Electronics Cleaning – Kovar
Q. What is Kovar? What cleaner would be recommended to clean Kovar?
A. Kovar is made up of 29% nickel, 17% cobalt, .2% silicon, .3% manganese and 53.5% iron. Kovar is known for its low coefficient of thermal expansion. Kovar end uses are usually glass sealing in the electronics industry.
Aluminum Eletrostatic Filter Soak
Q. I am looking for a soak cleaner for my aluminum electrostatic filter in my air purifier.
A. I recommend you soak in a warm 2% solution of Citranox. Citranox will not attack aluminum and is an effective soaking detergent. Download the Citranox MSDS or Technical Bulletin. To test an Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample. And if you have a question for our experts about critical cleaning, please visit Ask Alconox.
Electronics Cleaner – Circuit Boards w/ Alodine
A customer needed to clean an assembly of a printed circuit board which had been sweat soldered to an aluminum plate/heatsink/carrier. The company needed a cleaner that would not attack the Alodine coated aluminum backside or the gold pockets or solder reflowed surface of the circuit board.
Unfortunately, the current cleaner was slightly base ph 9+ and the water slightly alkaline as well coming in at a ph of 8.0. This, along with other factors, caused staining, darkening and spotty discoloration of the 6061 Alodine coated (chemical conversion coating) aluminum parts.
Fiber Optics Cleaning
Q. Can you recommend a cleaner appropriate for fiber optics?
A. To clean fiber optic components using ultrasonic tanks, use a warm (45 deg C) 1% Liquinox solution followed by a thorough high purity water rinse (distilled, deionized or best of all, reverse osmosis water).
Removing Ester Oil lubricants and Brass Particulates
Q. I’m doing electronic cleaning and I’d like to test a detergent sample for a project that requires a non-residue flushant for an aluminum gearbox with brass gears. During the burn-in phase, the gear box accumulates brass particles. After burn-in, this sealed gearbox is drained of the ester oil lubricant and flushed with solvent to assist in removal of the brass residue. The unit is then filled with fresh lubricant and shipped to the customer. We wish to replace the solvent to be in advance compliance with California VOC rules.