Manufacturers of convection and infrared reflow ovens are focused on increased efficiency and uptime of their equipment to meet the demand from Semicon/advanced electronics market growth. The electronics manufacturing segment is expected to grow 1.8x times over the next decade. Driven by the need for enhanced productivity and efficiency, there is an increasing adoption of smart, automated, and easily configured reflow ovens.
To meet this growing demand, companies need reliable high-performance lubricants that will ensure the reliability and durability of the equipment critical to their production process.
Market Overview
- The global convection and infrared reflow ovens addressable market for specialty lubricants is estimated at $10.2M in 2023, growing at a 5.5% five-year CAGR (2023–2027)
- Market drivers include:
- Growing adoption of surface mount technology (SMT); as SMT growth continues, growth of reflow ovens will follow
- Expansion of electronics manufacturing sector globally
- Demand for high-quality soldering and reliability of oven
- With an increasing focus on per part profitability, PCB fabricators put strong emphasis on reliability and durability of the equipment critical to their production process
- Protection against oxidation, humidity, wear and corrosion are performance requirements for convection and infrared reflow ovens
- Krytox™ high-performance lubricants provide:
- Chemical inertness over a wide temperature range, up to 360 °C (680 °F) for the four oils/greases suggested for this application
Key Benefits of Krytox™ Lubricants for Convection and Infrared Reflow Ovens
- Reduce maintenance costs while improving equipment performance and reliability
- Increase in equipment uptime
- Extend relubrication intervals
- High-temperature stability
- Chemical inertness
- Oxygen compatibility
- Perform in extreme conditions, such as continuous high temperatures up to 250 °C (482 °F)
Case Study
Who: Convection reflow oven manufacturer
Need: Customer was experiencing excessive wear on their conveyor chain and jamming issues with their lead screws, causing an increase in maintenance and decrease in uptime. Their customers started to see issues with the quality of PCBs and increase of waste and rework.
Customer’s Request: Looking for higher performance lubricants to increase the reliability and durability of the equipment. The lubricants needed to be chemically inert and able to withstand high temperatures of at least 250 °C/482 °F.
Solution: Chemours recommended customer to test Krytox™ XHT-BDZ grease for lead screws and Krytox™ GPL107 oil for conveyor chain; the respective Krytox™ lubricants were specified in customer’s reflow ovens.
Benefits:
- Reduction in the wear of the chain
- Prevented lead screws from jamming
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Reduced relubrication intervals
- Performs in extreme conditions, such as continuous high temperatures up to 288 °C (482 °F) for the GPL107 and 360 °C (680 °F) for the XHT-BDZ