work.

Response from Geppetto Electronics | Jan. 5, 2023

I'm sorry about the mistake in the regulator. If you want to send your unit back, I'll be happy to replace it.

Michael | Sept. 9, 2018

Great hackable PID controller

Great hackable PID controller (type ii), requires ftdi cable.

Fits into a standard 16*2 LCD display holder that I got separately, it's also easy to find 3d printable enclosures.

Could use a few more photos/reference diagrams of the board.

Very responsive to emails and inquiries.

Robert | Dec. 10, 2017

Good product

Love the end result. The package with the two kits (power and controller boards) came with no paper document. I searched and found the assembly instructions on-line but it would have been nice to get an internet address.

I used a Black and Decker oven (TRO490BC - 1200W) and it works like a charm.

Philip | Dec. 20, 2016

Great idea and great service but needs work

I have been using the mark 1 now for some time and it's been great, fun project to do but overall might be worth people consider buying s reflow oven off ebay if you want something that just works. I would appreciate multiple reflow profiles and I believe other kits have a "learn mode" that learns the ovens heating profile and attempts to adjust its self to match. Lastly if anyone is having issues with using the k-type thermocouples with a metal braid cable just tie the metal braiding to the GND of the logic board (although honestly spending the money on a $30 k-type probe from sparkfun will give you much better results)

Cj | April 17, 2016

Works fine! Good fit for small, budget labs.

Works as advertised, and almost kinda fun to put together. There's still quite a lot of work to actually build a reflow oven with these boards, but nowhere near as much as if you were doing it from scratch. Well worth the money. A couple minor areas for future improvement:
- Controller board not too easy to mount, and the single built-in UI element (a button) is on the back instead of the front.
- Not clear why there are two control signals for the oven power. Seems like logically it should only need one, or at least support the option. One less wire is always good!

All told, very affordable way to get into reflow if you don't mind putting in a bit of work. A complete build (including the nicest controller, power board, oven, and everything else you need from DigiKey/McMaster) will only run you about $150. Could even be a bit less if you can scrounge some of the parts from your shop already, like a thermocouple or whatever.

I documented the complete BOM I used in my oven build, and took some photos to show how it comes together. You can see that stuff here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8xVzh0ZgaayNnVhbkFDZXE2QWc

Response from Geppetto Electronics | April 17, 2016

Thanks for your nice review. The 2 pin connector above the button (or four pin at the top for model II) allows you to make alternative connections to a panel mounted button if you wanted to mount the display in something. If, like me, you just set it next to the oven on your bench, the button on the back of the board is available, and you kinda get used to reaching around the back in the same spot to hit it.

There are two control signals to the oven power mainly because the power board has two channels. Designing the power board with two triacs made the thermal design less challenging. The BTA-20 could, in principle, handle up to 20 amps, but it would require a much heftier heat sink to do it, which might make it harder to fit in the oven.

David | Jan. 26, 2016

The Toast-R-Reflow Controller kit - Great product!

UPDATE: I've been using my Toast-R-Reflow oven for many months now and I love it. It truly 'just works' and I couldn't be happier with it. <end>
I have to say Mr. Sayer's Toast-R-Reflow Controller kit paired with the Toast-R-Reflow Power board kit is a great way to get into the wonderful world of Surface Mount Technology (SMT). The kits went together quickly, no expert soldering skills needed to assemble. I went ahead and purchased the exact same oven as used by Mr. Sayer so everything in all the documentation (which is more than plentiful) applied to my project. I recommend these products highly! Also I had a question about a connection on the power board and Mr. Sayer replied quickly with the answer. Directory of photos of finished oven build and samples of my reflow work using the Toast-R-Oven @ http://volthauslab.com/Toast-R-Reflow/Photos The first time I saw the Toast-R-Reflow was on Instructables (http://www.instructables.com/id/Toast-R-Reflow-Yet-another-toaster-reflow-oven-con/) and was very impressed with the project. Yes I am 100% satisfied.
UPDATE: A tad past the one year mark on using my Toast-R-Reflow oven and it is preforming so well for me I thought I should update this review to share how absolutely satisfied I am with my oven. It is by far the best addition to my electronic workshop.

Alex | Feb. 17, 2015

Awesome

I was scared to mod a toaster oven, but this kit made it pretty easy. And it works great. I'm reflowin' PCB like a pro now.

<3

Jean-Philippe | Nov. 19, 2014

work exactly as expected

Excellent product very small footprint and easy to put with the power board (should probably mark the pins for the junction from power to controller though). only wish it had a fan controller for when the cooling phase start so it would automatically start the fan (maybe make a built in fan controller for 12v fan ). other than that, great product

Response from Geppetto Electronics | Nov. 19, 2014

Thank you so much for your review. With firmware changes, it's conceivable that one could use one of the logic outputs for heating and one for a fan. The difficulty there is that the firmware is close to filling up an ATTiny84. I do have a design on paper that uses an ATMega328 and a MAX31855 in the same form factor, but since the existing design is good enough for my purposes (and less expensive), I've never had a reason to go down that road.

You're right about marking the pins on the power board interface connector. That's going to go onto the silkscreen of the next board revision for sure.

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