Foam Fluxer - Porous Cylinder

Hi

Hope a few others give you applicable experience to your question. I never had a real long shut down, yet have experienced short shut down problems.

I would run it in the best cleaner you have in your shop before you shut down for a long spell, then through DI water. If you have a cleaner for the no-clean flux better yet. Also buy an extra stone just in case you don't like it's performance after you turn it on, let it run, and then observe the foaming action.

Another idea is to call the stone mfg.

YiEng, MA/NY DDave

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First, an earlier poster suggested using DI water. We are NOT excited about DI water with a NC fluxer, unless DI water is the proper flux thinner.

Second, as you inplied, the maintenance steps you take should vary according to the amount of time that you plan to take your machine down. For instance: * Upto a week: Keep the stone covered with 1/2 inch of flux. * Longer than a week: ** Clean the flux stone as follows: *** After draining the old flux from the system, refill the system with the proper flux thinner. Fill the flux pot to at least 1 inch over the top of the stone. Performance improves as the stone is more covered. *** Bubble air through the stone for 10 to 15 minutes. *** Drain the thinner and blow thinner out of the stone. ** Shut off the air and immediately put the stone on a reasealable [tuppererware] container, cover it with 1/2 inch of the proper flux thinner, and seal the container.

[When we started using a spray fluxer, we put our stone on a long cylindical resealable container, used for pasta or something like that. It's still in storage, even though we sold the wave solder machine.]

Third, obviously the scheme you're using is rift with hazards. A day goes to a week, a week goes to a month, then one day you turn your machine and there's nothing but brown sludge in your fluxer tank. So, a fairly disciplined maintenance record seems to in order.

Forth, it's probably tough to think about this with your volume declining, but running NC through a spray fluxer is THE way to go with NC flux. Sprayers are easier to control and have lower maintenance. Foamers are more difficult to control, often won't produce a head, often apply too much flux that can leave harmful residues [but don't even realize it without expensive analysis], and tougher to maintain.

Finally, continuing with the declining volume idea, consider out-sourcing your wave soldering business and sell your trusted wave solder machine. [Contractors: If you want to offer services in response to this comment, please give us all a break and make your responce to Hany off-line.]

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Store the flux stone in PVC pipe (capped at the end) and fill the pipe with Isopropyl Alcohol.

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Currently we are running a BGA with a big thermal pad in the middle of the package and encountered high defect of solder shorts.I would like to check whether anyone has experience this problem and how this can be rectified?.

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Where can I buy new stones for wave solder machines?

Tim Davis Panasonic Peachtree City, GA

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