How a PCBA manufacturer automated stencil, squeegee, fixture and pallet cleaning with three DEZ machines, replacing manual washing.
ByadminA PCBA manufacturer installed three DEZ cleaning machines to replace the manual washing of SMT stencils, printer squeegees, soldering fixtures and production trays.
Before the project, employees had to scrub these tools by hand. Cleaning quality depended on the operator, the pungent smell of the cleaning liquid affected the working environment, and employees were reluctant to perform a repetitive task involving prolonged contact with chemicals.
The customer established a dedicated cleaning room with three separate processes:
After loading the workpiece and starting the approved cycle, the machines complete their configured cleaning and drying processes automatically. Operators still load, inspect and unload the tooling, but repetitive hand scrubbing is no longer part of the normal cleaning cycle.
PCBA production uses different tools at the printing, reflow and soldering stages.
SMT stencils contain fine apertures that retain solder paste and adhesive. Printer squeegees collect paste along their blades and holders. Wave-solder pallets, reflow trays and other fixtures accumulate flux, oil and process residue around openings, clamps and locating points.
These workpieces differ in size, weight, construction and contamination. Treating all of them with the same manual washing method created inconsistent results and excessive chemical handling.
This problem is particularly common in EMS and high-mix PCBA manufacturing. Different customer orders may require new stencils, solder pastes, fixtures and process settings several times during one production day. Dirty production tooling can then delay the next changeover.
Manual cleaning varied according to brushing pressure, direction, cleaning time and the amount of liquid applied. Two employees could clean the same type of tool and produce different results.
Surface wiping could remove visible material while leaving solder paste inside stencil apertures, around squeegee holders or inside pallet openings.
Open manual washing increased employee exposure to cleaning-liquid vapour. The unpleasant smell made the cleaning room difficult to work in and reduced employee willingness to perform the task.
Fixtures, carriers and soldering pallets can be large or heavy. Repeatedly turning and scrubbing them by hand increased operator effort and made it difficult to reach every opening and locating point.
When several stencils, squeegees or fixtures required cleaning after a product changeover, the work accumulated faster than operators could process it manually.
| Production tool | Main contamination | Installed equipment |
|---|---|---|
| SMT stencils and screen frames | Solder paste, red glue, flux and printing residue | DEZ-C750 |
| Printer squeegees and holders | Solder paste and compatible adhesive residue | DEZ-C770 |
| Wave-solder pallets, fixtures and reflow trays | Flux, oil, dust and process deposits | DEZ-C756 |
SMT stencils must be cleaned before dried solder paste restricts the apertures and affects the next printing cycle. Manual wiping may clean the foil surface without removing residue from the aperture walls.
The customer installed the DEZ-C750 automatic water-based stencil cleaning machine for this process.
Its main cleaning sequence is:
Water-Based Washing → Clean-Water or DI-Water Rinsing → Heated Air-Knife Drying
The stencil remains inside one chamber throughout the programmed cycle. Movable spray cleaning reaches both stencil surfaces, while the rinsing stage removes released contamination and cleaning-agent residue. Heated drying removes retained water before inspection and storage.
For this customer, the C750 replaced open manual washing with a controlled process that could be repeated for different production batches. Water-based cleaning also reduced the factory’s dependence on highly volatile solvent cleaning.
Solder paste accumulates along the squeegee blade, holder, fasteners and recessed areas during stencil printing.
If the remaining paste dries during storage, later cleaning becomes more difficult. Manual wiping also requires employees to handle cleaning liquid and spend additional time working around the complete holder assembly.
The DEZ-C770 was configured as the customer’s dedicated automatic squeegee cleaning machine. After compatible squeegees are secured inside the chamber, the machine completes spray cleaning and air drying according to the selected settings.
The enclosed process reduces repeated manual wiping and limits the time employees spend directly handling the cleaning liquid. Filtration allows compatible cleaning fluid to circulate through the system, while the exhaust structure manages vapour released during the process.
A dedicated DEZ-C770 product page is being prepared. You can currently contact DEZ with the squeegee length, holder dimensions, blade material, solder-paste type and required batch quantity.
Fixtures and pallets present a different cleaning problem.
Wave-solder pallets repeatedly pass through fluxing, preheating and soldering. Flux can build up around PCB openings, clamps and protected areas. Reflow trays and PCB carriers collect solder paste, oil and dust around locating points and board-contact surfaces.
These workpieces are generally heavier and contain deeper structures than stencils or squeegees.
The customer installed the DEZ-C756 automatic SMT fixture cleaning machine to process compatible fixtures, carriers, pallets and trays in a rotating basket.
Its automatic cycle consists of:
Spray Washing → Pure-Water Rinsing → Air Cutting → Hot-Air Drying
During washing, multidirectional spray reaches different surfaces as the basket rotates. A separate rinse removes remaining detergent and released contamination. Air cutting and heated drying then remove water before the tooling returns to inspection and production.
This process is suited to EMS and PCBA factories that use different pallets, carriers and trays across multiple orders. Materials, surface coatings, load balance and cleaning-agent compatibility must be confirmed with representative workpieces.
The customer placed the three machines together in a dedicated cleaning room, but each machine retains a clearly defined function.
Used Stencil → C750 Wash, Rinse and Dry → Inspection → Storage or Reuse
Used Squeegee → C770 Clean and Air Dry → Inspection → Return to Printer
Used Fixture or Pallet → C756 Wash, Rinse and Dry → Inspection → Return to Production
Separating these processes prevents heavily flux-contaminated pallets from being cleaned together with precision stencil-printing tools. It also allows the cleaning chemistry, loading method and cycle settings to be matched to each workpiece.
| Before installation | After installation |
|---|---|
| Employees scrubbed tools by hand | Employees load the tools and start the approved cycle |
| Cleaning depended on individual technique | Defined settings control the machine process |
| Open handling increased contact with cleaning liquid | Cleaning takes place inside enclosed equipment |
| Strong odours affected the working environment | Less time is spent beside open cleaning liquid |
| Heavy fixtures were turned and brushed manually | Fixtures rotate through multidirectional spray cleaning |
| Different tools shared one manual process | Stencils, squeegees and fixtures have separate workflows |
Automation does not remove the need for loading, inspection, chemistry control or machine maintenance. It removes the repetitive hand-scrubbing work that employees were unwilling to perform and gives the factory a more repeatable cleaning process.
After the three machines were installed, the customer no longer depended on employees continuously brushing stencils, squeegees and heavy fixtures by hand.
The project delivered several practical changes:
The main benefit was not simply purchasing three machines. The customer created an organised cleaning system covering the principal reusable tools in its SMT and soldering processes.
This three-machine arrangement is most relevant to:
The exact configuration should be based on the workpiece dimensions, contamination, cleaning chemistry, daily quantity and factory utilities.
Contact DEZ for an SMT cleaning automation review. DEZ can evaluate the workpieces, perform sample cleaning and configure separate processes for stencils, squeegees, fixtures and pallets.
