| Cleaning is an essential process within electronics manufacture and has been used for many years to remove potentially harmful contaminants during PCB manufacture. |
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| Such contaminants include flux, solder and adhesive residues, and other more general contaminants such as dust and debris present from other manufacturing processes. The purpose of cleaning, specifically within the rapidly expanding electronics industry, is to essentially improve product lifetime by ensuring good surface resistance and by preventing current leakage leading to PCB failure. |
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| In industry today, many manufacturers are turning to ‘no clean’ processes, implying that cleaning is not required after soldering. In the ‘no clean’ process the solids content of the flux is lower than traditional types, however they still contain rosin and activator which are not removed prior to the next process, such as coating or encapsulating of the PCB. Such residues, along with any other unwanted elements collected due to the missing cleaning stage, could cause issues with adhesion and possibly affect the performance of the protecting media applied. |
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The purpose of cleaning, specifically within the rapidly expanding electronics industry, is to essentially improve product lifetime by ensuring good surface resistance and by preventing current leakage leading to PCB failure. |
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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs are carbon based compounds which vaporise easily at room temperature. They are more clearly defined by the EU Solvents Emissions Directive, which states that a VOC is “any organic compound having at 20°C a vapour pressure of 0.01kPa or more, or having a corresponding volatility under the particular conditions of use.” |
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| The emissions of VOCs have to be controlled due to their effect on the environment and human health. VOCs contribute towards the formation of ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. Such pollution can have many detrimental effects on the environment, in particular, damaging forests and vegetation. VOCs when not managed properly can also cause health problems. |
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| As environmental concerns heighten the transition to solvent-free and low-VOC materials continues to increase. Continual investment in research and development facilities allows Electrolube to remain at the forefront of cleaning technology, continually exceeding customer’s expectations throughout this period of change. Electrolube, as a responsible manufacturer, can provide both water-based and solvent based cleaning solutions for a wide variety of applications in the automotive, aerospace, military, domestic and medical sectors. |
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| Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs are carbon based compounds which vaporise easily at room temperature. |
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The safewash range
The Electrolube Safewash range is the most effective family of water-based cleaners available on the market. Primarily developed to replace ozone depleting chemicals as well as offering a solution to reduce solvent emissions, the range provides superior cleaning performance to both military and commercial standards at minimal cost. Water-based cleaning has several advantages over solvent based cleaners including non-flammable properties, low odour, low/non-VOC and very low toxicity. There are many applications for cleaning, all of which depend on the type of equipment available. Whether it be ultrasonic, spray under immersion or dishwasher type application, identifying the correct water-based cleaner for the specific job is essential. |
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| Electrolube’s Safewash range is the most effective family of water-based cleaners available on the market. |
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Solvents |
| Solvent cleaners are fast evaporating organic materials. Traditionally, chlorinated solvents dominated the market; however, due to their ozone depleting potential, they have been replaced by a more diverse range of solvent cleaners. This category is now typically divided into three sub-sections: flammable and non-flammable solvent cleaners and non-flammable fluorinated solvent cleaners. Electrolube flammable and non-flammable solvent-based materials are single stage cleaners characterised by relatively low levels of toxicity, good materials compatibility and a wide range of flash points and evaporation rates. |
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| Specialist equipment is generally required when using solvent based cleaners in high volume production; however they are essential for cleaning assemblies with unsealed components or water sensitive devices. |
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| Electrolube offer a diverse range of solvent based materials including flammable, non-flammable and fluorinated cleaners. |
