Mar 24, 2010 
Post-reflow defluxing has been an integral part of the electronics assembly process since the first electronic circuits were soldered. In 1989, government regulations (Montreal Protocol) banned the production of many CFC-based solvents including 111-Trichloroethlene and Freon-TMS, two of the industry’s most popular defluxing solvents. While military and medical manufacturers switched to alternative defluxing processes, most commercial manufacturers abandoned their post-reflow defluxing processes in favor of a no-clean process.
Today, the effects of miniaturization and higher lead-free alloy reflow temperatures result in increases in visible residues and electrical migration, as well as decreased reliability. The near sudden realization between visible and invisible residues and assembly failures has generated a rush to clean no-clean fluxes.
The seminar was designed to bring attendees up-to-date with current cleaning and cleanliness testing best practices. The event included a catered lunch for the 30 attendees. Dr. Mike Bixenman, CTO of Kyzen, and Mike Konrad, President of Aqueous Technologies, presented and answered the industry’s most commonly asked cleaning questions.
