Homebrew PCBs

Just another update: I've had this pizzaz pizza oven for over a month
and I'm still very happy with it.

This device I can stick my pcb on the plate and turn the dial to 8
minutes then come back 10-15 minutes later and the board is done
perfectly every time and the machine has cooled down.  I have done
over 20 prototype boards and each time it is set the dial to 8minutes
from a cold start and walk away.  The temperature is perfect and none
of the plastic parts melt yet even big 470uF smd caps get solder
perfectly.  I can also watch the reflow process and push parts around
if something is out of alignment with my dental pick.

For $45 it is the best thing I bought since my $99 hot air gun station for PCBs.

Search on walmart or amazon.com to get one yourself.  I did replace
the rotating plate with a solid 1/4" of aluminum that I had laying
around.

On Sat, Mar 20, 2010 at 7:15 PM, Henry Liu <henryjliu@...> wrote:
> I have played with this more.
> The original Pizzaz pizza oven comes with a 12" or so pizza pan that spins
> around.
> To know if there is a pizza pan on top, the unit has a small push down
> interlock switch on the top.  The motor turns with a small rotating motor
> close to the front by using a shaft protrusion.
> I did some modifications and now it works even better!
> What I did was I put a 8"x6"x1/4" thick piece of aluminum plate on top of
> the interlock but not cover the motor shaft protrusion.  Now the unit turns
> on but doesn't rotate.  Also the entire plate is between the top and bottom
> elements now.
> The unit works great in this mode.  I did more tests from a COLD start and
> it reflows in 4:30 seconds - no hot air gun needed.  There is easily enough
> working space underneath to push parts around that moved out of place.
> The unit is compact and easy to use.  Great value at $45.  It produces 1250W
> of heating power through two heating elements and also has circulating fan
> that pushes hot down onto the heating zone.  Previously with the spinning
> mechanism, it would not stay on one place very well.  The power is perfect
> so that it reflows but doesn't melt the board.
> Previously I had a GE hot plate but this thing is 100x better.  The GE unit
> I used twice and never tried it again.  This unit I will use everytime for
> my small prototypes.
> Henry
>