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Cleanliness is a critical factor in the production of every electronic component, from wafer fabrication to final product assembly. Unclean surfaces and parts can ruin entire batches of products, negatively affecting product performance, production yield rates, and overall operational costs. Any lapse in production quality or excessive downtime can be detrimental to an electronics manufacturing facility.
Traditionally, manufacturers have had to use abrasive cleaning methods such as chemical solvents and mechanical tools to remove contaminants from products after soldering and finishing. However, a faster method, dry ice blasting, has been used to great effect for cleaning electronic components and equipment, offering efficiency, safety, sustainability, and effectiveness across many use cases.
The Problem With Cleaning Components and Equipment
During the manufacturing process, byproducts are created that must be removed or cleaned up from the products before they can be delivered. Some of the most troublesome byproducts include flux and conformal coating. Also, equipment used in the manufacturing and testing phases of production requires cleaning to remain functional and accurate, reducing downtime and unnecessary product scrapping.
Flux Removal
Flux, the surface preparation, deoxidizer, and even a cleaning agent used during the soldering of components to circuit boards, is necessary to ensure products function adequately. Additionally, the production equipment used for soldering (especially wave soldering equipment) can be notoriously difficult to clean. Solder buildup over time requires thorough cleaning after every production cycle, and hand-cleaning with chemicals can be harmful to employees, products, and equipment.
To continue reading this article, which appeared in the June 2026 SMT007 Magazine, click here.
