Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [cleaning]

54 questions
37
votes
3 answers

What does "no clean" solder actually mean?

I bought some solder that says it doesn't require cleaning. The description specifically says "Eliminates the need and expense of cleaning". But there's still a lot of some substance left on my board that I can't easily clean off. What is this…
Stephen Collings
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14 answers

How to clean a potentiometer?

I have a couple of potentiometers that haven't been touched in quite some time. In fact, probably not in 15 years. So now they produce noisy output, presumably from oxides or some other crud that has built up on the contact surfaces. Outright…
JustJeff
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8
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2 answers

How to clean solder stencils?

I have had great success in the past using the reflow soldering method, using a syringe and needle to apply the paste to the board. Since I found myself repeatedly making the same boards, I decided to purchase some stencils. I purchased a framed…
sa_leinad
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6
votes
1 answer

Can you tell me more about "re-enterable" potting compound?

I heard the term "re-enterable potting compound", which is a gel-like (possibly hard?) material that can be used to fill electronics enclosures for water intrusion protection and other things. What is meant by "re-enterable", exactly, and what forms…
Steve
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6
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4 answers

Components to avoid using on an ultrasonic cleaner

What components populated on a PCB are not safe to clean in an ultrasonic cleaner? It is not limited, but I specifically wonder below components if they are safe to use or some requires special attention (low temperature, low power, or what kind of…
Angs
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5
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2 answers

Recovering from failure to clean off solder flux

I'm currently building a prototype device at work, that involves a QFN-64 0.5mm pitch IC (a PIC microcontroller) soldered onto a SchmartBoard|ez prototyping board. The SchmartBoard instructions call for the use of flux, which is not something I…
jasonharper
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5
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3 answers

Clean vs no-clean for high voltage circuit

I have a board that has fairly high working voltages up to 100V with small clearances down to 12 mil between the high voltage and ground or low voltage nets. This is unavoidable because the whole board is tiny and in some cases the HV and low…
Alex I
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5
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2 answers

What metal is recommended for soldering iron tip wire mesh cleaner - brass, copper or steel?

There are many low-cost options out there for metal wire mesh tip cleaners. Three types of wire metal are dominant - steel, brass and copper. I was wondering if there is a metal that is superior to others, and one that should be avoided, and why?
ysap
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5
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2 answers

Why would cleaning my OSH Park PCB result in residue left over?

I recently bought a PCB from someone that was created by OSH Park. Other than the pictures online, this is the first board I've seen from them. Even though I didn't buy the PCB directly from OSH Park, it was very clean when I received it from the…
cbmeeks
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4
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3 answers

Can NiCad battery leaks destroy an EEG circuit?

I need to get an old HC11 based EEG circuit at Ebay because I need to copy the firmware for my corrupted unit. It has had old NiCad batteries in it since 1999. I just want to know if NiCad fluid leaks can destroy any circuit on the PCB. For example,…
Jtl
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3
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2 answers

How to clean dirty test pins in bulk?

Is it possible to clean lots of dirty test pins reliably? We have about 6000 of these test pins and most of them are very dirty. If I cleaned them, what kind of lubricant should I use to relube them? Thanks.
Jay Taffer
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3
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2 answers

Vacuum-drying of cleaned PCBs?

De-ionized water is generally regarded as an effective cleaning agent for PCBs, as shown here and here. However, removing that water means compressed air, oven, and/or lengthy drying-time. Even if all these are used, water can still be present under…
rdtsc
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2
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2 answers

Removal of No-Clean Flux After Reflow

I'm looking for suggestions for fully removing no-clean, non-water soluble, liquid flux after reflow. Isopropanol alone is not doing the trick. What I've found from my research: Aggressive Flux Removers. The products marketed as "aggressive flux…
jemalloc
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2
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1 answer

Drying populated PCB with compressed air

We clean populated PCB with alcohol and dry with an air compressor. What is the proper distance and psi to consider when doing this? If we check data sheets for information will this give us an idea.?
Jessie
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2
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0 answers

oscillators tolerance to ultrasonic cleaning

I use clock oscillators like ACHL-10.000MHZ in pretty much any board that contains a micro-controller. Recently, I've started using MEMS clock oscillators like AMPMAFB-33.0000T for their claimed better ruggedness and reliability. I was surprised to…
Eng Sam
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