Hi Ya, Steve! I hear you, man do I hear you. Have asked our military customers the same question. The short version is that it's always been used, and change is bad. Not a great answer but as they say, the customer is always right. And from a military perspective I can understand reluctance to change, when your butt is on the line you want your hardware behaving in a predictable manner - for the same reasons you will still find 8088 processors going into space applications. The other reason I've heard is compatability issues. If something is going to be field repaired, or repaired by someone other than yourself, 10 years from now - who is going to remember what flux was originally used on it if there are lots of possibilities. I know, if it's clean, who cares? But there is perfectly clean and there is acceptably clean. My customers _might_ go for an OA flux if properly qualified, but a no-clean would take an act of god, and understandably so. If a field repair is done with RMA, what's that going to do when mixed with no-clean residues on the board? I sure as heck don't know. Not saying it's right, but one can only argue with the customer so much. And heck, at least it means the wave soldering room smells like oranges (from the cleaning solution). Graham Collins Process Engineer Litton Systems Canada (902) 873-2000 ext 6215 -----Original Message----- From: Stephen R. Gregory [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, June 16, 2000 4:34 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Generic question about Flux types... Hi ya'll!! I gotta generic question about flux types. We do quite a few boards here that still call out that the assembly is to be built to MIL-STD-2000 specs, and as has always been here, RMA flux is always used. My question is, what is the REAL reason to use an RMA? I've been under the impression that because a RMA is not as active as an OA, any residues that might be left behind from the RMA wouldn't be as harmfull as OA residues would be. But if you always ensure that you clean your boards thoroughly, what difference does it make whether you use an RMA or an OA? -Steve Gregory- ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ############################################################## ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ##############################################################