Hybrid flux mitigates rising alcohol prices

EO-Y-014 contains organic, halogen-free activating additives and a small amount of synthetic resin.

The versatile flux has been developed to meet the temperature requirements of the soldering process in combination with lead and lead-free solders.

"We developed these fluxes way before the Corona pandemic. However, due to the favourable alcohol prices at that time, there was no market for these fluxes. Most customers wanted either purely alcohol-based or purely water-based fluxes," explains Markus Geßner, Marketing and Sales Manager of Emil Otto.

Since the dramatic increase in alcohol prices, however, demand behaviour has changed, bringing hybrid alcohol/water-based fluxes to the attention of electronics manufacturers.

However, for some customers, water-based or hybrid fluxes with an alcohol content of less than 10% are out of the question as a substitute for the currently high-priced alcohol-based fluxes, mostly due to process conditions or short drying times required.

In such situations, the flux EO-Y-014 can be an alternative.

Due to its lower alcohol content, it is not so dependent on the currently rising alcohol prices.

It also contains special, alcoholic additives to stabilize and improve drying times compared to conventional fluxes based on water or partial water.

Especially due to the special selection of the alcoholic additives, Emil Otto has succeeded in ensuring that EO-Y-014 is not classified as a hazardous material despite an alcohol content of 15%.

The flux is very versatile and OSP-compatible. It can be used with good results in hand, wave and selective soldering as well as in cable assembly and strand tinning.

"When customers change to a hybrid flux, EO-Y-014 has proven to cover almost all process requirements of a purely alcohol-based flux, despite the very low alcohol content of only 15%. The soldering results, for example the hole filling, as well as the cleanliness on the circuit boards were very good", Geßner continues.

A preheating temperature of 80 - 110 °C is recommended for less complex circuit boards, 100 - 130 °C on the top side of the circuit board for more complex boards. It can be used in both lead and lead-free solder systems.