Solder dust

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Hi, We are looking for the best method to clean dried solde... - Mar 07, 2005 by

Rule 1: Clean it as soon as you see it! Don't let it dry. ... - Mar 07, 2005 by

Tim- You have two separate issues 1) Stencils and 2) wave. ... - Mar 08, 2005 by CAL

Thanks for the response. What I am looking for is what perso... - Mar 08, 2005 by

We don't have experience on this, but first we'd talk to a t... - Mar 09, 2005 by davef

I'd like to see the rotary vane vacuum which could suck up a... - Mar 11, 2005 by

Tim

#33078

Solder dust | 7 March, 2005

Hi, We are looking for the best method to clean dried solder paste and residue from screen printers and wave solder equipment. What do you use for vacuuming? For breathing protection?

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KEN

#33086

Solder dust | 7 March, 2005

Rule 1: Clean it as soon as you see it! Don't let it dry. It's harder to clean up and can be easily injested when in a dry powder form.

Rule 2: See rule 1

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CAL

#33097

Solder dust | 8 March, 2005

Tim- You have two separate issues 1) Stencils and 2) wave. Stencils you can purchase a ultrasonic system that will remove the paste automatically or you can use stencil wipes to remove it manually. I would refrain from using towels and IPA as it dilutes the flux moreso than removing it. Scrape the excess solderpaste into a drum and wipe clean. 2) Wave dross floats.Scoop/spoon it off the top and put in a drum. Remember any siler looking material you put in the drum is wasted solder. I would try to seperate dross from solder with a perferated spoon. Also you could use solder saver (Kester) that helps seperate the dross andsolder. I would not use a vac as you could suck up molten solder in the vac. Remember dross is a hazardous waste. One other thing is a solder recovery unit that separates the dross and solder.

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Tim

#33100

Solder dust | 8 March, 2005

Thanks for the response. What I am looking for is what personal protection or other safety precautions should be used when cleaning the machine of paste/dross/dust. Any experience with this?

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davef

#33106

Solder dust | 9 March, 2005

We don't have experience on this, but first we'd talk to a technical type at our solder paste supplier.

Baring that, we'd: * Soak a paper towel in a 'solvent' [ie Kyzen XJN, EnviroSense Enviro Gold, Petroferm Hydrex, etc]. * Place the towel in contact with the paste deposit and let it soak for 15 minutes. * Wipe the surface clean with the towel. * If that doesn't work or remove all the material, try a higher concentration of 'solvent' and longer soak. * If that doesn't work, gear-up [eg, wrap-around safety glasses, nitrile gloves, mask used for wave solder dross cleaning, etc] and use a putty knife to scrape the deposit from the surface and a 'solvent' soaked towel to clean-up the scrappings.

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Carmine Garboza

#33174

Solder dust | 11 March, 2005

I'd like to see the rotary vane vacuum which could suck up a column of molten tin/lead 2 inches in diameter...

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