...you work for a small, albeit successful OEM.  You produce short-run, 
custom electronics.  A 'production run' may be 10-50 units.

_Everything_ is a prototype.

Suppose you have this potentially irrational desire to solder all your 
pcb's in-house.

Assuming:
-- Dealing with component placement and paste/screening is not an issue.
-- You tend to (sadly) avoid challenging chip packages.  However, due to 
availability of the more colorful components,  this becomes more 
difficult every year.
-- The economics are "manageable".
-- Inspection and QA are in place.
-- Damn the torpedoes.

**What type of low-volume soldering solutions would you recommend?

I've tested one name-brand, IR convection, batch, reflow-oven and found 
unacceptable hot/cold spots (manufacturer will go unnamed).

**Is Vapor-phase on this scale an option?

**Typical hardware costs/concerns/safety issues?

**Required infrastructure?

Any suggestions from technet-nation would be most appreciated.

Offline responses would be fine (especially if naming names).  However, 
perhaps others may benefit from from your experience and recommendations.

Best regards to all,

Chris Knudsen
New England Research, Inc.

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