After CFCs: Making the Economic and Technical Choice

Abstract

The options for eliminating CFC‐113 as a solvent for cleaning flux residues from soldered circuit assemblies, or minimising the need to clean, are now clear: diluted CFC solvent blends, new HCFC solvents, alcohols, water plus saponifier, water with water‐soluble flux, semi‐aqueous solvents, ‘no‐clean’ fluxes and controlled atmosphere soldering. This paper summarises the advantages and the limitations of each option and presents a methodology (first suggested by Northern Telecom) for ranking the options in a way that is specific to the requirements of the user. Both the cost and the technical feasibility of the implementation of each option are considered to provide a quantitative measure that can form the basis for the decision making ‘which option best fits my requirements and my resources?’

Citation

Lea, C. (1991), "After CFCs: Making the Economic and Technical Choice", Circuit World, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 28-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb046152