NASHVILLE — September 5, 2017 — KYZEN is pleased to announce that Dr. Mike Bixenman will conduct a special workshop during the SMTA International Technical Conference, scheduled to take place Sept. 17-21, 2017 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The workshop, entitled, “Characterization of Soldering Materials, Contaminants, Cleaning Processes and Process Control for Building Reliable Electronic Assemblies,” is scheduled to take place Monday, Sept. 18 from 1:30 – 5:00 p.m.

How clean is clean enough? OEMs struggle with that question when designing electronic hardware. Today, more than 50 percent of components placed onto the board assembly are bottom terminated. The number of connections, component pitch, standoff gap, flux composition and volume of solder reflowed under the bottom termination can impact reliability.

This workshop will look into contaminants derived from the chemical complexity of the PCB including flux residues. We will explore conditions that could be problematic to a no-clean process. Cleaning improves reliability but the complexity surrounding cleaning is far reaching with the use of fine pitch leadless components, the need for longer wash times, high impingement pressure and material compatibility effects. We will explore these complexities and teach cleaning best practices. Once cleaning has been implemented, controlling the process assures repeatability lot to lot. We will also examine methods for controlling the cleaning process including monitoring, traceability and data analytics.

Course Outline:
• Residues on the surface and under components
• Will these residues cause a reliability problem?
• Test methods that can be used to determine the activity of these residues
• Will cleaning improve reliability?
• How clean is clean enough?
• Methods for controlling the cleaning process including monitoring, traceability and data analytics

Dr. Mike Bixenman has more than 20 years of experience in the design of electronic assembly cleaning materials and process integration. He held the position of IPC/SMTA Cleaning Symposium Chair over the last 10 years and is the current chair of the IPC Cleaning Handbook Task Group. Dr. Bixenman holds four earned degrees including a Doctorate in Business Administration.

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About KYZEN
KYZEN is a global leader in providing environmentally responsible, RoHS compliant precision cleaning chemistries for industries ranging from electronics and advanced packaging to metal finishing and aerospace applications. Since its founding in 1990, KYZEN’s innovative cleaning technologies, scientific expertise and customer support have been repeatedly recognized with the industry’s most prestigious awards.