The PCB market is expected to reach an estimated $89.7 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 4.3% from 2019 to 2024 according to a report by Lucintel.  Important to both manufacturing and maintaining PCBs is keeping them clean.  Delicate PCB circuitry is affected by contaminants introduced during fabrication and by exposure to moisture and other elements in daily use. This post explains why fabricators, computer and mobile device repair services use ultrasonic cleaners as the best way to clean PCBs. 

Why Ultrasonic Cleaning is the Best Way to Clean PCBs

If you manufacture PCBs, sell or repair mobile devices or other products utilizing printed circuit boards  an ultrasonic cleaner should be part of your equipment inventory. Unlike potentially damaging mechanical cleaning PCBs with brushes and solvents, these units use the power of ultrasonic cavitation  to quickly, thoroughly and safely remove contaminants from all surfaces immersed in a biodegradable ultrasonic cleaning solution.

First, let us congratulate you for asking this question.  Any time flammable solvents are used for cleaning purposes there is risk of fire or explosion due to ignition of volatile vapors by a flash source.  Ignition can occur from any source due to spills or as flammable solvent vapors spread.  This post explains how you can safely use flammable solvents in an ultrasonic cleaner.    

An example of a widely used flammable solvent is isopropyl alcohol (IPA).  References to its use are presented in this post.

Things to Know about Flammable Solvents and Ultrasonic Cleaners

Before you select and use an ultrasonic cleaner for your application(s) you should be familiar with options available as well as other factors that go into the decision process.  Here you will learn about 

• the definition of “flash points”
• flash points of commonly used flammable solvents
• where ultrasonic cleaners are used with flammable solvents
• ultrasonic equipment options when cleaning with flammable solvents
• other safety precautions when using flammable solvents in an ultrasonic cleaner

When you consider purchasing an industrial ultrasonic cleaner you’ll find there are many options from which to choose.  If your tasks include tough cleaning or require long-term cleaning cycles to get your job done, you’ll need a unit that can handle heavy-duty cleaning over long cleaning cycles.  We hope this post on industrial ultrasonic cleaner tips will help.

A Definition of Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaners

Let’s make one thing clear at the outset:  As suggested above, industrial ultrasonic cleaners are defined by task, not size.  In fact, industrial sonic cleaners include bench and tabletop units all the way up to multi-gallon floor mounted units. 

It’s what these units can do vs. their size that’s important.  BUT!  Size is important too  so here we go on our selection tips.  

Firms using hot melt adhesives and spray painting as part of daily routines know that cleaning their equipment after use can be more cost effective than constantly replacing precision components.  A cursory Google search discloses common cleaning recommendations include soaking in solvents and running wires through openings.  Here we describe how ultrasonic energy can clean hot melt adhesive guns and spray paint nozzles in minutes and more thoroughly than manual methods.

Cannabis processors using glass components for short path distillation must deal with accumulated baked-on, polymerized and other contaminants that are extremely difficult and time consuming to remove.  These glass components represent substantial investments and, unfortunately, can be easily broken unless handled carefully. This post explains why ultrasonic cleaners are often the answer to quickly clean glass components used in cannabis processing.