We have a problem with obectionable fumes coming off our wavesoldering pallets as they leave the soldering machine cabinet. We operate a machine with a spray-fluxer and use no-clean fluxes. The machine and fixed extraction are regularly maintained and meet or exceed the defined minimum process specifications. No-one from the machine manufacturer, the flux suppliers or pallet manufacturers have been able to suggest a way around this problem. It appears to be a result of a build-up of flux residues on the undersides of the pallets, coupled with a gradual softening and leaching of the bonding agent of the pallet material which in turn makes the pallets more porous and thus retain more flux residue. So far we have tackled the problem in a variety of ways without eliminating it: (1) we have added a fan to the machine which helps to draw the fumes from the underside of the pallets back into the machine cabinet (2) we clean the fixtures regularly using a dedicated domestic dishwasher (3) we replace high usage pallets more frequently and treat aging pallets with a PTFE dry-film lubricant (4) we swapped to a different pallet supplier who apply a special surface coating (5) we continue to trial different fluxes We would be happy to share our experience with others who have seen this problem Nigel Burtt Production Engineering Manager D - European HQ Email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 01793 842132 Fax: 01793 842101 ################################################################ TechNet E-Mail Forum 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's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information. For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 ################################################################