How does a flux cleaner not leave a residue?
When it comes to electronics, making a good connection is beyond important. If any electronic devices is going to work, the connections between components has to be essentially flawless. Of course, we use solder to affix components to a printed circuit board, but to make the best connections possible, solder flux has to be included in the mix to ensure solder flows evenly around the components and the connection. While using rosin core solder is the most common type of flux used, those who use solid core solder and separate flux from a container has to be taken into consideration as well since many automated soldering systems use this method. This leaves a clean-up job for a flux remover after the soldering has been completed.
Leaving excess flux on a circuit board after assembly presents both manufacturers, technicians and hobbyists with issues. First and foremost, the brown residue simply looks unprofessional, even though once a circuit board is in place, no one should see it again. Secondly, and most importantly, excess flux can cause short circuits and be responsible for intermittent connections that are difficult to troubleshoot.
That's where flux cleaners like Chemtronics ES1035, ES1631, ES1697 and others come into play. These cleaners are designed to dissolve and remove flux deposits left on circuit boards and components after soldering has been completed. Depending on the type of flux remover used, the resulting residue can either be rinsed off, wiped off or brushed off to leave a clean, flux-free surface. After the process is complete, the board is free from flux residue as well as any chemical residue from the cleaner as well.
This means you don't have to be concerned about bad connections, intermittent shorts or hard shorts caused by flux build-up. The process is quick, easy to do and cost effective as cleaning a board costs only a few cents compared to the troubleshooting time it would take to do a repair. Electronics manufactures realize the importance of flux cleaners as a part of the manufacturing process. If you're a technician or a hobbyist, you'll want to have a can of flux remover in your kit, ready to clean up after your solder jobs as well.