Part I - To Clean or not to Clean
Before Printing
To Clean or not to Clean before Printing;
If this is the question, the answer is simple, PCB’s can’t be too clean before entering your SMD line.
We always wonder why companies invest in expensive advanced SMD lines including quality tools such as SPI and AOI equipment, but do not take care of the cleanliness of the incoming PCB’s.
Anything attached to the surface of a PCB before entering the stencil printer will remain on that PCB and is a potential cause of trouble during and after the production process.
It’s amazing how many fibers from PCB manufacturing can remain on the surface and how much dust and particles are collected in the warehouse or during previous manufacturing steps.
Some contamination related defects found are:
- Blocked stencil apertures
- Solder craters
- Tomb-stoning
- Short-circuiting
- Poor solder wetting
- Solder joint reliability issues
Inline pre-assembly PCB cleaning equipment is available from 15.000 Euro and could save you a fortune on potential quality issues. So why takes the risk and let dirty PCB’s enter your expensive SMD line?
Did you know that PCB cleaning prior to Stencil Printing has become the standard in Automotive Assembly? As you know this industry in continuously striving for Zero defects and First time right manufacturing.
We recommend industry leading TEKNEK board cleaners. Contamination down to particle size 1 micron is easily wiped of using a patented elastomer roller system. Latest design rollers not only remove contamination but also dissipate Static Energy from your PCB surface. Collected particles are transferred to special adhesive rollers.
If you doubt about the cleanliness of your PCB’s, we can perform a simple onsite test using a hand roller, based on the same cleaning technology. You might be shock about how much dirt is collected……..!
Stay tuned, more information will follow soon about a brand new machine from TEKNEK.
Please contact us if you like to learn more.