How do you clean PCB after soldering?

This is cleaning from fluxes, which are residues of solder paste that remain on the board after the soldering process. If not removed, they can cause corrosion, short circuits and board malfunction. To prevent deterioration of the board, these residues are washed. There are many technologies - spraying, ultrasonic or just hand washing (Flux Remover 4).
 

Advantages of DCT´s InJet solutions:

• Efficient high-pressure spraying system which continuously removes all solder balls from stencil surface and process chamber and catches them on the filter
• Fully controlled automatic process in 1 chamber (clean + dry) without any manual handling of cleaned parts (fully automatic clean+rinse+dry option is available)
• 100% construction from certified stainless steel with a 5-year warranty
• Closed-loop fully controlled rinsing process offering also automatic filtering process using active carbon and ionex = full control of rinsing water cleanliness (available with InJet 388 CRD)
• Controlled by PLC through touch screen with easy setup, full process data access, traceability options
• Compact size, small footprint, industrial casters for easy manipulation
• Stability and reliability of the spray-in-air technology in time, low cost of spare parts
• Easy use for operators, easy maintenance, easy process setup and control for engineer – 3 level authorization
• High-end design
• More than 200 litres flow rate per minute
• Continuous filtering of removed solder balls on high capacity mechanical filter = zero redeposition effect 100% closed-loop system = zero contact of Operator with cleaning chemistry, the machine can be installed directly on the production line
• Spray-in-air technology is 100% compatible with all parts and components = able to use also single-sided or double-sided misprints.

Typical weak points of traditional ultrasonic cleaners:

• No automatic hot-air drying – typically air gun drying or a manual transfer of a stencil into a separate drying chamber = not a fully automatic process
• None or limited rinse capabilities
• Plastic materials used for pipes and other critical parts - not fully stainless steel construction
• Not constant filtering system - solder ball stays in the chamber and can redeposit on stencil/PCB surface - this is a general disadvantage
• The efficiency of an ultrasonic generator drops down in time = high costs of spare parts and repairs in the long run
• An operator is in contact with cleaning chemistry, vapours, and chemistry smell from the process chamber
• Disturbing sound of ultrasonic during the cleaning process
• Do not offer full process data on the touch screen
• Do not offer traceability setup Usually 20+ years old designs
• Do not offer to use the same cleaner for stencils, squeegees, and misprints:
• Ultrasonic technology is not fully compatible with all components and materials
• Does not offer closed-loop rinsing system with continuous filtering through mechanical and Active (carbon+ionex) Filter which is beneficial to a misprint cleaning
• Does not always offer the option of accomodating a squeegee

You can insert any components into our high-pressure spray machines (InJet®). It is important that the soldering medium (paste) understands the washing medium (washing liquid). Together with a perfect rinse, we can ensure a perfectly washed board.