As a developer and producer 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 ecologically degradable and also far more environmentally friendly in their production.
Emil Otto's customers repeatedly expressed a desire for ecological, sustainable products, particularly in the course of the customer-specific development of fluxes. As a sustainability-oriented company, Emil Otto took this request into account and focused on the development and production of ecological fluxes.
Emil Otto markets environmentally friendly fluxes for wave soldering under the "Green Line" label. They are applied by spray fluxing. All fluxes can be used on the production systems known on the market. The soldering results correspond to those achieved with alcohol-based fluxes. A change to ecological, 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 influence on the soldering process. Depending on the process, the consumption is lower than that of alcohol-based fluxes.
Emil Otto supports customers on site during the changeover. The introduction of water-based fluxes was carried out together with them, as there are a number of things to consider when wave soldering that result from the chemical-physical properties of aqueous solutions. The soldering process must be adjusted to this, especially in the preheating stage "The replacement of an alcohol-based flux with an aqueous flux must be checked beforehand in terms of system technology. More energy is required for preheating and the spray flux module must be suitable for the material. Modern systems easily meet these requirements," explains Wilfried Berke, graduate chemist, IPC specialist and technical sales consultant at Emil Otto GmbH.
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 labelling 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, Stand 505.