Wet chemical cleaning of printed circuit boards and mechanical components

The cleaning of printed circuit boards and substrates plays a particularly important role in SMD assembly as the unavoidable flux residue left after soldering makes it impossible to carry out any subsequent processes that require a clean surface.

As we have had unpleasant experiences with standard cleaning systems in the past, we had a robot-controlled cleaning system tailored to our processes developed for us. Thanks to a new water treatment method, we have also been able to reduce our energy costs and the amount of wastewater produced. The investment has paid off! With our new cleaning system, we have been able to significantly improve the quality of our manufacturing process.

An automatic temperature control and sonication of the container by means of ultrasound helps to make the cleaning processes reproducible and also minimize manual effort. After chemical cleaning with an aqueous solvent or a chemical cleaning agent, all residue must be removed. To do this, the entire element is pre-rinsed in clean, deionised water and then rinsed in a second bath in an additional cleaning step. The element is then dried with hot air.

A high degree of reproducibility can be achieved by a robot designed by us for the handling. The robot transports the substrate carrier from one bath in the washing system to another and turns it at the same time.

The cleaning solutions and rinsing water can be used for several cleaning processes. The dirty water is sent to a special water treatment system where it then is continuously filtered and cleaned in special filter cartridges. The cartridges are cleaned, processed and prepared for re-use by the manufacturer.

Technical properties

  • All baths are equipped with ultrasound
  • Temperature-controlled baths
  • Programmable process sequences, such as turning mode and immersion times for the cleaning baskets in the baths
  • Filtration and UV-C disinfection of the rinsing water
  • Active drying with hot air
  • Programmable process times, temperatures and heating capacities
  • Safety test and monitoring functions

Specifications

  • Standard cleaning of SMT PCBs and flex PCBs before and after soldering
  • Cleaning of sapphire, glass, aluminium, ceramic, metal, silicon and MID before the adhesive is applied
  • Suitable for prototype through to mass production
  • Substrate size: 1 mm x 1 mm to 300 x 200 mm
  • Processing: Fully automatic or manual
  • Cleaning agent: acetone, isopropanol, Zestron

Applications

  • All types of printed circuit boards before or after assembly
  • Cleaning of optical components, glasses and metals before the adhesive is applied
  • Standard cleaning of SMT PCBs before and after soldering
  • Suitable for prototype manufacturing and mass production