We had a 4/5 zone oven and initial trials showed it did work, but we had to spend more time profiling as process control was difficult when dealing with different demanding PCBs. We went to a 7 zone oven which fitted in the same footprint and process control was improved and profiling easier to get right with just one or two trial runs per PCB type. If you decide you have to upgrade, what is your budget, what footprint can you accommodate and what throughput do you need? The you can look at extra features such as centre-board support, flux residue gas separation, nitrogen inerting, active cooling etc etc I found a useful excel tool on the ECD website which allows you to "fit" oven capabilities to paste spec requirements and give you a measure of goodness for possible combinations, which really helped in our decision making process. You don't need an ECD mole (or KIC or Solderstar etc) to use this, it's a standalone mathematical model http://www.ecd.com/emfg/instruments/mole/profileplanner1.asp Nigel Burtt Production Engineering Manager Dolby Labs - European HQ Email: [log in to unmask] Tel: +44 (0)1793 842132 [direct line with voicemail] Fax: +44 (0)1793 842101 ----------------------------------------- This message (including any attachments) may contain confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose. If you are not the intended recipient, delete this message. If you are not the intended recipient, disclosing, copying, distributing, or taking any action based on this message is strictly prohibited. --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------