The Problem This Machine Solves
Batch cleaning works — but it breaks the production flow. An operator pulls boards from the reflow oven exit, carries them to the batch cleaner, loads them, waits for the cycle, unloads, and returns them to the line. At 500+ boards per shift, that manual handling becomes a bottleneck: boards queue at the cleaner, cycle time accumulates, and the reflow oven backs up. Inline cleaning eliminates the queue — boards exit the reflow oven and enter the cleaner on a conveyor, clean and dry, without human intervention.
Inline Continuous Flow
The Hydro-clean ARRAY is a conveyor-based inline cleaning machine that connects directly to the reflow oven exit. Boards enter on the conveyor, pass through chemistry spray, DI water rinse, and drying sections in continuous flow, and exit clean and dry — ready for inspection, coating, or packaging. No manual loading, no batch queuing, no cycle-time bottleneck.
Key Specifications
| Configuration | Inline — conveyor-based continuous flow |
| Board Handling | Automatic infeed and outfeed — conveyor matched to line takt time |
| Cleaning Technology | Flow seal mechanism — reduces chemistry consumption by up to 50% |
| Process Cycle | Chemistry spray → DI water rinse → Drying — continuous |
| Drying System | Optional dual drying — IR lamp + hot air circulation |
| DI Water System | Optional closed-loop DI water filtration for zero-waste rinsing |
| Cleaning Modules | Optional double chamber — extended dwell time for difficult flux residues |
| Pressure Control | Inverter-controlled pump and blower — stepless pressure regulation, energy saving |
| Operating System | Windows-based — process monitoring, data logging, barcode capability |
| Lead-Free Compatible | Yes — designed for lead-free process cleaning requirements |
Control System: Windows OS with touchscreen HMI — programmable recipe storage/recall, cycle data logging, password-protected process parameters, and exportable production records for traceability (IPC-6012, MIL-STD-883, AS9100).
Applications
- Inline production cleaning — continuous flux residue removal directly after reflow
- RMA flux cleaning — rosin mildly activated flux residue removal
- No-clean flux cleaning — even “no-clean” fluxes leave residues that affect conformal coating adhesion
- Water-soluble organic acid flux — aggressive flux types requiring thorough chemistry exposure
- High-throughput environments — where batch cycle time is a production bottleneck
- Lead-free process cleaning — lead-free solders produce more flux residue that requires more aggressive cleaning
- Traceable production — Windows-based OS with barcode scanning for process documentation
How It Works — Continuous Flow Cleaning
Infeed: Boards enter on a conveyor belt from the reflow oven exit. The conveyor speed is matched to the line takt time — boards move through the cleaner at the same rate they exit reflow. No accumulation, no queuing.
Chemistry spray: The flow seal mechanism delivers cleaning chemistry across the board surface while minimizing splash and overspray — reducing chemistry consumption by up to 50% compared to open spray designs. The optional double chamber adds a second cleaning module for extended dwell time on difficult flux residues or dual-chemistry processes.
DI water rinse: Fresh DI water rinse removes chemistry and dissolved contaminants. Optional closed-loop DI water filtration recirculates and filters rinse water for zero-waste operation. Inverter-controlled pumps maintain consistent pressure regardless of flow rate variations.
Drying: Optional dual drying system combines IR lamp heating (for rapid surface moisture evaporation) with hot air circulation (for under-component drying). The combination dries boards faster than hot air alone, matching the conveyor speed of high-throughput lines.
Outfeed: Clean, dry boards exit on the conveyor — ready for AOI inspection, conformal coating, or final assembly. The Windows-based operating system logs cycle parameters, supports barcode scanning for board traceability, and provides real-time process monitoring.
Hydro-clean ARRAY vs. Alternatives
| Feature | Hydro-clean ARRAY | Batch Cleaner (AS/LDS) | Inline Spray (basic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production flow | Continuous — no manual handling | Batch — manual load/unload | Continuous |
| Line integration | Direct conveyor to reflow exit | Standalone — boards carried to machine | Conveyor |
| Throughput | Matched to line takt time | Limited by batch cycle time | Continuous |
| Chemistry consumption | Flow seal — up to 50% reduction | Standard spray | Open spray |
| Drying | Optional dual: IR + hot air | Hot air knife | Basic hot air |
| Process traceability | Windows OS — barcode, data logging | Basic logging | None |
| Double chamber | Optional — extended dwell time | N/A | N/A |
| Zero-waste DI | Optional closed-loop filtration | Closed-loop | Drain |
What to Send for a Quote
- Board dimensions — maximum length × width × thickness
- Conveyor width — required conveyor width for your board sizes
- Line takt time — boards per minute exiting reflow
- Flux type — RMA, no-clean, water-soluble organic acid
- Cleanliness specification — IPC-6012 class, MIL-STD-2000, or internal spec
- Drying requirements — standard hot air or dual IR + hot air
- Traceability needs — barcode scanning, data logging, process documentation
- Double chamber — needed for difficult flux or dual-chemistry processes?
- DI water system — standard or zero-waste closed-loop filtration
Target Industries
High-volume EMS providers, automotive electronics, consumer electronics, telecom infrastructure, LED manufacturing, power supply production, any facility running continuous SMT lines where batch cleaning creates a production bottleneck.
Related Equipment
- Hydro-clean AS — automatic batch PCBA cleaning with linear direct spray and AGV integration
- Hydro-clean LDS — low stand-off PCBA cleaning for BGA, QFN, and CSP packages
- Hydro-clean LTS — high-volume batch cleaning with double-layer fixture and triangle spray