Flux cleaning agent MICROCLEAN MARKLESS®

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Development points for the flux cleaning agent!
- 2.1. Important Basics of KAKEN TECH_®'s product development
3. The secret of high cleaning power
4. Penetration, swelling, dissolution!
5. Is water rinsing really a good idea?
6. MICROCLEAN&MARKLESS_® properties
7. FAQ
8. Catalogue download
9. Cleaning machine
10. Related articles

Introduction

Flux cleaning is essential to ensure the reliability of high-density mounting boards.

In recent years, as electronic devices have become denser and faster, the importance of flux cleaning has been reevaluated from the standpoint of ensuring reliability. On the other hand, lead-free and halogen-free solder fluxes are increasingly difficult to clean with conventional cleaning agents. KAKEN TECH_®'s MICROCLEAN&MARKLESS_® series of flux cleaners demonstrate outstanding cleaning performance for lead-free and halogen-free solder fluxes that are difficult to clean with conventional glycol- and hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents! The series is used in many SMT lines both in Japan and overseas.

Development points for the flux cleaning agent!

KAKEN TECH_® has developed and proposed a unique cleaning process using a glycol-based cleaning agent MICROCLEAN + a water-containing alcohol rinse agent MARKLESS _®. KAKEN TECH_®'s original cleaning agents and rinsing agents cover the disadvantages of hydrocarbon-based cleaning agents and semi-aqueous cleaning systems.

Important Basics of KAKEN TECH_®'s product development

✓ The cleaning agent shall not change the circuit characteristics after cleaning. (Emphasis should be placed not only on insulation resistance but also on dielectric properties)
✓ High solubility and removability for flux residues (especially ionic compounds) and other process contaminants after soldering.
✓ No or very little influence on electronic components and other constituent materials.
✓ High safety for human health and the environment.
✓ Stable supply and excellent recyclability.

The above are the key fundamentals in product development.

High-frequency design is essential for electronic substrates and components used in recent communication devices and modules, and low transmission loss is required for substrate materials. While substrate manufacturers are demanding low dielectric constant material characteristics, KAKEN TECH_® designs cleaning agents that place the highest priority on not changing the characteristics of circuit surfaces during the cleaning process.

The secret of high cleaning power

As explained on『What is flux residue?』 page, flux residue is composed of components such as rosin, unreacted activators, thixotropes, and metal salts (such as Sn salts), which can be largely classified into non-polar (lipophilic) and polar (hydrophilic) components.

＜Flux Residue Model＞

KAKEN TECH_®'s flux cleaning system efficiently and completely removes flux residue because the MICROCLEAN series of cleaning agents removes non-polar components and the MARKLESS_® rinsing agents remove polar components.

Penetration, swelling, dissolution!

Lead-free solder flux residue contains metal salts and other hard-to-dissolve components, making it difficult to completely remove flux residue with conventional cleaning agents that focus only on dissolving power. KAKEN TECH_®'s MICROCLEAN series of flux cleaning agents not only has the ability to dissolve flux, but also has a mechanism to penetrate the flux residue film that is difficult to dissolve, causing it to swell and peel off, thereby achieving high flux cleaning power.

Is water rinsing really a good idea?

KAKEN TECH_® has developed MARKLESS _®ST-05, a hydrous alcohol-based rinsing agent for flux cleaning, instead of a water rinse.
The following is a comparison with the water rinse process of semi-aqueous cleaning systems, which are often considered together.

Excellent rinsing performance

MARKLESS_® has low surface tension and is highly effective in rinsing even the smallest gaps such as under chips. In addition, the cleaning agent can be substituted without the need for a surfactant in the cleaning agent, so circuit characteristics are not altered.
Water rinse would be...	The high surface tension of water makes it difficult for the cleaning agent to penetrate into the gaps, resulting in insufficient displacement of the cleaning agent, which leaves behind residual liquid. Therefore, a surfactant is added to the cleaning agent to make the PCB surface hydrophilic, and the surfactant lowers the surface tension of the water to improve water penetration into the gaps. However, if this surfactant remains on the surface of the printed circuit board, it causes a degradation of circuit characteristics such as dielectric properties.

MARKLESS_® has low surface tension and is highly effective in rinsing even the smallest gaps such as under chips. In addition, the cleaning agent can be substituted without the need for a surfactant in the cleaning agent, so circuit characteristics are not altered.

Water rinse would be...

The high surface tension of water makes it difficult for the cleaning agent to penetrate into the gaps, resulting in insufficient displacement of the cleaning agent, which leaves behind residual liquid. Therefore, a surfactant is added to the cleaning agent to make the PCB surface hydrophilic, and the surfactant lowers the surface tension of the water to improve water penetration into the gaps. However, if this surfactant remains on the surface of the printed circuit board, it causes a degradation of circuit characteristics such as dielectric properties.

Speedy drying

MARKLESS_® dries almost as fast as alcohol (IPA). The drying property of gaps can also dry at about 1/4 the speed compared to water. It is also characterized by the fact that it is less likely to produce watermarks than water when dried.
Water rinse would be...	Water is not easy to dry, which leads to issues such as longer drying times and higher drying temperatures, which increase energy consumption. In addition, because of its high surface tension, microscopic foreign matter contained in water tends to concentrate as the water dries, resulting in water marks (water spots or drying marks).

No corrosion or decay

MARKLESS_® is a mixture of water and alcohol. Although it contains water, the properties of alcohol inhibit metal corrosion, lead decay, and rot.
Water rinse would be...	Frequent water changes and wastewater are required because the water may corrode metals, which is labor intensive and costly. In addition, it is difficult to prevent water corrosion, and algae and fungi generated by decay often cause foreign matter problems in the cleaning process.

Zero wastewater, low cost

The Distiller(Distillation and recycling device), which is a standard feature of the MICROCLEANER_® cleaning system, enables recycling of rinsing agent in the equipment, thus enabling operation at low cost. In addition, only the concentrated residue cut by distillation recycling is used as waste liquid, thus significantly reducing the amount of waste liquid.
Water rinse would be...	Water used in the water rinse process can also be recycled, but purifying the water requires large amounts of energy and equipment such as high-performance membranes (water treatment membranes), which are costly. In addition, if the plant does not have wastewater treatment facilities, wastewater treatment is also costly.

MICROCLEAN&MARKLESS_® properties

Products	Claning agent			Rinse agent
Products	MICROCLEAN WS-3220U	MICROCLEAN WS-2107U	MICROCLEAN RW-4180U	MARKLESS_® ST-05U
Merit	Pb-free compatible (utility type)	Pb-free compatible (For difficult to clean)	Non DG type	-
Main ingredient	Alcoholic	Alcoholic	Glycol-based	Alcoholic
Specific gravity (20℃)	1.00	1.05	0.98	0.89
Viscosity mPa.s(20℃)	9.3	9.7	11.0	2.3
Surface tension mN/m(20℃)	35	44	36	26
Boiling point (℃)	200以上	200以上	100以上	81
Flash point (℃)	105	100	-	24
Ozone destruction coefficient	0	0	0	0

We also have many other part numbers in our lineup. If you would like to receive more information, please contact us using the inquiry form at the bottom of this page.

We also accept requests for selection of cleaning agents and cleaning tests! If you have any questions about flux cleaning, please contact us using the inquiry form at the bottom of this page.

FAQ

What type of cleaning equipment is used? What are the specifications of the equipment?

The dedicated cleaning equipment is the flux cleaning equipment MICROCLEANER_®. For details, please see the product page.

Flux cleaning machine page

I am not sure which cleaning agent is suitable. Can you suggest an appropriate cleaning agent based on solder paste and flux?

Please contact us with the manufacturer and part number of the paste or flux. We have in-house cleaning data for each solder paste and flux, so we can investigate and recommend the appropriate cleaning agent.
We can also perform cleaning tests using actual workpieces in our laboratory.

There is no information on the website about the flux cleaning agent we use or the flux cleaner to which we were recommended.

Only some flux cleaning agents are listed on our website. If you require product literature or other information on part numbers not listed here, please contact us using the inquiry form at the bottom of this page.

Catalogue download

Cleaning machine

	Products information Flux Cleaner(Deflux cleaner) MICROCLEANER_® In recent years, as electronic devices have become smaller and mounted more densely, electronic circuits and components have required increasingly higher quality and reliability, and the need for flux cleaning has increased. MICROCLEANER_® is the definitive flux cleaner! It contributes to higher quality of printed circuit boards and electronic components.

Products information

Flux Cleaner(Deflux cleaner) MICROCLEANER_®: In recent years, as electronic devices have become smaller and mounted more densely, electronic circuits and components have required increasingly higher quality and reliability, and the need for flux cleaning has increased. MICROCLEANER_® is the definitive flux cleaner! It contributes to higher quality of printed circuit boards and electronic components.

	Technial report Technial report~Deflux~ The history of flux cleaning agents, the purpose and original significance of flux cleaning, and the current technology and future issues, focusing on glycol ether-based flux cleaners, which are the most widely used flux cleaners in the current mounting field.
	Technial report Cleaning equipment This article explains the basics of designing a flux cleaning process, as well as typical cleaning systems that have been used in the mounting process and examples of cleanliness control.
	Trouble solution What is flux, the leading actor of soldering ? In addition to what flux is, its role, composition, and types, we will also explain the problems caused by flux residue left after soldering and how to prevent them.
	Trouble solution Tips on flux cleaning Flux cleaning is a process to remove flux residue that is generated at the same time as soldering when mounting electronic components. This page explains why flux is cleaned, what cleaning methods are available, and what is required for efficient cleaning.

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Tags: deflux, flux cleaning

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Flux cleaning agent MICROCLEAN MARKLESS_®

Introduction

Development points for the flux cleaning agent!

Important Basics of KAKEN TECH_®'s product development

The secret of high cleaning power

Penetration, swelling, dissolution!