Ensure clean and contamination-free PCBs with our inline aqueous cleaning service. We offer thorough washing and drying cycles for pristine results.
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Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning: Ensuring High-Performance and Reliable Circuit Boards
At Surface Mount Solutions (SMS), we offer advanced Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning services to ensure your printed circuit boards (PCBs) are free from contaminants, debris, and residue that can compromise performance and longevity. Our cleaning processes are designed to remove flux residues and other contaminants introduced during the assembly process, ensuring high-reliability, high-performance boards that meet stringent quality standards.
With decades of experience in PCB manufacturing, SMS combines cutting-edge equipment with meticulous attention to detail to ensure that your boards are cleaned efficiently and effectively. Our inline aqueous cleaning system is designed to handle both small prototype runs and large-scale production, making it ideal for industries where reliability and cleanliness are critical, such as aerospace, medical devices, telecommunications, and consumer electronics.
What is Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning?
Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning is a process that uses water-based solutions to remove flux residues, soldering materials, and other contaminants from PCBs after assembly. This method is eco-friendly and highly effective at cleaning circuit boards, especially those used in high-reliability applications. Unlike traditional solvent-based cleaning, aqueous cleaning is a safer and more environmentally friendly option that still achieves superior results.
- Water-Based Cleaning Solution: Our inline aqueous cleaning process uses water-based solutions combined with surfactants and saponifiers to break down and remove contaminants.
- Eco-Friendly Process: Aqueous cleaning is a more sustainable alternative to solvent-based methods, minimizing environmental impact while maintaining high cleaning standards.
- Effective Contaminant Removal: Our cleaning process is designed to remove flux residues, solder balls, and other contaminants that can affect board performance and reliability.
Why PCB Cleaning is Crucial for Performance
PCB cleaning is a critical step in the manufacturing process, particularly for high-reliability applications where contaminants can cause malfunctions, reduce the lifespan of the board, or lead to performance issues. Our Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning process ensures that your boards are free from harmful residues that could compromise their function.
- Improved Reliability: Clean boards are less likely to suffer from corrosion, electrical shorts, or other issues that could compromise reliability over time.
- Enhanced Performance: Removing contaminants improves the electrical performance of the board, ensuring it functions as designed in its intended application.
- Regulatory Compliance: For industries like aerospace and medical devices, cleanliness is not just a preference but a regulatory requirement. Our cleaning process ensures compliance with industry standards.
Our Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning Process
At SMS, we use an advanced inline aqueous cleaning system that is designed to handle large volumes of boards efficiently while maintaining the highest levels of cleanliness. Our process includes multiple wash and rinse cycles, followed by thorough drying to ensure that no moisture remains on the boards. The entire process is optimized for speed and precision, allowing us to deliver clean, reliable boards in a timely manner.
- Multi-Stage Cleaning Process: Our system uses a series of wash, rinse, and dry stages to ensure that all contaminants are removed from the board’s surface.
- Thorough Drying: After the cleaning process, each board is subjected to a drying cycle to remove any residual moisture, ensuring that the board is ready for immediate use or further assembly.
- Consistent Quality: Our cleaning process is highly repeatable, ensuring that every board, whether part of a small prototype run or a large-scale production, meets the same high standards of cleanliness.
Applications of Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning
Our Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning services are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of industries that demand high-performance and highly reliable PCBs. Cleanliness is particularly critical in industries like aerospace, telecommunications, and medical devices, where even the smallest amount of contamination can cause catastrophic failure.
- Aerospace: In aerospace applications, where safety and reliability are paramount, clean PCBs ensure long-term durability and performance in harsh environments.
- Medical Devices: Medical devices must meet strict regulatory standards, and cleanliness is critical to ensuring that these devices function reliably and safely in life-critical situations.
- Telecommunications: Clean PCBs are essential for high-speed telecommunications equipment, where contaminants could disrupt signal integrity and lead to performance issues.
Benefits of Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning
Choosing SMS for your Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning needs ensures that your boards are built to the highest standards of quality and reliability. Our advanced cleaning system is capable of handling even the most complex designs, ensuring that your boards are free from contaminants and ready for use in mission-critical applications.
- High-Precision Cleaning: Our multi-stage cleaning process ensures that every board is thoroughly cleaned, removing all flux residues, solder balls, and other contaminants.
- Eco-Friendly Process: Aqueous cleaning is a more sustainable alternative to solvent-based methods, making it a safer and more environmentally responsible choice for your business.
- Improved Performance and Reliability: By removing contaminants, we enhance the performance and reliability of your boards, ensuring they function flawlessly in their intended applications.
Why Choose SMS for Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning?
At SMS, we are committed to delivering high-quality, reliable solutions for all your PCB assembly and cleaning needs. Our Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning services are designed to ensure that your boards meet the highest standards of cleanliness and performance, providing you with the peace of mind that your products are ready for even the most demanding applications. With decades of experience in the PCB manufacturing industry, SMS is the trusted partner for businesses in need of precise, reliable, and eco-friendly cleaning solutions.
- Advanced Equipment: Our state-of-the-art cleaning system ensures that every board is cleaned with precision and care, delivering consistent, high-quality results.
- Experience You Can Trust: With decades of experience in PCB assembly and manufacturing, SMS has the expertise to handle even the most complex projects with confidence.
- Environmentally Friendly Solutions: Our aqueous cleaning process is safer for the environment, making it the ideal choice for businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact.
Get Started with Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning
If you're ready to improve the performance and reliability of your printed circuit boards with advanced, eco-friendly cleaning solutions, SMS is here to help. Our Inline Aqueous PCB Cleaning services provide the precision, quality, and sustainability your project needs. Contact us today to learn more about how our cleaning solutions can support your next project.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can turn your complex designs into reliable, high-quality products.
From quick-turn PCB assembly to full turnkey solutions, our services cover every stage of the manufacturing process. Whether you need expert materials procurement, thorough testing, or final delivery, we ensure each step is handled with precision, efficiency, and quality.
Ensure flawless PCB performance with our functional testing services, designed to verify that every board functions perfectly under real-world conditions.
Get fast prototype PCB assembly services for rapid iterations and reliable results, ensuring your project moves quickly through development.
Get precision BGA rework and reballing to ensure reliable PCB connections and long-term performance for your most complex assemblies.
Ensure flawless PCB assembly with our AOI and visual inspection services, detecting defects early and ensuring top-tier quality control.
Get contaminant-free boards with our advanced inline aqueous cleaning service, ensuring optimal performance and durability for every project.
Simplify your project with our turnkey PCB assembly services, handling everything from component sourcing to final delivery.
Maintain control by supplying your own components while we handle the assembly, ensuring flexibility without sacrificing quality.
Meet tight deadlines with our high-quality QuickTurn PCB assembly, delivering reliable results in as little as 2-4 days.
Ensure efficient PCB assembly with reliable materials procurement and kitting. Learn how we streamline the process and keep production on time.
Turning complex circuit board designs into reliable, high-quality products requires an efficient and detail-oriented process. Our step-by-step approach eliminates common manufacturing obstacles, ensuring smooth production, superior quality, and on-time delivery. Each stage is designed to tackle potential pain points, giving you confidence that your PCB assembly project will be handled with precision and expertise.
Every successful project starts with a strong foundation. Our engineers work closely with your team to review your design files, providing Design for Manufacturability (DFM) feedback. This early-stage consultation helps prevent costly revisions and optimizes your design for a seamless transition to production.
Component sourcing can be challenging, especially when balancing cost and lead times. Our experienced procurement team handles all aspects of materials procurement, ensuring that the best-quality components are used and that your project stays on schedule, even for complex printed circuit board designs.
We use state-of-the-art surface mount technology (SMT) and through-hole assembly techniques to build your circuit boards with the highest accuracy and consistency. Our advanced equipment and skilled technicians ensure precise placement of even the smallest components for a robust, reliable build.
Quality is our top priority. Each assembly goes through multiple inspection stages, including Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), X-ray testing, and comprehensive functional testing. This ensures every circuit board meets stringent standards and performs as expected.
Once testing is complete, your product is prepared for delivery. Whether you need full box builds, special packaging, or local delivery, our logistics team ensures that each project arrives on time and ready for deployment.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can turn your complex designs into reliable, high-quality products.
Whether you need a quick-turn solution or end-to-end turnkey services, our capabilities are designed to support every stage of your PCB assembly process.
With advanced technologies, flexible lead times, and a commitment to quality, we tailor our services to your specific project requirements.
Depending on customer requests, projects can be completed in as little as 2-4 days, ideal for urgent needs.
A cost-effective solution with a lead time of 5 days (assembly only).
Comprehensive solutions, including procurement and assembly, completed in 10-15 days, depending on part availability.
Advanced SMT capabilities for high-precision components, handling placements down to 01005 with fine-pitch BGA and QFN.
Precision through-hole technology using selective soldering for mixed-technology assemblies, ensuring robust connections.
Accommodating boards up to 18”x15” with custom panelization options for efficient production and cost savings.
Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) and inline cleaning ensure that each PCB assembly is free from defects and contaminants.
Functional testing, BGA X-ray inspection, and rework solutions like BGA reballing to guarantee flawless performance.
Providing full reels and properly labeled components ensures uninterrupted production. Avoid loose parts and supply at least 5 inches of cut tape for feeder compatibility.
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Full Reels Preferred: Whenever possible, provide full reels to minimize machine downtime and ensure uninterrupted production.
Cut Tape: If cut tape is necessary, it must be at least 5 inches long for proper feeder handling.
Machine Loss: Add 2% for all passive components to account for machine loss, and 4% for 0402 caps and resistors.
Loose Components: Loose parts must be hand-placed, which increases time and cost—please avoid whenever possible.
Labeling: Clearly label reels or trays with the customer part number and a complete component description, including value and part type.
IC Packaging: Integrated Circuits (ICs) should ideally be on tape and reel; however, if tubes are used, ensure all components face the same direction and the tube is properly labeled.
Boards must include fiducials, silkscreen reference markers, and adequate component clearance. Consider panelizing for smaller boards to maximize efficiency.
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Fiducials: Boards and panels must include fiducials for accurate alignment during assembly.
Silkscreen: Ensure reference designators and polarity markers are visible on the silkscreen.
Component Clearance: Components should not be placed within 0.080 inches of the edge of the board to avoid damage.
Panelization: For boards smaller than 3x4 inches, consider panelizing. Ideal panel size is approximately 8x10 inches with a 0.25” border.
Double-Sided Boards: For double-sided assemblies, passive components should be placed on the bottom side when possible.
Submit Gerber files, a current BOM, and CAD data for machine programming. Include an audit sheet for any shortages, and consider providing a sample board.
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Gerber Files: Gerber data is required to produce the stencil and ensure proper layout for panelized boards.
BOM (Bill of Materials): Provide an accurate BOM for the current build, including all parts and values, for assembly accuracy.
CAD Data: CAD data is required for machine programming and ensuring precise component placement.
Audit Sheet: Include an audit sheet listing all shortages and discrepancies in the provided parts to avoid delays in the assembly process.
Sample Board (Optional): Providing a sample board can greatly aid in the accurate assembly of your production run.
To guarantee a smooth and efficient assembly process, it's essential to follow these kitting guidelines. By properly preparing your parts, boards, and data, we can ensure accurate and timely production while minimizing delays and errors.
Contact SMS to take advantage of our turnkey PCB assembly services, ensuring fast lead times, precision, and quality.