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Flux

maker

Flux is a chemical cleaning agent used in the soldering process to remove oxidation from metal surfaces and improve solder flow.

expanded

Flux is critical in electronics manufacturing and repair, as it cleans and prepares metal surfaces by removing oxides and other contaminants. This ensures a reliable connection when solder forms, preventing weak joints and improving conductivity in circuits. Flux can be in the form of paste, liquid, or rosin, each tailored for specific applications depending on temperature requirements and material compatibility.

examples

Rosin-based flux is used in PCB assembly for cleaning copper traces prior to component soldering.

Utilized during the soldering of components onto printed circuit boards (PCBs) to ensure effective adhesion and conductivity.

Water-soluble flux is applied in wave soldering for surface-mount technology (SMT) devices.

Common in automated PCB soldering processes, where the flux residues are easily cleaned with water post-soldering, minimizing ionic contamination.

related terms

Soldering
Soldering is a process of joining two or more metal components by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint.
Solder
Solder is an alloy used to join metal components, typically in electronic circuit assembly.
Desoldering
Desoldering is the process of removing solder and components from a circuit board.
Soldering iron
A soldering iron is a hand tool used for connecting electronic components by melting solder.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing process that builds objects layer by layer using a continuous filament of thermoplastic material.