Why Clean Electronics?

In recent years, almost all electronic equipment is manufactured using through- hole, surface mounted electronics assemblies. This means that electronic components (chips, diodes, etc.) are placed on printed circuit boards and their conductors are soldered through holes in the boards.  The task of cleaning electronics is not new. Cleaning has been part of our military's preventative maintenance programs for years.  In fact, Restronic began modeling its cleaning processes after the US Navy's specification back in 1994. While some traditional cleaning methods can be harmful to delicate modern equipment,  our customers can be assured that our cleaning methods have been tested and proven as a safe means of removing contaminants to levels within manufacture's specifications. 

As devices have become more sophisticated, so have their circuit boards become more complex and finely detailed. The operating frequencies of on-board components have also doubled bi-annually.  This is most obvious in consumer desktop computers where processor speeds have climbed from 300 MHz to over 3 GHz in recent years.  As higher frequency signals are moved along closer physical tolerances, "cross currents" or "current leakage" becomes a major concern to designers. Currant leakage can cause device malfunction or failure Currant leakage increases in proportion to the amount and chemical intensity of surface contaminants, humidity, temperature, and subsequent corrosion. Laboratory testing has proven that smoke residues are both corrosive. and conductive. The process of corrosion and currant leakage increase when equipment is energized.  As physical tolerances and operating frequencies of modern electronics have become more acute, so has the restoration after exposure to smoke, water, and other chemical contaminants become more important. 

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