Reflowed

Reflowed is the past participle of reflow, used to describe something that has undergone a reflow process—when a material or fluid flows again after being heated or energized. The term appears across several fields, including electronics, materials science, and digital publishing, where it denotes a change in shape, form, or layout brought about by controlled flow.

In electronics manufacturing, reflow soldering is a common process. A printed circuit board is prepared with solder paste and components, then heated in a controlled profile until the paste melts and reflows to form wetting connections with pads. As it cools, the solder solidifies into joints. Proper control of peak temperature, ramp rate, and dwell time is essential to avoid defects such as insufficient wetting, solder bridging, or component damage. Lead-free solder typically requires higher reflow temperatures than traditional tin–lead formulations.

In materials processing, reflow refers to the viscous flow of softened materials under heat or energy input. This can apply to solder, glass, or polymer films. Reflow often serves to smooth surfaces, relieve internal stresses, and enable surface shaping before quenching or solidification.

In digital publishing, reflow describes text that can adapt to different display widths. Reflowable content allows lines and pages to reflow to fit various screen sizes and formats, improving readability on diverse devices. The term “reflowed” may be used to describe text that has been reformatted to fit a new layout.