Jigar Patel, ZESTRON, to Present “Challenges and Solutions for the Effective Removal of OA Flux Residues” at the High-Reliability Cleaning and Conformal Coating Conference

ZESTRON, the globally leading provider of high precision cleaning products, services and training solutions for the electronics manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce that Jigar Patel, M.S.Chem.Eng., Senior Process Engineer, ZESTRON, will present “Challenges and Solutions for the Effective Removal of OA Flux Residues” at the High-Reliability Cleaning and Conformal Coating Conference sponsored by IPC and SMTA. This event will be held from November 18th to November 20th at the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg in Schaumburg, IL.

OA or water soluble flux remains a viable option within the electronics manufacturing industry, for numerous applications including products requiring high-reliability.  Regardless, once the decision is made to use an OA flux, measures must be taken to fully remove all flux residues.

OA flux is designed to be cleaned with water, however, with the increase in component density on the board surface, and the ever reducing component standoff height, a DI-water cleaning process is challenged to meet today’s cleaning requirements.  A study was undertaken whereby PCB test vehicles were populated with numerous low standoff components and soldered with a variety of both leaded and lead-free solder pastes.  All test vehicles were then cleaned using a DI-water process as well as a chemically assisted process using an aqueous-based engineered cleaning agent specifically designed to clean OA flux residue at very low concentrations.  

Employing this effective cleaning agent from these tests, a customer evaluation was undertaken comparing this cleaning agent to that of DI-water as well as other available cleaning agents.  All test results are reported with optimal cleaner operating parameters recommended.

Mr. Patel will present during the “Cleaning Tutorials” session on Tuesday, November 18th. For more information on ZESTRON’s complete product line, process solutions and services, please visit our tabletop exhibit.  Our sales and engineering team stand ready to answer any questions you may have. 

Headquartered in Manassas, Virginia, and operating in more than 35 countries, ZESTRON is the globally leading provider of high precision cleaning products, services and training solutions for the electronics manufacturing industry. With six worldwide technical centers and the largest team of chemical engineers in the industry, ZESTRON’s commitment to ensuring that its customers surpass even the most stringent cleaning requirements is without equal.
For additional information and to tour one of our unparalleled technical centers, please visit www.zestron.com.