Vitaly Puzrin's Tiny Open Source Hotplate Provides Handy Reflow Without Taking Over Your Desk

Software architect and hardware developer Vitaly Puzrin has released design files for a compact soldering hotplate, designed to provide heat to PCBs and other objects without taking over your desk — and drawing power from a standard USB Power Delivery (PD) power supply.

"[The] Reflow Micro Table [is a] compact Bluetooth-controlled reflow table with an 80×70mm [around 3.14×2.76"] working area," Puzrin explains of his creation. "Built for hobby projects when you do not want a bulky professional machine taking over your desk. This table is meant for hobbyists who assemble PCBs from time to time. It may not be as feature-packed as professional gear, but it's compact and covers most hobby needs."

Hotplates, or reflow tables, work by heating a flat surface to a designated temperature. Rather than soldering connections one at a time by hand, they can melt all the solder on a PCB at once — or be used at lower temperatures to soften adhesives or plastics for dismantling or adjustment.

The Reflow Micro Table can, its creator says, deliver temperatures up to 180°C or 250°C (356°F to 482°F), depending on the use of a lower-cost MCPCB heater or a more expensive and "experimental" MCH heater. The temperature can be chosen using a progressive web app on desktop or mobile, communicating with the hotplate via Bluetooth — meaning it relies on Web Bluetooth support, currently only available in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers.

"This project is not unique on the market," Puzrin admits, "but its feature balance is tuned for enjoyable hobby use and learning. The goal is to be practical and to show that building modern electronics at home is entirely doable, even for beginners."

Hardware design files, 3D print files, and source code for the firmware and web app are all available on GitHub under the permissive MIT license; the project is also listed on OSHWLab under the same license.