Reflow Ovens
Research International solder reflow ovens, explained
What reflow ovens did Research International make?
Research International designed and built forced-convection solder reflow ovens for surface-mount and printed-circuit-board assembly. The product line spanned several families: MicriFlo and ChipFlo for smaller boards and chip-scale work, DeltaFlo for large high-mass boards, ThermaFlo as a general production oven, the TOWER vertical system, and an earlier Clamshell line.
What a reflow oven does in SMT assembly
A reflow oven is the machine that turns a placed circuit board into a soldered one. After solder paste is printed onto the pads and components are placed into that paste, the board travels through the oven on a conveyor and is heated through a controlled temperature profile: a gradual preheat, a soak that lets the whole board reach a common temperature, a short reflow spike above the solder's melting point, and then a cooldown that freezes every joint at once.
The entire reputation of an oven rests on how evenly and repeatably it can deliver that profile across a moving board. Get it right and every joint on a dense board forms cleanly in a single pass. Get it wrong and you see cold joints, tombstoned chips, lifted leads, or scorched laminate. Research International built its ovens around forced-convection heating, where heated gas is actively circulated rather than relying on radiant panels alone, because convection transfers heat more uniformly to the mix of large and small parts found on a real production board.
The oven families
MicriFlo and ChipFlo covered smaller boards and chip-scale package work, where tight thermal control on low-mass assemblies matters most. ThermaFlo served as a general-purpose production oven. DeltaFlo was the large-board specialist, built for high-volume assembly of boards with big components and significant mass differential, with extra heat zones and tight nitrogen control. The TOWER system took a vertical approach to save floor space, and an earlier Clamshell line preceded the inline tunnel ovens.
Across the line, the recurring engineering themes were the same: fan-forced convection for uniform heat transfer, multiple independently controlled heat zones so the profile could be shaped precisely, closed-loop nitrogen control to hold down oxidation and flux residue, and no-clean process zones designed to keep flux from building up inside the tunnel.
Why this reference exists
Equipment like this stays in service for decades. A reflow oven installed in the late 1990s or early 2000s can still be running a production line today, and the people maintaining it need the same information the original site once carried: which oven is which, what the families were designed for, where to find a datasheet, and how to source a replacement board or fan. The original Research International division's assets were acquired by another company in 2001, and the brand later moved on, so that reference material drifted off the live web.
This site rebuilds the useful core of that reference from the public record. It is independent and not affiliated with the original manufacturer or any later owner; product names appear only to identify the equipment. Start with the family you run, open its datasheet, then move to parts or field service.
What to look for
Key points
- Identify the family first. MicriFlo and ChipFlo for small or chip-scale work, DeltaFlo for large high-mass boards, ThermaFlo for general production, TOWER for vertical floor-space savings.
- Count the heat zones. More independently controlled zones means a profile you can shape precisely for a mixed-mass board.
- Confirm convection, not just radiant. Forced-convection heating transfers heat more evenly to a board carrying both large and tiny components.
- Check nitrogen capability. Closed-loop nitrogen control reduces oxidation and flux residue on no-clean processes.
- Match the conveyor and cavity. Board width, component height, and throughput all depend on conveyor width and adjustable cavity height.
Resources
Datasheets, parts, and service
Each slot below is reserved for a vetted datasheet archive, parts supplier, or service partner. We are adding them as we verify them; nothing here is a paid placement, and this site does not sell ovens or parts directly.
Link to the consolidated datasheet index for every oven family.
Reserved for a vetted supplier of reflow oven spares and boards.
Reserved for a field-service provider that supports legacy reflow ovens.
Questions