Since the 1990s and the exponential growth in mobile phones, the need for automation in the electronics industry has become fundamental in meeting demand for an ever-growing range of products.
To meet global demand for increasingly complex and high-volume product lines, automated processes have become essential, and with this shift comes a growing need for advanced fume and particulate extraction systems. As production lines become faster and more intricate, so does the potential for harmful airborne emissions that can compromise product quality and equipment reliability. Effective fume extraction in electronics manufacturing plays a critical role in helping to maintain clean working environments, especially in helping to protect sensitive electronic components from contamination that could lead to failure or defects.
Some manufacturers choose to extract emissions using vent-to-air extraction systems, characterized by a labyrinth of internal pipework and ducting via a fan at roof height. Such fixed filtration systems can impact regulating building heating, adding energy costs, and by their nature offer limited flexibility to reconfigure production lines. In addition, growing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns over venting directly into the environment are leading more manufacturers to turn to portable extraction systems.
Portable filtration systems, such as those manufactured by Donaldson BOFA, will help filter and clean process airflow before returning it to the workplace. Indeed, portable systems are increasingly a feature of automated electronics production processes, including for wave and reflow soldering in factories producing high-volume, high-quality PCBs.
Portable systems are also more agile, enabling extraction systems to be moved easily when production lines need to be reconfigured to meet fluctuating customer demand.
So why is fume extraction essential for wave and reflow soldering processes?
In wave soldering, PCB components are placed on the board and passed over a continuous wave of molten solder. Areas not to be soldered are covered with a protective ‘mask’.
While this process doesn’t usually involve the potentially harmful resin/colophony present in hand soldering, which can present health risks, it can require the use of an alcohol-based solvent such as Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) and a small amount of organic acid, fume from which needs to be filtered.
Before soldering, the boards are ‘spray fluxed’, using either a general spray process, which can generate an airborne dispersion of the flux, or a targeted jet from a robotic nozzle. Either way, the airborne contaminants created need to be controlled through effective atmosphere management, which will mean investment in either portable fume extraction technology or an alternative, fixed method.
With reflow soldering, solder paste is applied to the PCB and components are ‘picked and placed’. The board moves through various heating, stabilizing and cooling zones, during which the solder metal ‘reflows’ or melts and solidifies around the component connection. During this process, the solvent which makes the paste liquify will evaporate and this airborne emission then needs to be filtered through an extraction system.
Donaldson BOFA’s Temperature Control Unit (TCU) can also help maintain optimal PCB print area temperatures within a programmable 19-30ºC parameter in automated production lines. It is accurate to within 1ºC thanks to smart airflow management and integrated sensor-driven heaters and refrigerated cooling.
Donaldson BOFA systems contribute to optimal automated performance through effective air management and multi-stage filtration technology that includes specialist activated carbon filters designed to capture specific chemical emissions. At the same time, Donaldson BOFA’s Intelligent Operating System (iQ) provides independent filter status monitoring to help enable the timely exchange of filters and reduce the risk of downtime, thereby lowering the overall cost of system ownership.
Learn more about Donaldson BOFA’s range for automated soldering.
