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72 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2022 Shop Safety When it comes to safety in a PCB shop, con- tainment of the corrosive and toxic chemicals from the wet processing end is key. With a PM program, you can reduce the number of unex- pected leaks and spills that occur. Contain- ment of the chemistry serves two purposes for safety. First and foremost, it prevents your employees from having direct exposure to the chemistry. Second, it prevents deteriora- tion of equipment. Sometimes equipment can corrode to the point where dangerous com- ponents, like electrical and mechanical com- ponents, can become exposed and open the opportunity to seriously harm someone. PM for containment would involve inspec- tions of plumbing, seals, ventilation, and con- tainment trays. A PM program would also involve ensuring that the materials involved in your processes are still chemically compat- ible. is is a good practice because nearly all materials will eventually experience some form of damage when exposed to the chem- icals used for PCB processing. Performing this check will also be useful because some- times employees will need to swap out parts. If the employee isn't aware or careful enough, an incompatible material could be introduced to the machine and cause a potential spill or leak. Etching and stripping machines, for example, can have very similar parts. Although the parts seem similar, they are oen made of different materials because the chemistry that they need to withstand inside these machines are widely different. Since their parts look alike, they can be easily mixed up if one is not careful. In these kinds of scenarios, you won't see an immediate change, but aer a few days or weeks you may start to notice some impact. If a leak or spill is not caught, it can worsen over time. Equipment Efficiency Having a PM program can also help maintain your equipment's efficiency. Depending on the equipment, whether it's a wet or dry process, there will be different factors that will affect efficiency. Wet processing equipment requires you to be wary of the by-products you are creating. Over time, these by-products will build up within your machine and reduce the efficiency of your solution and potentially cause problems with your filtration and nozzles. By-products or con- taminants are best removed on a frequent basis. If they are allowed to significantly accumulate, you risk damaging your machine and you will have difficulty removing them. PM to maintain efficiency in wet processing equipment will gen- erally consist of changing out the filters, clean- ing spray nozzles, and performing titrations to get a sense of what state your chemistry is in. In the dry process equipment, the concern mostly comes down to cleanliness. Since the efficiency of the dry processes, laminating, and exposing depend on how effective your clean- room is; most of the PM is about maintaining the cleanroom's quality. is can mean clean- ing it to ensure no trace particles are brought in and checking the air filtration system. Production Reliability If you are running a PCB fabrication facility, you want to consistently manufacture prod- ucts. By maintaining a PM program, you won't have to worry about emergency maintenance and unexpected downtime. PM will keep you Figure 2: A lower spray rack being removed from an etcher to check nozzle condition.