This is the world-first, original and, internationally acclaimed, award-winning and patent-protected ZT-1-HIS Heavy Industrial AirBath™ preheat system -- your effective solution for preheating PCB's for low-volume prototyping or in rework.

Two Models!  Our ZT-1-HIS AirBaths™ are available with either analog or digital control. Both models have powerful 25 CFM (710 Liters/Minute) of air supply.

Greater volume of air supply preheat with far lower temps than with other ineffective preheat devices limited by low air volume outputs, which require higher temps and burn your boards. Not a preheating "toy", this is real preheating! And in our famous trademark pyramidal design!

800+ Watts of Power: Coupled with ample air output is our 800+ Watts of preheating capacity. This is effective preheating by design!

Preheat Power: Our ZT-1-HIS AirBaths™ ample air supply from the AirCone™ delivers its forced-convection preheat power for even the most challenging PCB's. Beware of imitative pre-heaters with less than 13CFM (360 liters/minute) that crudely attempt to compensate for wimpy air volume through higher temp settings. Remember: the glass transition of a FR-4 PCB is only 170°C. You don't want higher preheat temps, you want higher volume of safe preheat (100°C-170°C).

So Many Features: The AirBaths™  with the Zephyrtronics ZeroTouch™ preheat get into a PCB's nooks and crannies where hot plates and IR preheaters can't go (see  videos below). Fabricated from steel, not plastic for industrial use and long production life, they are RoHS Compliant, ESD-safe, exceed U.S. Military Specs and uniquely feature indicator lights (blue: cooling; red: preheating). All AirBaths™ have internal air supply so you do not need compressed air hook ups......and our ZT-1-HIS-DPU Digital Model has our very big LED lighted digital temperature display for quick "set & read" not tiny, impossible-to-read, and simply horrible LCD's for displays!).

Thermal Ramping: All AirBaths™ have the industry standard, temperature ramp of 2°-4°C per second "built-in" to prevent thermal shock to semiconductors, sensitive chips, ceramic caps and glass diodes. Indeed, our integrated ramping was essential to Motorola® and Boeing® with their space applications. And they are essential for high-quality smartphone, tablet, pc and flat screen television soldering and desoldering repair.

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For Thru-Hole, SMT & BGA Preheating Tasks: The HIS Series AirBath Preheating Systems is ideal for all PCB challenges from low-volume production runs, prototyping during design or during rework with all SMD packages such as BGA, CSP, QFP, QFN, TSOP, PLCC, SOIC, SOL, LCC, Flip Chip and Glob Top components. Still, the AirBath  is not limited to only SMD devices: Don't overlook the superb benefit the AirBath  preheating boost brings to your tough through-hole (PTH) soldering and de-soldering tasks! Plus, it easily handles all substrates including FR-4, polyimide, composites, flex circuits and ceramic boards.

The Many Benefits of Preheating Your PCB: The benefits of preheat are multiple and compounding. 1.) Preheating or "soaking" the assembly before reflow activates the flux that removes oxides and surface films thereby enhancing the wetting process and solder joint quality. 2.) Preheat permits lower soldering reflow temperatures. 3.) Preheat reduces "dwell time" at the final reflow stage. 4.) Preheat reduces thermal stresses to the PC substrate and components if localized reflow is made with soldering irons, de-soldering tools or hot air tools. 5.) Preheat gives a thermal boost for  RoHS lead-free solders without damaging the work!

The HIS Series of AirBaths™ is available in two models: Analog and Digital. Both models feature variable temp selection from ambient up to 205°C and feature closed-loop feedback temperature sensing control. The digital model incorporates a digital set/read lighted display that permits single digit/degree incremental temperature selection in the "set" mode and tracks real time temperature at the air exit point above the grids. Our Analog Model provides the two most common preheat settings: 100°C and 150°C.

Your Lead-Free Solution: Working with lead-free, RoHS solder alloys --- all have higher melting points --- makes preheat essential to PCB work at a bench. Don't raise temps higher on your soldering irons, desoldering tools, hot air tools or thermal tweezers! A brief preheat below the PCB permits soldering/ desoldering at lower temps.

The RoHS Lead-Free Solder Mandate: Europe (and Japan) no longer permit the use of traditional tin/lead solders. Learn more about the European Lead-Free Mandate & Preheating. AirBath™ preheaters are your RoHS solution making lead-free soldering a breeze.

Preheating PCB at Benchtop  Mimics High Quality Thermal Profiles on Production Floor

Remove Chip Quickly at Less Than 150°C with  AirBath & LOWMELT® "Never Lift A Pad"

100% Non Contact , SMT Hot Air Solder Reflow With the AirBath and a  Hot AirPencil. Yields Highest Quality  Joints.

Easy Thru-Hole  Desoldering At Lower Temps With AirBath Preheat Heavy Ground Planes? No Problem!

All  AirBaths™ Sit Below the ZT-7-MIL BGA, SMD &  Thru-Hole Hot Air Station.

 Ideal For Heat Shrink Tubing Applications.
Far Superior To Uncontrolled Heat Guns!

  Comparing the Four Methods of Preheating

Preheating PCB assemblies falls into four categories: 1.) hot plates, 2.) ovens, 3.)  IR systems, and 4.) forced convection (warm air) under a PCB: The short video at the right breaks down these four methods with comparative demonstrations. While any PCB preheat prior to soldering is better than none, an objective analysis of the various methods of preheating reveals that all preheating methods are not equally effective or beneficial:

1.) Ovens: Using ovens to preheat before rework and soldering for either removal and/or replacement of components can yield the most uniform temperature profile as it warms both the top and bottom of the PCB as ovens also do in high volume production equipment such as conveyor ovens and wave solder machines. It's just a little problematic to crawl inside an oven with your PCB to preheat while you perform selective soldering or desoldering tasks on one side of the board. Of course, one can preheat with an oven, and then rush the PCB back to your bench, but it's hardly practical or convenient solution.

Hundreds of Zephyrtronics AirBaths™ Utilized to Build the International Space Station (ISS)

39-Page Rework Guide
by NASA with Zephyrtronics AirBaths™

Zephyrtronics AirBaths™ Used on the Mars Rover & Phoenix Programs.
Photo Credit: NASA

2.) IR: There are many drawbacks with infrared and why it really never completely caught on.  Some of the drawbacks (enumerated in articles and white papers) are the difficulty in ramping temps, darker surfaces heating more than lighter ones ('albedo' effect), shadowing caused by high profile devices on PCB's. IR preheaters can warp PCB's and some chips require IR shielding with aluminum foil! If an IR preheater is very large, working on small PCB's can be very uncomfortable for techs (a common complaint).

Another quality disadvantage of IR preheaters is they are not "temperature controlled" without taping an external thermocouple onto each PCB before working on it...a hassle/headache for techs and filled with quality pitfalls, and inconsistent results. There are more drawbacks, but these are some of the worst.

NASA & JPL: 'IR Preheaters Are Risky': Addressing the preheating process for heat sensitive chips in a 49-page published report, two JPL engineers, Dr. Rajenshuni Ramesham and Dr. R. David Gerke, wrote "Hot plates and infrared preheaters are not recommended for this type of rework. The reason that they should not be used is that the thermal reaction times, energy transfer rates and efficiency are never consistent. However, they can be used for large metal and ground-plane boards in limited applications, e.g., where the size of the board matches that of the preheater in area."

Citing the late William Scheu, the authors point to the superiority of bottom-side preheating with forced convection systems. The JPL/NASA Survey spotlighted still more of the deficiencies of IR preheating devices: "They have little capacity to ramp and soak to perform properly engineered repair scenarios or to support the creation and application of complicated thermal profiles. They also are limited in their ability to preheat beyond the physical dimensions of the heating surface. Hot-air preheating can be ramped, soaked and, on some systems, synchronized with the reflow process, permitting duplication of the actual profile used in manufacturing the assemblies. BGAs and photoelectrical parts are sensitive to higher temperatures and any attempt to preheat with marginally controllable sources is risky."-- NASA & JPL: Survey of Rework Methods & Equipment for Various Packaging Technologies" Aug.'05

  Post-Cooling™ Feature Built Into The AirBaths™ 

Our AirBaths™ inspired a lot of cheesy imitations, but we're still the pioneers who understand thermodynamics and preheat better than anyone else.  Our AirBaths™ are the intelligent solution to stop burning up your PCB's by preventing thermal degradation, thermal  shock, lifted pads or traces, substrate delamination, measling and warping.

Twenty Years! Zephyrtronics AirBaths™ are still the first choice for PCB preheating by most major aerospace and semiconductor manufacturers after two decades. It truly is the one single tool that belongs on every bench.  This is the "Science of Zephyrtronics."  We have an AirBath™ for you.

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