Julien,

Isn't it great to own and operate the best damn cleaner in the industry.
Sure, especially when it takes out your fid recognition material.

Went down this path with HP, and others, for some time. At HP, we used
sharpies to make the stencil fids black after complete epoxy removal - for
about one cleaning cycle not withstanding the smear factor. I was thrilled
with the cleaning. It was exceptional - no residual solder paste, no
contamination of any kind, and no fiducials. But for some dental work, I
also felt cleaner teeth after standing next to the machine in operation.

The operators became unhappy. Management wanted immediate changes - good or
bad, and I wanted a new job or stencil cleaner. You know the one. The kind
that cleaned as well but without loosing the epoxy or fillings.

I tried black oxiding and nitride treatments. They could have worked but the
stencil guys didn't know how to apply the stuff as it only can be done in
selective plating processes or those capable of ruining the stencil later in
a separate process done only by outside suppliers.

Tried just etching the depression through allowing the hole to be the fid.
Still didn't work with the DEK's super green cameras. They just couldn't
recognize the change.

Maybe the person with the new material has it right. However, if the Smart
Sonic can clean my fillings, it will probably clean the new stuff as well.

Awesome, and how clean is clean?

Earl Moon

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