Aqueous Technologies Trident Batch Cleaner - Installation & Training

J.D. Noble & Associates, Inc.

720 Industrial Drive, Unit 118

Cary, IL 60013

Phone: 847.639.2440 Fax: 847.639.2489

Website:

E-mail:

Table of Contents

Electrical ConnectionGO-↓

Filling the TanksGO-↓

-Priming the DosatronGO-↓

-Filling the Wash Solution TankGO-↓

Theory of OperationGO-↓

Programming a RecipeGO-↓

-Common ParametersGO-↓

Administrator SetupGO-↓

-Manual Device ControlGO-↓

-Process TimingsGO-↓

-SPC DataGO-↓

-Maintenance RemindersGO-↓

MaintenanceGO-↓

Concentration ManagementGO-↓

Electrical Connection

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Filling the Tanks

The Trident is equpped with 2 tanks on the right hand side of the machine. The tank on the far right is approx. 12 gallons and is for the mixed solution of wash chemistry. The tank on the left is approx. 8 gallons and is for concentrated chemistry.

In order to fill the wash solution tank, you will need to pour your concentrated chemistry into the concentrate tank. Once this tank is full you will need to prime the Dosatron, which list located behind the left door panel on the front of the machine. Turn the dial sleeve to the appropriate concentration setting, typically around 12-20% depending on the application.

NOTE: DO NOT USE FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS IN THIS MACHINE!

Priming the Dosatron:

To prime the Dosatron, ensure that the machine is plumbed to the DI Water source and turn the “Wash Solution” key to the “On” position and press the air bleed nipple on the top of the Dosatron. Keep the air bleed depressed until you start to see droplets of water from the nipple. This ensures that the air is purged from the Dosatron and that the proper mixture is achieved.

When the Dosatron is in operation (Wash Fill Solution – On” you will hear the audible operation of the piston, this piston is what allows the incoming DI water to mix with the concentrate forming your wash solution. The travel distance of the piston, is what determines the amount of DI water allowed to mix, and the travel is controlled by the concentration sleeve dial that you set previously.

Fill the Wash Solution Tank

Continue to fill the wash solution tank with the Wash Solution Fill key to approx 2/3 full, at this point take a concentration reading according to the recommendations of the chemistry manufacturer, most common method is refractive index. If your concentration is correct, continue filling, if you need to make adjustments to the Dosatron sleeve at this point proceed with the adjustments before completing the tank fill.

Wash solution will fill into the tank until it hits the upper float switch, at which point the machine will shutoff the wash fill pump. I do not recommend letting the system fill unsupervised, as even though safety measures have been implemented to prevent overfill, please ensure the machine remains supervised during the fill process.

Upon fill, take one final reading to verify concentration, IF the unit needs more chemistry you can add some directly to the wash solution tank, be careful no to overfill the unit. If the concentration is too high, you can dilute it with the “Water Inlet” key. Also, insure not to overfill. NOTE: You may have to drain some wash solution out of the wash solution tank to allow the operation of the water inlet.

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Theory of Operation

Using the Figure on the right as a reference the machine operates as follows:

  1. Fills the 3.5 gallon sump tank with wash solution from the wash solution tank.
  2. Heats the solution to the desired “Wash Temp”
  3. Initiates the spray pump which sprays the solution into the chamber via spray arms for set “Wash Time”
  4. Upon completion of the wash cycle, the system drains the wash solution back to the wash solution tank.
  5. Fills 3.5 sump tank with DI water. (Heats the DI Water IF this option is selected in the recipe)
  6. Rinses the boards for the desired rinse time as determined in the Administrator page. (Approx. 20-30 seconds of spray time)
  7. Drains the rinse water and captures a resistivity reading. If it passes, the unit proceeds to the Dry process, if it fails, it runs another rinse cycle.
  8. Unit will run rinse cycles until the max number has been achieved, upon which the system will proceed to the dry cycle, but the final results will read FAIL.
  9. Dry cycle for the duration and temperature as set in your recipe.

Recommendations and Notes:

  • The Trident is NOT a Cleanliness Tester, the cleanliness is just a process indicator and is only verifying that the chemistry has been rinsed off the board, NOT verifying that no soil or contamination still remains on the assembly. (Default setting = 500kΩ; Common setting 200kΩ)
  • Don’t cut your rinse count too short! As your DI Tanks age, so does their rinsing ability. You might get by with 6 with fresh tanks, but old tanks might take 8. If you set at 7 you don’t allow any cushion and risk board failures. If you set for 10 and it only needs 6, it will stop at 6. (Recommended Setting: 10 Rinse Max Count)
  • Transfer Time: This is the time setting that the unit allows the wash solution to return to the wahs solution tank. The longer the setting, the more wash solution will be saved which saves money. Also the added time might save you in the end with 1-2 less rinse cycles. (Default Setting: 45 seconds; Recommended Setting: 70 seconds)

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Programming a Recipe

You can program a recipe for each board, or use generic recipes for the majority of your applications with specific recipes for the harder to clean applications. Recipes can control the Wash Time, Wash Temp, # of Rinses, Cleanliness Level, Dry Time and Dry Temp. They do not control the concentration, this is controlled by the contents of the Wash Solution tank.

To program a recipe you will need to select “Program Setup” which will bring up a login screen, the default password is “SUPER”.

This will bring up the “Recipe Editor Page” as shown on the following page. Select an existing recipe, or “Add new recipe” from the Drop-Down menu to edit create recipes. Tap the up or down arrows to modify parameters and click “Done”.

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Common Parameters:

Wash Time / 5-10 Minutes
Wash Temp / 130-150 F
# of Rinses / 6-10
Cleanliness kΩ / 200 kΩ
Dry Time / 10-15 minutes
Dry Temp / 150-170 F

Under each recipe there is a checkbox for Heated Rinses that if selected will perform a heated rinse. NOTE: This will significanltly increase your process time as it needs to heat 3.5 gallons of ambient water to the set wash temp for EACH rinse.

To delete a recipe, simply select the desired recipe and select “Delete Recipe”.

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Administrator Setup

There are many settings that you can change by entering into the Administrator Setup screen. To access the Administrator Setup select “Program Setup” and login using the administrator password. The default password is “ADMIN”.

In the Administrator Setup you can change many change many settings, some of which are:

  • Manual Device Control
  • Process timings
  • SPC Data
  • Password management
  • Maintenance reminders HOME

Manual Device Control

If for any reason you may need to troubleshoot a device on the system, Manual Device Control allows you to actuate the desired device.

For example, to verify proper electrical phase rotation you could actuate the blower and (with the back panel removed and using extreme caution to avoid contact with the spinning fan) verify that it is spinning in the proper direction as marked on the blower. This is important because the blower isn’t particular about which way it spins, but the wash pumps are particular about direction. If the electrical phase is reversed the motors will spin in reverse which could damage the machine.

Process Timings

As mentioned earlier, you could save chemistry and rinse cycles, by prolonging the transfer time to ensure more chemistry is returned to the wash solution tank, rather than being rinsed down the drain.

There are several other settings you can manipulate to try and optimize your process, some of them are:

  • Mix Time: Prior to running a recipe, the system will mix the Wash Solution tank to ensure the chemistry solution is well mixed. Recommended setting 20 seconds.
  • Transfer: Time allowed to keep the drain valves open to return the wash solution to the wash solution tank after the wash cycle. Recommended 70-90 seconds.
  • Drain Time: Duration of draining each rinse cycle.
  • Rinse: time of spray pump operation during the rinse cycle, typically anything more than 30 seconds is rinsing with contaminated DI water. Recommended 20-30 seconds.
  • Cooldown Time: PCBs will be hot after the dry cycle, this allows a period of time allow to cool and any steam to escape the chamber before allowing an operator to open the machine. Recommended 60 seconds.

SPC Data

The SPC Data collected may vary depending on your software package. It can include, operator, date/time, wash time, wash temp, # of Rinses, and/or Resistivity.

You can use the “Export SPC Data (*.txt)” to export, the “Web Admin Page” to view, and the “Clear SPC Data” to clear the data.

There is a more detailed SPC package available from Aqueous Technologies, which allows you to track by the user, serial number, etc. and can be used with a barcode scanner.

Password Management

Simply enter the passwords for the respective sections. There is only one administrator password and 3 supervisor passwords. These passwords will allow you to track who modified/created the recipe.

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Maintenance Reminders

The default reminders for your Wash Chemistry changeover and your Drain Filter are set at 100 cycles. These numbers will vary from one process to another. You can set the numbers, and also whether the machine will operate once they have been eclipsed.

Maintenance

Daily Maintenance

Chamber Screen

Check your Tank Levels:

Verify your Concentration:

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Monthly\Approximately every 100 Cycles:

Change the drain filter.

Change the air filter:

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Concentration Management

The following method will use the refractive index to monitor concentration. I prefer a digital refractometer for several reasons:

  • ease of use
  • independently operational – does not require external light source
  • accuracy to the tenth

Prior to collecting your sample, ensure the wash solution tank is thoroughly agitated to ensure an accurate analysis. You can agitate manually or via Manual Device Control – Mixer to operate the mixer for 20-30 seconds, make sure you disengage the mixer prior to collecting your sample!

  1. Zero your refractometer on a regular basis, if it is zeroed pleas skip to step 6.
  2. Collect a sample of known DI water in a clean jar.
  3. Drop a sample into the testing reservoir of the refractometer.
  4. Press “Zero”
  5. Once complete, discard the DI water sample and dry the reservoir.
  6. Collect a sample using a pipette or some other collection media, try to collect from the centermost part of the tank to avoid any concentrated pockets of chemistry or DI Water.
  7. Fill the testing reservoir of the refractometer with the collected sample.
  8. Allow the sample to cool for a short period of time.
  9. Press the “Start” button on the refractometer.
  10. Repeat until your reading remains constant.
  11. Refer to the chart on the right hand side to determine your concentration percentage.
  12. Return any access solution back to the tank.
  13. Clean off your refractometer.

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