Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1379105
10 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2021 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 Nolan Johnson learns the differences between surface prep and cleaning in a discussion with cleaning expert Tom Forsythe of KYZEN, who says the two are not exactly one and the same, with technical jargon around the topic varying from industry to industry. Nolan Johnson: Tom, let's start by talking about the difference between cleaning and surface prep. ese two terms have different impli- cations, and yet they all tie back to reliability for the assembler. How would you distinguish between surface prep and cleaning? Tom Forsythe: is is a bit of a broad brush, but I believe surface prep is more commonly thought of as step one in a multi-step process. For example, surface prep could prepare a sur- face for plating. is term is commonly used in plating operations where they will go into a bath and prepare the surface to enhance the adhesion of the next step, and it's certainly involved in components, advanced packaging, and in a way, probably board fab. Certainly, when they are trying to make sure the cop- per is stripped down, that's known as surface prep because it's fundamentally changing the surface to make it more attractive for the next step, whereas cleaning doesn't really change the surface. Cleaning removes unwanted contaminants from desired substrates. Generally, your sur- face remains the way you wanted it. What- ever is in your drawing when you're cleaning is what you have aer cleaning, whereas surface prep is on the way to the drawing. Johnson: So, we're in uncharted territory? Forsythe: Yes. For example, milling, or oen chemical milling, is commonly used in other industries. For example, the road that we live on had a rough winter, and it's getting repaved. Of course, in America and most of the world, they don't actually dig down to the dirt any- more. ey scrape it down and then they put new tarmac on top. During the job, the road Surface Prep vs. Cleaning