[volt-nuts] Best cleaning procedure for precision cirquits

[Greg Burnett]

By far the most effective board cleaner I ever used was Alpha 564. I remember back in the eighties Alpha 564 was used by major PCB manufacturers as part of their solder bath assembly line processes - the boards were automatically skimmed across a Alpha 564 bath after they were skimmed across the solder bath. The Alpha 564 bath removed all resin, leaving the boards looking factory perfect and new. However I was always aware that Alpha 564 is a hazardous chemical. (So you must be careful not to get it on your hands, nor breath the fumes, nor dispose of it improperly in the environment.)

I did find that the Solder Connection, in the UK, still sells Alpha 564:
http://www.solderconnection.com/prod_detail.php?product_id=39&PHPSESSID=a8b961ca4cab940fd51e1a1875fe2ce0

Although Alpha 564 does a great job of cleaning boards, the more I read about its composition, for safety and health reasons I unfortunately cannot recommend it to most of us in this group. ...just too hazardous to use...

See:
Tetrachloroethylene Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet (New Jersey Dept. of Health & Senior Services)
http://www.newjersey.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1810.pdf

Alpha 564 datasheet and Safety are at:
http://www.solderconnection.com/specsheets/21427.pdf


Current Alpha Board Cleaners are listed at:
http://alpha.cooksonelectronics.com/products/cleaners/alpha-cleaners.asp
Maybe some of them are highly effective? Anybody in this group familiar with any of them?

Greg



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andreas Jahn" <Andreas_-_Jahn at t-online.de>
To: "Discussion of precise voltage measurement" <volt-nuts at febo.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010 4:03 PM
Subject: [volt-nuts] Best cleaning procedure for precision cirquits


Hello all,

currently I am soldering my first LTZ1000A reference board.

Up to now I am cleaning my precision boards after soldering with
denatured alcohol in a pre-washing and a main washing procedure.

After this the last washing stage is with clean water to get rid of the
white haze from the denatured alcohol.

What is the best cleaning procedure? 
Is there one in a repair manual of any precision instrument?
Which of the near best procedure can be done at a home?
What are You doing to clean the boards?

best regards

Andreas


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