As a developer and manufacturer of fluxes for the electronics industry, Emil Otto began developing water-based fluxes for spray fluxing in the wave soldering process more than 20 years ago. Water-based fluxes are biodegradable and are also far more environmentally friendly to produce.
Emil Otto'The company's customers have repeatedly expressed a desire for eco-friendly, sustainable products, particularly in the context of custom flux development. As a sustainability-oriented company, Emil Otto took this request into account and focused on the development and production of eco-friendly fluxes.
Emil Otto markets environmentally friendly fluxes for wave soldering under the "Green Line" label. They are applied using spray fluxing. All fluxes can be used on production systems currently available on the market. The soldering results are comparable to those achieved with alcohol-based fluxes. Switching to eco-friendly, water-based fluxes is therefore easily possible.
"We have a number of customers who have now switched to water-based fluxes from our company," reports Barbara Geßner, Managing Director of Emil Otto GmbH. The advantages for customers when using water-based fluxes are obvious. Water, as a solvent, has properties that have a positive effect on the soldering process. Depending on the process, consumption is lower than that of alcohol-based fluxes.
Emil Otto provides on-site support to customers during the transition. The introduction of water-based fluxes was carried out in collaboration with them, as there are a number of factors to consider during wave soldering that stem from the chemical and physical properties of aqueous solutions. The soldering process must be adjusted accordingly, especially during the preheating stage. "The replacement of an alcohol-based flux with an aqueous flux must be evaluated in advance from a systems engineering perspective. More energy is required for preheating, and the spray flux module must be compatible with the material. Modern systems easily meet these requirements," explains Wilfried Berke, a graduate chemist, IPC specialist, and technical sales consultant at Emil Otto Ltd.
In addition to ecological sustainability and lower consumption, water-based fluxes also offer other advantages for the customer. While conventional fluxes are based on alcoholic solutions, which pose a risk for transportation and handling due to their flammability, water-based fluxes do not require labeling as hazardous substances either for transportation or in the production process. This reduces transportation costs and allows storage in premises without explosion protection. The use of fluxes in production is also simplified, as there is no need for special handling or employee training in the use of hazardous substances.
At SMT 2015 in Nuremberg, Emil Otto will be presenting its Green Line products to the public for the first time under this brand name in Hall 7a, Booth 505.