From: NAME: WILLIAM G KENYON FUNC: Chemicals/Electronics TEL: 302-652-4272 <KENYONWG AT A1 AT ESVAX> To: NAME: [log in to unmask] <"[log in to unmask]"@ESDS01@MRGATE@ESVAX> TCE was widely used as a rosin flux remover in the assembly sector of the industry in the late '60's and early '70's. DEC was a major user, then were a leader in the switch to aqueous saponifier cleaning on a corporate wide basis in the '70's. Recall that the first use of saponifier was the Indusco product at Tekronixs (sp?) on West coast in 1974, so the DEC move to saponifier came after that. Alpha Metals, among others, offered chlorocarbon based cleaners, which had names in the 5xx category. As I recall, 564 was a perc based rosin defluxer, while 565 (which was just phased out, due to the Montreal Protocol) was based on 1,1,1-trichoroethane (aka TCA or methyl chloroform). In the fabrication area, I would not be surprised to see TCE used as a degreaser for copper clad laminate or similar uses. Sometimes PWBs were degreased to remove fingerprints, etc. at the end of the production cycle, so you might look at some of the PWB texts or contact Phil Hinton, who is an expert in this area. --Bill Kenyon