Earl,
        We have also been using a VOC free/water based flux (Alpha
NR300A2) for specific projects in spray fluxers on both our Electrovert
and Soltec systems with great success. This in a air/no nitrogen
environment. Once you get past the intial 'dial-in' of fluxer and
preheat parameters for a specific board, the results are repeatable and
very high quality. Convection preheat works much better than radiant
preheat for VOC free, the air movement has a large impact on rapid,
consistent dryout of the water carrier. Much like a blow dryer dries
your hair faster/better than standing under a heat lamp. The topside
board temp requirements are pretty much the same for VOC free, and we
can still process at the same speeds as with IPA based OA. Alpha also
makes a formula for foam fluxers that requires thinning on a much less
frequent basis than IPA formulas, and you just use DI water (a lot
cheaper than those hoity-toity 'additives' that are about 99% IPA
anyway). We still use OA for the majority of our customers, but can see
the writing on the wall....

Mike McMonagle
PCA Process Engineering Supervisor
K*Tec Electronics
1111 Gillingham Lane
Sugar Land, TX  77478
(281) 243-5639 Phone
(281) 243-5539 Fax
[log in to unmask]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 8:34 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [TN] Water contents in no clean flux
>
> We had some of that, for a brief time last week, and sent it your way
> from Spokane and Boise. Isn't
> winter wonderful?
>
> Mary, thanks for the valuable input. My last wave solder machine used
> an ultrasonic spray fluxer
> with nitrogen "injection". It also had ceramic glass (near
> conventional) preheaters - not forced
> convection in the truest sense, but it did the job well.
>
> Could you say more about the forced convection preheater stage? This
> sounds like the way to go.
>
> Earl Moon
>
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