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Technetters:

For those of you who still use RMA flux - what are you using to clean your boards?
Should boards being cleaned with HCFCs be labelled (Montreal Protocol)?

Ellen Berkman
Excalibur Systems

Luis Rivera (LUISR@bldg1.croute.com)
Wed, 15 Jan 1997 08:55:35 +600 CDT
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Maybe in reply to: Yakov Steinberg: "cleaners for RMA flux"

This E-Mail addresses the section of Doug Paul's response to Ellen Bekrman that mentions the Labeling Law.

Ellen, the EPA established a hotline in early 1993 when the labeling law went into effect, it is (800) 296-1996.
I just called the number and it is still active.

Please feel free to contact me directly if there is interest in knowing how we and many of our customers responded
to the labeling regulation (40 CFR Part 82 - Protection of Stratospheric Ozone).

Best regards,

Luis Rivera
CompuRoute, Inc.
Dallas, TX
luisr@croute.com
(214) 340-0543

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Ellen,
Our lab deals with a wide variety of processes, including low solids, water solubles, and traditional
high solids RMAs, usually from a residue standpoint. There are still a wide variety of processes being
used and a number of manufacturers are remaining with high solids RMAs, due to the protection afforded
by all that rosin. Most of the customers that we deal with who are still using HCFCs are looking to get
out of them quickly. The increasingly hard line taken by the EPA on HCFCs makes this a very unattractive
option. You would have to contact the EPA to determine if HCFC cleaned assemblies are included in the CFC
Labelling Law. Perhaps another individual on this forum could comment on that aspect. I don't deal with the
Labelling Law much.

Some few manufacturers are still using Freon or trike, but are scrambling like crazy to get out of it; they
can't buy it anymore (imagine that). Petroferm seems to have a drop in replacement for vapor degreasers
involving their co-solvent/HFE blends. From the data I have seen (SMI 96, Dr. Mike Hayes), it appears to
be a viable material, but the HFEs may be classed as a global warming material, and so targeted by the EPA.
In addition, I am not a big fan of vapor degreasing as a cleaning method, but hey, if it works for you.......

Some manufacturers, primarily defense contactors with existing contracts, are using semi-aqueous cleaning,
mostly with Axarel 32 and Bioact EC-7R, both carried now by Petroferm. Larger firms use an in-line, smaller
firms a batch cleaner. Like any cleaning method, they are good if you know what you are doing.

There are other semi-aqueous cleaners on the market, but I see these the most. From my perspective,
most people who are using high solids (<15%) RMAs are using aqueous cleaning, usually with a saponifier material.
The four saponifiers I see most are Envirosense Envirogold 816, Kyzen Aquanox SSA, Dwight and Church Armakleen,
and Alpha 2110. I have my own prejudices where these materials are concerned, more suited to an off-line discussion
(wouldn't want any commercials, would we?).

If I had to pick a cleaning method, from everything available, I would choose aqueous cleaning with deionized water
and a good saponifier. Deionized water is a must (in my opinion) and a saponifier with a good surfactant package
can break down the surface tension problems inherent with pure water. The surface tension of water can prevent water
from getting under low standoff components (I don't care how high the water pressure is). I have also used this
approach with several clients to remedially clean contaminated bare boards.

I hope this has been of some help. Contact me if you would like to go into greater depth.

Doug Pauls
Technical Director
Contamination Studies Labs
SIRGuru@aol.com
(317) 457-8095