IPA or isopropyl alcohol (CAS #67-63-0), 2-propanol, and isopropanol might be in short supply for the upcoming weeks or months due to the CORONA pandemic. It will be most challenging for organizations using IPA for stencil cleaning, industrial degreasing, and flux removal to operating business soundly.
Techspray offers substitutes to IPA that is as helpful if not more so, and in some cases, non-flammable with lesser environmental impact.
Techspray offers IPA substitutes for...
- Electronic printed circuit board (PCB) assembly.
- Elimination of adhesive or solder paste from SMT stencils.
- Regular cleaning of SMT reflow ovens.
- Flux removal from pallets, selective soldering nozzles, and wave soldering fingers.
- Please note these items do not have antiviral properties, so they cannot replace IPA for surface cleaning to kill COVID-19 and other viruses.
FLUX REMOVAL
Flux is used to prepare the outside of the contact and guide before soldering. It promotes the solder's appropriate wetting, so it runs over the metal surfaces and generates a metallurgic bond. The flux remains left behind the soldering procedure, often needs to be removed as it looks terrible, is acidic, and harmfully impacts conformal covering adhesion.
Isopropyl alcohol is the number 1 solvent applied to eliminate flux off of electronic assemblies. As IPA is generally readily offered and comparatively inexpensive. However, IPA is not the best cleaner offered on the market. For several flux residues, especially the modern no-clean halide-free varieties, the white residue can emerge after the cleaning procedure, which is a sign of inadequate solvency.
Techspray offers some solvent alternatives for flux removal. They all have superior cleaning performance then isopropyl alcohol, and all have some additional advantages:
- E-LINE Flux Remover: plastic-safe and economical, existing in aerosol and bulk packaging.
- PWR-4 Flux Remover – non-flammable and economical, existing in bulk packaging only.
- G3 Flux Remover – non-flammable, existing in aerosol, and bulk packaging.
- Precision-V Cleaner – plastic-safe, lower VOC, and non-flammable, existing in aerosol and bulk packaging.
Eco-dFluxer flux removers are eco-friendly and water-based cleaners designed to operate in batch, ultrasonic, and inline cleaning equipment. A right combination of saponifiers and solvents lowers surface tension for diffusion under low stand-offs, and excellent cleaning action to eliminate all flux residues.
STENCIL CLEANING
Techspray Renew Eco-Stencil RF is an efficient non-flammable drop-in substitute for isopropyl alcohol and other solvents usually used in wash-free batch stencil cleaning systems. The unique solvent and DI water blend are effective at removing a large variety of adhesives and pastes. Higher concentration could be used for more complicated adhesives and pastes.
Eco-Stencil RF does not have Ionics and would not leave contaminants that will modify downstream procedure windows or direct to board failures. It can also be utilized as a manual and under stencil cleaner. Eco-Stencil RF batch stencil cleaners have been tested and verified well-matched with every part of your stencil.
Eco-Stencil UM is designed for manual and under stencil cleaning. It efficiently removes all kind of solder paste, like RMA, waterbased, leadfree, noclean, leadfree, etc. and uncured adhesive from screens, equipment, and misprinted boards. Eco-Stencil UM is safe on squeegees, equipment surfaces, and stencils. It is a perfect substitute for IPA cleaners, which are generally prohibited due to security and ecological restrictions on VOC discharges or waste removal issues.
WAVE FINGER, SMT REFLOW OVEN, WAVE FINGER & SELECTIVE SOLDERING NOZZLE CLEANING
Our Techspray Renew Eco-Oven cleaner is beneficial for periodic preventative maintenance for keeping electronic assembly equipment operation at top performance levels. It eliminates baked-on flux residues from reflow wave soldering systems, ovens, nozzles, and associated heat exchanger systems. It is useful at removing all kinds of flux residues. It is fast-acting and more efficient and safer more than IPA for bakedon flux residues. Eco-Oven is low VOC, non-flammable, and contains zero global warming potential (GWP)
DEGREASING
Isopropyl is generally used for simple degreasing, particularly in food processing facilities. Techspray offers several degreasers that are registered as an NSF Nonfood Compound K1, K2. The NSF Nonfood compound Registration curriculum helps manufacturers choose chemical products that are projected to apply in food and beverage processing facilities, and differentiate wherein their facilities they can use.
The NSF program began in 1999 and is based on USDA necessities FDA 21, 9, and 40 CFR. NSF Nonfood Compound K1 solvent cleaners are proposed for non-food processing areas. K2 solvent cleaners are developed for electronic items.
(for more information: https://www.nsf.org/newsroom_pdf/NF_Registration_Insert_LT_EN_LNF7120412.pdf)
Techspray has registered the following products as an NSF Nonfood Compound K1, K2:
- E-LINE Blue Shower Maintenance Cleaner – A Powerful and inexpensive aerosol cleaner.
- G3 Blue Shower Maintenance Cleaner – A Powerful and non-flammable aerosol cleaner.
- G3 Contact Cleaner – A non-flammable and Powerful aerosol contact cleaner.
- Eco-Shine Glass & Surface Cleaner – A Water-based degreaser that is zero GWP, low VOC, and non-flammable.
Isopropyl alcohol will forever be a popular preference for light degreasing, flux removal, electronic assembly equipment maintenance, and stencil cleaning. When materials are limited, it pays to consider every superb alternative Techspray has to offer.