I'm curious after seeing some no clean rosin flux from MGChemicals. It's just a little bottle with liquid in it. When would i use something like this as compared to using regular rosin flux. and how do you use this.. seems like you just dip the tip into the liquid.
I think you are supposed to paint the surfaces you will be joining with solder, to improve how well the solder wets the surfaces.
-- No, you place the flux on the joint prior to soldering.
I think OP was using the flux to clean his iron tip.
I find that using the same liquid flux type as the solder I plan to use gives the best results. To that end, I use a different sets of iron tips for water soluble flux and rosin flux.
No clean flux is a bit of a misnomer. What they really mean is low residue flux that in some cases you can get away with leaving on your board. No clean and water based fluxes, unlike rosin fluxes, can become conductive (and in some cases corrosive) in high humidity environments so they are often cleaned off anyway. One trick in selecting a no clean flux is to pick one that cleans off easily and completely.
HTH
-- James T. White
Maybe I'm just an old fogy, but I would avoid "no-clean" flux like the plague. It leaves crud on the board.
Good Luck! Rich
No, no, (no!).
No-clean is no misnomer, that's the whole point of using it. It doesn't mean low residue, that is dictated by the % of the flux. It means the residue is less aesthetically unpleasing for the arbitrary humans that would look at it, and that functionally there isn't usually a need to remove it.
It does not become conductive, absorb water in general. While it is possible you used some product years ago that was an exception, in general we'd have to assume the typical modern formulas as what is being referred to.
One trick is NOT picking one that cleans off easily, that is a silly idea. The whole point of using one is if you don't want to clean it off. I don't see how they can make it any easier to understand, when they call it "no-clean", they really, really, really really (really) mean it. It's not a trick.
If you have a bad solder or process and end up with stray solder balls, maybe you would have to clean it off, not because of the flux but because the balls exist at all.
If you don't want to leave the flux on, pick a different flux like RMA.
On 12 Mar 2007 21:28:59 -0700, mindless snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com Gave us:
Yeah... all true. No clean is meant to be untouched. One should make sure their PCB is very clean and well baked out to remove any water the PCB has in it before a no clean soldering operation begins
The hygroscopy of the circuit board itself is higher than the flux left behind. If anything, it encapsulates a solder joint in an oxygen barrier that reduces oxidation/external attack.
I made HV supplies on unmasked FR4 medias for years, and we used water soluble fluxes, and aqueous wash. The trick is that after the aqueous wash, we baked our assemblies at 60C for an hour to completely dry them out, and even vacuumed many at potting time. vacuum potting a board that didn't get baked out, but merely air dried is a nightmare as the water left in the FR4 boils out forever!
RMA flux and a nice, hot IPA wash works as well, though it should still be baked out. Even "coffee breath" can cause a residue on a multiplier section that is enough to cause a circuit failure in the HV circuit realm.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.