We consider the usability of a laboratory instrument to be just as important as its core functionality. That’s why we decided to integrate a better screen into Vapor Phase One, and it’s why we are focusing on simplicity when designing the user interface (UI). All functions must be immediately accessible, and nobody should have to go looking for a manual.

Accordingly, we have limited ourselves to a very simple UI that is extremely easy to understand. It involves three screens: one that allows you to start and stop the soldering process, one that displays a graph of live data, and one that can be used to modify device settings. To switch between these screens, you simply swipe left or right.

The graph screen, shown below, displays the current temperature of the water cooling system and of the Galden. The red line, which you can see most clearly toward the right-hand side of the screen, corresponds to the soldering profile. The blue line is updated in realtime.

The options screen allows you to configure various features of Vapor Phase One. It currently supports the following options:

• Enable or disable the Galden-saving feature, which keeps the chamber closed for a few minutes after the soldering process is finished so that it can cool down and allow the remaining Galden to condense.
• Change between °C and °F
• Select a soldering profile

We will soon publish all of this UI code in our GitHub repository. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions for features we should add, please drop us a line!