DISCOVER THE ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY'S PREMIER EVENT

SMTA International will be co-located with The Assembly Show - bringing together one of the largest audiences of engineering and manufacturing professionals to the Midwest.

Aqueous Technologies’ Founder and CEO will be teaching a three-and-a-half-hour professional development course at Surface Mount Technology International in Rosemont Illinois. This course is designed to answer one of the most critical questions in electronics assembly: How clean is clean enough? He’ll explore topics including:

The history of cleaning and the rise of no-clean flux.

• Electrochemical migration — what it is, why it happens, and how to prevent it.

• Beyond ECM — additional reasons why cleaning is vital for reliability.

• The role of reflow profiles, harsh environments, and ionic contamination. • Real-world case studies of ECM-related failures.

• Equipment and chemical selection best practices.

• The “Dirty Dozen” — twelve common mistakes made when cleaning circuit assemblies.

• Environmental considerations for today’s processes.

• And how to apply IPC J-STD-001J and ROSE testing, not just for compliance, but for effective process monitoring.

Whether you’re an engineer, manager, or quality professional, this course will give you the knowledge to make better cleaning decisions, improve reliability, and avoid costly failures. This professional development course is 3 ½ hours long, so we have ample time to dive deep into the world of cleaning and reliability. I’ll also have time to answer any cleaning related questions you have.

So, don’t miss out, join Mike at SMTAI on October 20th at 8:30 AM. Pre-registration is required to ensure your seat at this very topical course and set your sites on higher reliability. You can register at SMTAI.ORG

Aqueous Technologies’ Founder & CEO will also be presenting:

Spray Pattern Considerations for Cleaning Densely Populated Assemblies With Low Standoff Components

Abstract :

As electronic assemblies become increasingly miniaturized and densely populated, effectively removing post-reflow residues from under low-standoff components presents a growing challenge. Residual ionic contamination—even in trace amounts—can lead to electrochemical migration, reduced performance, and early field failure, making thorough cleaning more critical than ever.

One of the most influential yet often overlooked factors in cleaning effectiveness is the spray pattern produced by cleaning system nozzles. While coherent (non-diffused) nozzles deliver high-impact streams, much of their fluid rebounds upon impact, limiting their ability to reach and clean tight spaces under components. In contrast, diffused spray nozzles generate smaller fluid particles with lower inertia, resulting in better wetting, reduced bounce, and significantly improved fluid penetration in low-clearance environments.

This presentation explores the physics behind spray behavior, the impact of fluid particle size and surface tension, and how spray nozzle selection influences contamination removal. Special emphasis is placed on how diffused nozzles outperform coherent designs—particularly during the rinse cycle when fluid surface tension is highest. Attendees will gain practical insights into optimizing cleaning system performance and ensuring reliability in today’s complex, fine-pitch circuit assemblies.

Save the Date

August 12 - 14, 2025
Westin DFW Airport | Dallas, TX, USA

This conference brings together a wealth of industry knowledge and enable electronics manufacturers to address critical reliability issues of today and prepare for tomorrow. To achieve the highest levels of surface reliability, additional cleaning processes, surface preparedness, conformal coating processes and testing protocols will be needed.

Aqueous Technologies’ Founder & CEO, Mike Konrad will be the course instructor for the Cleaning and Cleanliness Qualification Masterclass, a Professional Development Course scheduled for Tuesday, August 12 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM.

With today's high-reliability expectations for the electronics industry, contamination is a silent threat. Electrochemical migration, ionic contamination, and residue-related failures can jeopardize the integrity of your circuit assemblies. Are you confident your cleaning process is up to the challenge? 

The Cleaning and Cleanliness Qualification Masterclass (a Professional Development Course) will transform the way you think about cleaning and reliability in circuit assemblies.

 This in-depth session covers essential topics, including: 

• The History of Cleaning – How we got here and why it matters.

• Our Contract with No-Clean – Understanding its limitations.

• Electrochemical Migration (ECM), what it is and why it’s the silent killer of reliability.

• ECM Prevention Strategies – Proactive steps to mitigate risk.

• Beyond ECM – Additional reasons for cleaning in today’s environment.

• The Relationship Between Harsh Environments and Ionic Contamination and how improper thermal management can create harsh microclimates within the electronic assembly’s enclosure, leading to ECM failures. 

• Real-life ECM Case Studies – Lessons learned from real failures.

• Cleaning Equipment Selection Considerations – Finding the right fit for your application.

• Chemical Selection Best Practices and how to optimize for performance, materials compatibility, and safety. 

• How Clean is Clean (the new IPC-J-STD001-J cleanliness testing and process monitoring requirements).

• ROSE Testing Best Practices, how it’s used in IPC required process monitoring to verify your process is in order.

Whether you're an engineer, a quality professional, or a technician in the electronics manufacturing industry, this course will give you the tools you need to ensure long-term reliability and compliance with industry standards. 

Mike will also be presenting “Localized Harsh Environments: The Hidden Threat Within Electronic Devices” on Thursday, August 14 at 1:00 PM.

The electronics industry has long focused on designing devices capable of withstanding harsh external environments, but what happens when the design of a PCB inadvertently creates a localized harsh environment inside the enclosure itself? This presentation explores the critical intersection of thermal management and environmental stress within electronic devices.

Poor thermal management can lead to condensation and moisture accumulation on a PCB’s surface, triggering electrochemical migration (ECM) and other reliability failures.

Through real-world case studies, including the billion-dollar recall of a popular video game console due to ECM failures, this session will illustrate how improper heat dissipation can create failure-prone conditions, even in devices designed for controlled environments.

By examining design strategies that mitigate localized harsh conditions, this presentation will emphasize the importance of holistic thermal management in safeguarding reliability. Engineers and designers must not only consider external climatic factors but also ensure that the device itself does not become its own worst enemy.