Cleaning No Clean Wave Solder Carriers

I'm in the process of moving from water washable flux to a full no clean process for the wave soldering process, thing's seem to be going well (so far...). The one problem I still have is cleaning the wave solder carrier's to remove the no clean flux residues on them when I have no waterwash .. not that that would have been very much use right ? Helpful hint's would be welcome here

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| I'm in the process of moving from water washable flux to a full no clean process for the wave soldering process, thing's seem to be going well (so far...). | The one problem I still have is cleaning the wave solder carrier's to remove the no clean flux residues on them when I have no waterwash .. not that that would have been very much use right ? | Helpful hint's would be welcome here | We use an environmentally friendly (trichlor replacement, CFC-free) solvent to periodically clean the residues off the bottom of our carriers. The best results have been obtained with Bioact SC-10. It's used for stencil cleaning, and you can get pre-moistened wipes that come in a little bucket (like diaper wipes). I think you can get it from your local Alpha guy. When the lines are slow, we dedicate a person for a day to give the fixtues a cleaning. This stuff removes flux goo real well; we also use the wipes for cleaning the decks and walls of the wave machine itself. Lead dust clings to these wipes better than anything else I've found.

Ensolve is also another good solvent for cleaning the residue, but it's got a slightly stonger odor. We use that for soaking our chains every six months and cleaning our adhesives off nozzles and boards with bad glue dots.

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Hi Chrys, Hate to bring you down, but, wave solder pallets exposed to any kind of flux is subject to "Build up" on the carrier. You still have to clean them, hopefully on a regular basis.If the pallet is being run in a high production envirnment, I would reccomend cleaning them at least once a week. A circuit board that goes through a " no clean envirnment" see's the flux only one time, where a fixture will see hundreds of passes, thus, creating build up. Take care Chrys.| I'm in the process of moving from water washable flux to a full no clean process for the wave soldering process, thing's seem to be going well (so far...). | The one problem I still have is cleaning the wave solder carrier's to remove the no clean flux residues on them when I have no waterwash .. not that that would have been very much use right ? | Helpful hint's would be welcome here |

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When going to a "no clean" process, there are always two items that will require cleaning - stencils and pallets. You may also have a requirement to clean misprinted PCBs and possibly SMD adhesives. The Smart Sonic Stencil/Pallet Cleaning Process can do all of the above. The process is Non-hazardous, Certified Environmentally safe by the EPA & AQMD and economical to operate. Additional information can be found at www.smartsonic.com. Or, call me. 1(805)499-7440 Regards, Bill Schreiber

| I'm in the process of moving from water washable flux to a full no clean process for the wave soldering process, thing's seem to be going well (so far...). | The one problem I still have is cleaning the wave solder carrier's to remove the no clean flux residues on them when I have no waterwash .. not that that would have been very much use right ? | Helpful hint's would be welcome here |

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| | I'm in the process of moving from water washable flux to a full no clean process for the wave soldering process, thing's seem to be going well (so far...). | | The one problem I still have is cleaning the wave solder carrier's to remove the no clean flux residues on them when I have no waterwash .. not that that would have been very much use right ? | | Helpful hint's would be welcome here | | | We use an environmentally friendly (trichlor replacement, CFC-free) solvent to periodically clean the residues off the bottom of our carriers. The best results have been obtained with Bioact SC-10. It's used for stencil cleaning, and you can get pre-moistened wipes that come in a little bucket (like diaper wipes). I think you can get it from your local Alpha guy. When the lines are slow, we dedicate a person for a day to give the fixtues a cleaning. This stuff removes flux goo real well; we also use the wipes for cleaning the decks and walls of the wave machine itself. Lead dust clings to these wipes better than anything else I've found. | | Ensolve is also another good solvent for cleaning the residue, but it's got a slightly stonger odor. We use that for soaking our chains every six months and cleaning our adhesives off nozzles and boards with bad glue dots. | Most of the composite material manufacturers recommend alcohol or a blend of alcohol. Cleaning the pallets on a routine basis will help keep your operators from going postal...

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