Reliability Impact of a No Clean Rework Brush Cleaning vs Post Heating of the Flux

Electronic assembly production relies on a complex dance between OEM, CM tier one, two, fabricators and subcontractors with a series of design, fabrication, component and PCB inventory FIFO, under ever changing schedules, delays, and technology advances. Schedules are the focus of many meetings, calls and audits so when removal of built hardware counted in the inventory, but defects are identified, and rework / repair is required. These units are set aside, and rework operators trained in soldering / removal / repair with a focus on solder quality of repair is designed to be equal to the original soldering conditions. Debriding solder shorts, tombstone repair, lifted leads, or complete component replacement allow the spent cost of a non-conforming PCBA to be repaired and meet the functionality of a completed assembly. As electronic hardware is assembled with no clean soldering technologies the AOI, Xray and 610 inspections, but under rework repair solder quality and expertise of rework is critical to meet schedules and quality. But with all that, we find more and more OEMs restricting or eliminating any rework hardware due to quality issues in the field.