Water-based cleaning process for circuit boards, how to choose the right cleaning equipment? – Heming Technology
Key words: circuit board cleaning, PCB component cleaning, water-based cleaning technology, spray cleaning machine, ultrasonic cleaning machine
The SMT/DIP electronic assembly cleaning requirements are based on the application, customer, rework and overall steps in the process, and are required for cleaning according to the product’s entire life cycle reliability and functional issues. The cleaning equipment is designed according to the application requirements. Cleaning application requirements may come from bench cleaning, batch cleaning and continuous cleaning in high volume production.
1. Batch cleaning equipment: Batch cleaning equipment represents the cleaning process of most electronic processes that have been installed with electronic assembly, and includes several specific cleaning technologies and production capacity. Batch cleaners have traditionally been considered suitable for highly combined product environments. Various air jets, soaking jets, ultrasonics, and centrifugation represent almost all modern automatic flux removal techniques that are used in batch cleaning. The choice of batch or other cleaning machine method is based on a set of predictable factors such as cleaning production requirements, selection of specific chemical methods, resource availability (water, electricity, space), and surrounding environment such as noise, required periphery Equipment, smell, etc.

2. Batch immersion: Batch immersion cleaning equipment integrates a series of individual cleaning cylinders or a series of cleaning modules. The components are cleaned, rinsed and dried by hand or automation from one cleaning cylinder to another. Depending on the part size and production requirements, cleaning cylinders are available in a variety of sizes, depending on the chemistry used and the degree of cleanliness required. Water washing usually uses one flush, two flushes and one dry. In some small batch situations or in these cases, there is no high cleanliness requirement. It may only use a single flush. For some high cleanliness requirements, multiple flush cylinders will be used. And an additional flushing tank.
3. Off-line spray cleaning: Batch spray cleaning equipment can include single-cavity, multi-cavity and step-by-step cleaning equipment according to the processing flow. Single-cavity cleaning equipment can pack a batch of assembled parts in the same cavity. Washing and drying step by step. Similarly, multi-cavity cleaning equipment can be used to simultaneously clean and dry multiple batches of assembled parts in separate chambers. Using stepping cleaning equipment, The proprietary processing is independent of each chamber, eg: cleaning-rinsing-drying.

4. Single and multiple autonomous chambers: Single or multiple autonomous chamber-type batch cleaning systems use a rotary spray cantilever to spray the container onto a fixed-edge board for cleaning. The cleaning cycle may include pre-wash, wash and multiple rinse stages. The cleaning agent can be added to the various cycle stages. The final rinse stage usually uses deionized or industrial pure water. The quantity, type and duration of the washing and rinsing stages are generally flexible.