Why is PCB Brush Cleaning Machine Better?

As an electrical engineer, selecting the right PCB cleaning equipment is crucial to ensure the reliability and performance of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Whether you're dealing with flux residues, ionic contamination, or other debris, the wrong equipment can lead to damaged components or inefficient cleaning. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key factors for PCB cleaning equipment selection, offer a detailed PCB defluxing equipment guide, help with choosing a PCB cleaning system, and explore options for ionic contamination removal equipment. Let’s dive into the essentials to help you make an informed decision.

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Why PCB Cleaning Matters for Engineers

PCBs are the backbone of electronic devices, and any contamination—whether it’s flux residue from soldering, dust, or ionic compounds—can cause short circuits, corrosion, or signal degradation. For engineers, maintaining clean boards isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about ensuring long-term functionality and meeting industry standards like IPC- for PCB cleanliness. Studies show that up to 30% of PCB failures are linked to contamination-related issues, making proper cleaning a non-negotiable step in manufacturing and repair processes.

In this blog, ALLPCB will break down the types of equipment available, key considerations for selection, and practical tips to match your specific needs. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for choosing the best system for your projects.

Understanding the Basics of PCB Cleaning

Before jumping into equipment selection, let’s cover why and how PCBs get dirty. During assembly, soldering flux is used to improve solder joint quality, but leftover residues can attract moisture and lead to corrosion. Ionic contamination, often from salts or acids, can cause electrical leakage, reducing performance. Dust and debris from handling or environmental exposure can also interfere with connections.

Cleaning removes these contaminants, ensuring reliability. The process varies based on the type of PCB (single-sided, double-sided, or multilayer), the contaminants present, and the production volume. As an engineer, your goal is to pick equipment that balances effectiveness, cost, and compatibility with your workflow.

Types of PCB Cleaning Equipment

There are several types of PCB cleaning systems, each suited for specific applications. Below, we’ll explore the most common options to guide your PCB cleaning equipment selection.

1. Manual Cleaning Tools

For small-scale operations or rework, manual cleaning with brushes, swabs, and compressed air can be effective. These tools are affordable, with basic kits costing between $20 and $100, and are ideal for spot cleaning or low-volume tasks. However, they lack consistency and aren’t suitable for ionic contamination removal, as they can’t ensure thorough cleaning across complex boards.

Best For: Prototyping, repairs, or hobbyist projects.

2. Ultrasonic Cleaners

Ultrasonic cleaners use high-frequency sound waves (typically 20-40 kHz) to create cavitation bubbles in a cleaning solution, dislodging contaminants from PCB surfaces. They’re highly effective for PCB defluxing equipment needs, removing flux residues and particles from hard-to-reach areas like under components. Prices range from $100 for small benchtop units to $5,000+ for industrial models.

Best For: Small to medium batches, intricate boards with tight spaces.

Caution: Ensure components are rated for ultrasonic exposure, as delicate parts may be damaged by vibrations.

3. Spray Wash Systems

Spray wash systems use pressurized jets of cleaning fluid (water-based or solvent-based) to blast contaminants off PCBs. They’re often automated, making them efficient for medium to high-volume production. These systems can cost between $2,000 and $20,000 depending on capacity and features like closed-loop filtration.

Best For: Assembly lines, consistent cleaning of larger batches.

4. Inline Cleaning Systems

For high-volume manufacturing, inline cleaners integrate directly into production lines, cleaning PCBs as they move through assembly. These systems are customizable for ionic contamination removal equipment needs, often using deionized water to prevent residue. Costs start at $50,000 and can exceed $200,000 for advanced setups.

Best For: Large-scale production with strict cleanliness standards.

Key Factors in Choosing a PCB Cleaning System

When choosing a PCB cleaning system, engineers must weigh several factors to ensure the equipment meets project demands. Let’s break down the critical considerations.

1. Type of Contaminant

Different contaminants require different cleaning methods. Flux residues often need solvent-based or semi-aqueous cleaners, while ionic contamination demands deionized water to prevent conductive residues. Dust and debris might only need dry methods like compressed air. Identify the primary contaminants in your process to narrow down equipment options.

Example: If you’re working on lead-free solder assemblies, no-clean flux residues are harder to remove and may require a more aggressive ultrasonic or spray system with specialized chemistry.

2. PCB Complexity and Component Sensitivity

Multilayer boards or those with surface-mount components (SMT) have tight spaces where contaminants hide. Ultrasonic or spray systems excel here, but you must check if components can withstand the cleaning method. For instance, some MEMS sensors or quartz crystals can fail under ultrasonic vibrations.

Tip: Review component datasheets for cleaning compatibility or test a sample board before full-scale cleaning.

3. Production Volume

Your throughput dictates the scale of equipment. Manual tools work for a few boards per day, while inline systems are necessary for hundreds or thousands. A mid-range spray wash system might handle 50-200 boards daily, offering a balance for smaller manufacturers.

4. Cleaning Chemistry Compatibility

The cleaning fluid—whether solvent, water-based, or semi-aqueous—must match your equipment and PCB materials. Solvents are effective for stubborn residues but pose environmental and safety risks. Water-based cleaners are eco-friendly but may require longer drying times. Check if your chosen equipment supports the chemistry you need.

Data Point: According to industry reports, water-based cleaning systems have grown in popularity, with over 60% of manufacturers adopting them for environmental compliance.

5. Budget and Cost of Ownership

Equipment price is just one part of the equation. Consider maintenance, consumables (like cleaning fluids), and energy costs. For example, an ultrasonic cleaner might cost $1,000 upfront, but frequent fluid replacement could add $200 monthly. Inline systems have high initial costs but lower per-unit cleaning expenses in high-volume settings.

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Special Focus: Ionic Contamination Removal Equipment

Ionic contamination, often from salts or acids in flux or handling, is a silent killer of PCB reliability. It can cause dendritic growth, leading to shorts, especially in high-humidity environments. Ionic contamination removal equipment typically uses deionized water or specialized solutions to eliminate conductive residues.

Key Equipment Options:

• Ion Exchange Systems: Paired with spray or inline cleaners, these purify water to remove ions, ensuring no residue is left. Cost: $5,000–$15,000.
• Conductivity Testers: Post-cleaning, these devices measure ionic residue levels to verify cleanliness per IPC standards (typically below 1.56 μg/cm2 NaCl equivalent). Cost: $500–$2,000.

Practical Tip: If you’re in a high-reliability field like aerospace or medical devices, invest in equipment with real-time monitoring of water purity to ensure consistent results.

PCB Defluxing Equipment Guide

Flux residues are a common challenge in PCB assembly, and choosing the right PCB defluxing equipment can make or break your process. Defluxing equipment must remove residues without damaging components or leaving secondary contaminants.

Top Considerations:

• Cleaning Method: Ultrasonic cleaners are excellent for no-clean flux, while spray systems handle rosin-based flux better in high volumes.
• Chemistry: Semi-aqueous cleaners offer a balance of effectiveness and environmental safety for defluxing. Ensure compatibility with your board materials—some solvents can degrade certain plastics or coatings.
• Drying: Post-defluxing drying is critical to prevent moisture-related issues. Look for equipment with integrated drying or invest in a separate drying oven (cost: $500–$3,000).

Example: In a project involving high-density SMT boards, I used a benchtop ultrasonic cleaner with a semi-aqueous solution at 40°C for 10 minutes per cycle. This removed 95% of flux residues without affecting component integrity, as verified by visual inspection and conductivity testing.

Practical Tips for Engineers

Here are actionable tips to streamline your PCB cleaning equipment selection process:

1. Test Before Scaling: Always run a small batch with new equipment to confirm compatibility with your PCBs and contaminants.
2. Follow Industry Standards: Adhere to IPC cleanliness guidelines (like IPC-CH-65) to ensure your process meets quality benchmarks.
3. Maintain Equipment: Regularly clean filters and replace fluids in ultrasonic or spray systems to avoid cross-contamination. For instance, dirty ultrasonic baths can redeposit particles, reducing effectiveness by up to 40%.
4. Train Your Team: Ensure operators understand equipment settings and safety protocols, especially with solvent-based systems.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced engineers can make missteps when choosing a PCB cleaning system. Avoid these pitfalls:

• Overlooking Component Sensitivity: Using aggressive cleaning on delicate parts can lead to failures. Always check datasheets.
• Ignoring Drying Needs: Residual moisture can cause corrosion. Budget for drying solutions if your equipment lacks this feature.
• Choosing Based on Price Alone: Cheap equipment might save money upfront but could cost more in rework or failures. Balance cost with performance.

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice

Selecting the right PCB cleaning equipment is a critical decision for electrical engineers aiming to ensure reliability and performance in their designs. By understanding your contaminants, production volume, and budget, you can narrow down options—whether it’s a simple ultrasonic cleaner for defluxing or an advanced inline system for ionic contamination removal equipment needs. Use this guide as your roadmap for PCB cleaning equipment selection, follow our PCB defluxing equipment guide, and take a strategic approach to choosing a PCB cleaning system.

Remember, the right equipment not only cleans effectively but also integrates seamlessly into your workflow, saving time and preventing costly failures. Have a specific question or need tailored advice? Drop a comment below, and let’s discuss your unique challenges.

The electronics manufacturing industry needs clean, assembled PCBs to avoid any interference in how the final product works. Picking the right PCB cleaning machine ensures a clean, non-contaminated, standards-compliant PCB. This article helps you in selecting the right cleaning machine

By Sneha Ambastha

Assembled PCBs may have a lot of contaminants such as residues of solder, adhesives, flux, dust and debris from the manufacturing processes undergone. PCB cleaning is the most important process after the actual assembly. It’s not just a matter of aesthetics but requires dealing with ionic contamination too. The complete process is dependent on a combination of PCB cleaning machinery and the chemistry behind the solvents and resins used. There are various other factors that influence the PCB cleaning process such as contaminants on circuit boards, which are mainly composed of organic or synthetic resins, ions, acids, solder balls, fingerprints and to some extent, particulates of PCBs. The cleaning is done in several stages. It is done before stencilling and soldering to remove contaminants from previous production stages, and after the stencilling and soldering process to remove excess adhesives, corrosive flux residues and solder paste.

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Types available
A PCB cleaning machine comes in various sizes, starting from a small brush based hand tool to a big assembly in-line cleaner for batch operations. The cost may range from about ₹ to ₹ 9 million. The variation in price is due to the different cleaning processes the machine is used for. Every cleaning process requires a special tool or equipment, so it is essential to comprehend this process to understand the tools and their usage.
Manual and benchtop cleaning. Manual (sometimes referred to as benchtop) cleaning is a common practice, requiring the least control in electronics manufacturing. It is not recommended for high reliability applications, as it may result in dispersing flux residue over a wide area. This does not mean that the process is not good; in fact, many a time it results in cosmetic improvements. Soft bristle brushes are used in manual cleaning, which if not cleaned or maintained properly, can transfer contaminants from one area to another. Poorly removed residues usually result in corrosion related failures.
Ultrasonic and batch immersion cleaning. In this process, the assembled boards are completely immersed in the cleaning agent so that the board’s surface can be fully in contact with the agent. This technique involves spray-under immersion (SUI) forces or ultrasonic energy, so as to circulate the fluid and to apply mechanical energy to the surface of the substrate in order to easily remove the contaminants. Now, as the name suggests, the batch immersion process involves cleaning in groups or in batches. There are many types of cleaning capabilities available in in-line cleaners, but they also cost more. Currently, the users of batch type cleaners are looking forward to non-inline cleaners with higher cleaning capabilities.
Vapour de-greasing and duo-solvent cleaning. The process involves passing a solvent over the assembled board, on to the contaminants. In this process, a combination of two solvents is generally used at a specific temperature. Nowadays, ultrasonic vapour degreasers are used to carry out this process.
In-line aqueous spray-in-air cleaning. Conveyorised machines are used in this process to enable high-flow and deflective forces, so that the solvent can get into the low-gap areas on the board, especially for the QFN packaged components present on it.
Batch aqueous spray-in-air cleaning. This process takes place in small areas. All the assembled PCBs are sealed inside a chamber of the batch cleaning machine, where the washing, rinsing and drying takes place together. The process has been so named because the complete process for a group of boards takes place in a single chamber.

Factors driving the market
Ongoing environmental concerns are forcing electronics manufacturers to move away from the traditional PCB cleaners that use ozone depleting chemicals or contain highly volatile organic compounds (VOC). The manufacturers are now replacing these chemicals with safer alternatives; and the industry has realised that the best alternatives are the water-based cleaning chemicals, which have several advantages including non-flammable properties, low odour, low or non-VOC and very low toxicity.
Equipment that combine the functions of a PCB cleaner as well as a testing device have been introduced to enable various functions in a compact footprint. Besides that, a new cleaning process with semi-aqueous chemistry called Aqua ROSE has been introduced. It can operate with aquous solutions with low chemical content ranging between 2-4 per cent. Such cleaning processes are used in batch cleaning and support high temperatures of up to 176°F.
One can also find cleaners with an inbuilt user interface for operators to select the duration and the type of wash, the duration of the forced-air dry cycle and the number of rinse cycles. Then there are universal cleaners suitable for PCBs, sub-assemblies, semiconductors and process tooling at the same time. The cleaners don’t even need an external de-ionised (DI) water source.

Points to tick off before making a purchase
Technically, there are plenty of points that need to be evaluated before purchasing a PCB cleaning machine. Based on the situation, let’s take them up, one by one.
According to the cleaning requirements, ultrasonic, spray under immersion or dishwasher type machines can be selected. Identifying the correct water-based cleaning chemical for the specific job is essential too. Water-based flux removers work by saponification, neutralising the flux acids. The only major disadvantage of water-based cleaners is that they require multiple stages to complete the cleaning process, including a two-stage rinse process and a final drying stage.
The chemical composition of the contaminants is based on the type of solder paste used, the type of PCBs, the number of flux cycles the PCB has gone through before cleaning, the green and white mask on the PCB and the type of components (aluminium, plastic, etc). So evaluation of the PCB cleaning machine is always done keeping in mind the cleaning chemical required for the respective PCBs.
As the size of the components decreases day by day, it’s also essential to identify the new technologies in use before selecting any cleaning machine so that the components do not get washed away in the process.
Other important factors that must be kept in mind are:

• The machine must be automatic to avoid any operator intervention during the cleaning process.
• The machine could be either single or multi-chambered.
• It should be capable of four processes at the minimum, such as chemical cleaning, rinsing, final rinsing and drying.
• The chemical cleaning tank must have a close loop filtration system to reduce consumption of chemicals and, hence, lower cleaning costs.
• Effectiveness of cleaning is a very important factor to check because the whole cleaning process is quite costly. Even the discharge from the machine involves an additional cost in treating the water before releasing it to the drain, as per pollution control regulations.
• The pre–rinse could be done with either tap water or DI water, but both the options should be available with closed loop filtration and zero discharge after every cycle.
• The final rinse should be done with DI water with closed loop filtration. This will help to check the ionic contamination in order to determine the cleanliness levels on the PCB.
• It should have an effective drying section that can reduce the heating temperature, which results in lower heating stress on the PCB.
• Suitable chemistries must also be considered when finalising the PCB cleaning machine. They should have very good solvency power, low surface tension properties to dissolve and remove contaminants, and good drying capabilities. The chemistries must be REACH/RoHS compliant.
• It is important to avoid excess power and water consumption as well as the requirement for a separate DI water source in order to keep process costs down.
• Apart from all this, other features like a barcode scanner, traceability, statistical process control (SPC), etc, can be considered.

Few newly launched products

Model: Super Swash III, Brand: PBT Works, Manufacturer: PBT Works s.r.o.
PBT-Works from the Czech Republic has recently introduced the Super Swash III, which uses a direct spray against surface technology. As the name suggests, the machine is a spray-in-air cleaning system for water-based cleaning processes. It can be used by multinational companies for high throughput stencil cleaning (up to 150 cycles/day) as well as small- and mid-sized OEM manufacturers to clean their sophisticated assemblies with BGAs, CSPs and LGAs. It is compatible with many cleaning agents from different manufacturers and can be used for other processes, like pallet cleaning, cleaning with two different cleaners and other customised tasks. It’s process chamber and manifold system have been optimised against liquid drag-out.

Key features

• Common piping system between valves and nozzles, which is drained after each cleaning cycle
• Part of the chamber has glass walls (which is a non-wettable material) to minimise the transfer of liquid between the processes
• Inner surface of chamber is minimised and smooth, and there are no horizontal surfaces
• Has an integrated DI water reclaim plant
• Drying process is concentrated only on the programmed area

USP: A unique hot air knife drying system for maximum efficiency
Contact: www.pbt-works.com
Indian distributor: Mectronics Marketing Services, Ph: 011-/, , www.mectronics.in

Model: Aqua ROSE PCB Cleaner, Brand: AAT, Manufacturer: Austin American Technology Inc. (AAT), USA
AAT from USA recently launched the Aqua ROSE PCB cleaner with inbuilt testing capabilities. It uses water and aqueous cleaning chemistries, and saves a lot of time and money. It is a batch cleaner with automatic IPC ROSE cleanliness testing technology built into the cycle to assure proper cleaning in every cycle. It can be configured for a closed loop wash-and-rinse process without any external DI source or any connection to the drainage system, while cleaning and rinsing. It comes in a small footprint with a choice to use either water or a commercial aqueous based defluxing agent.

Key features

• Enabled with an automatic ROSE cleanliness tester
• Has a fast cycle time for washing, rinsing, testing and drying
• Has coherent and efficient washing and rinsing jets with three spray wands
• Comes with easy programming and password protection
• Programmable ROSE limits 0.01 to 10.00 ug NaCl Eq./cm²

USP: Saves time and money by combining cleaning and testing in one step
Contact: Ph: +1- 512-756-, www.aat-corp.com
Indian distributor: Leaptech Corporation, , www.leaptech.in

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