PCB cleaning is a key requirement, so the industry needs to keep up with the latest cleaning systems in the market.
During the SMT process, a variety of fluxes and solder pastes are used to assemble the printed circuit board (PCB), which need to be cleaned after the soldering process. It is absolutely essential to clean these fluxes from the components. There are a variety of cleaning technologies to choose from, so the cleaning process and SMT cleaning equipment must be carefully selected based on the product being manufactured, the cost involved, the performance and the environmental impact of the technology.
Over the years, SMT cleaning equipment has evolved to adopt new technologies. There are two basic machine formats for cleaning or desoldering —batch and inline. The best batch cleaning system has built-in real-time cleanliness testing capabilities. Today, PCB cleaning systems have shrunk to less than half their earlier length, even as their performance has improved. Mentioned below are three new launches in the cleaning and washing systems domain.
The latest products available in the market
| Model: Acube LH5; Manufacturer: Kolb Cleaning Technology GmbH |
The newly launched Acube LH5 is a fully automatic standard PowerSpray fine cleaning system for assembled PCBs. The new series offers next-generation cleaning systems that are more efficient, compact, easy to handle and maintain, pre-equipped for extended  water management and technologically ready for the smart factory (SF ready). The Acube LH5 is a completely German-engineered and manufactured fully automatic standard PCB fine-cleaning system with a capacity of up to 176 Eurocards (2.8sqm) eurocards per cleaning cycle.
The cleaning system can be operated with all common electronics cleaning supplies (detergents/chemistries, etc) that have been approved by the manufacturer. Safety features include a safety interlock on the process chamber door, overflow alarm for all tank sections, overheating protection for all heating and drying elements, and end switches for all motor-driven valves and drives along with personal protection insulation. Key features:
Contact details: www.kolb-ct.com |
| Model: HyperSwash; Manufacturer: PBT Works |
PBT Works from the Czech Republic has recently launched its new model, HyperSwash, a universal cleaning solution that is capable of cleaning PCBAs, DCBs, stencils, squeegees, pump prints and even mechanical parts. Its cleaning application includes features like defluxing, i.e., removing all kinds of solder residues, the cleaning of micromechanical components, and the removal of any contamination during handling and board manufacturing. It also has the facility to clean before conformal coating and wire bonding.The machine’s filtration option comes with the zero drain concept – closed loop, cascade or open loop can be set by software only. It also has a special filtration strategy for the highest flow. The control features include an intuitive touchscreen interface with Windows OS, SPC for all parameters in the graphical interface (trends, limits, etc), adaptive rinse water quality control, complete data logging, LAN connectivity, barcode traceability, multi-language selection and personalised password security.Key features:
Contact details: www.pbt-works.com |
| Model: PSE 300 VL; Manufacturer: Kolb Cleaning Technology GmbH |
The newly launched PSE 300 VL is a fully-automatic single-chamber PowerSpray system. The Kolb PSE 300 VL is an extremely compact first-rate PowerSpray system designed and manufactured in Germany for plants with smaller quantities and very short cycle times. It has an intelligent four-step process (cleaning, rinsing, MediumWipe and drying) with  patented high-performance supercharger drying. This water-free operating system was certified in its basic version for its energy saving processing, for easy operability and for the standard integration of comprehensive safety features.
The PSE 300 VL delivers quality cleaning of screens, stencils, PumpPrints, misprints and solder frames, which is a prerequisite for reproducible quality in production. Further, it reduces expensive production stand-stills leading to higher customer satisfaction. The cleaning system can be operated with all common electronics cleaning supplies (detergents/chemistries) which are approved by the manufacturer. Safety features include safety interlock on the process chamber door, overflow alarm for all tank sections, overheating protection for all heating and drying elements, and end switches for all motor-driven valves and drives along with personal protection insulation. Key features:
Contact details: www.kolb-ct.com |
