Flux is a crucial part of both paste and wire solders. Flux allows component leads to flow and moisten properly onto PCB pads. Flux particles can occasionally lead to contamination or even electrical migration between component contacts (leading to shorts) on the printed circuit board. High reliability applications like military, space and some other essential applications - usually necessitate the cleaning of no-clean fluxes. PCB cleaning is often necessary for these kinds of circuit boards. The sales staff at Restronics Florida have years of expertise in all types of flux cleaning... from high-volume batch cleaning machines to benchtop flux cleaning sprays and chemistry to dissolve flux residues. By reviewing the current process and making appropriate recommendations for development, we can minimize the human labor needed for hand spray cleaning and ultimately boost cleanliness and reliability by using a DI water based batch cleaner with aqueous chemistry.

Because the majority of PCB manufacturers in the United States produce high-reliability boards, flux cleaning is vital. Cleaning printed circuit boards with solvents, although very effective, can be highly dangerous for the planet and for users. As a result of rising limitations on the solvents used in vapor degreasers, firms are shifting away from solvent-based cleaning to aqueous-based flux cleaning. Cleaners based on aqueous liquids are usually zero-discharge, which indicates that no wash solution or residue goes to the drain; it remains in the device. In general, wash chemistry is a mixture of DI water and cleaning chemistry.

As part of PCB cleaning, the correct cleaning chemistry must match the nature of the soils (could be oils, flux residue, or other contaminants). The majority of people try to use a simple alcohol cleaner but it generally causes a white sediment and does not eradicate flux. This is notably challenging when customers need to conformally coat the PCB. Most conformal coatings won’t adhere effectively unless the PCB has been cleaned appropriately. Prior to applying conformal coatings to military and space applications, all flux residues must be cleaned and tested with an Ionic Contamination tester.