Noticed this recently on my tube of flux that shipped with the machine. Was already super dubious about it’s origins (It had huge MADE IN USA labeling on it, and yet shipped from China.)
Abit of searching online led me to this site.
http://ultrakeet.com.au/index.php?id=article&name=fluxInfo
Where the poster had bought on DX (DealExtreme) and Ebay, flux of dubious origins and confirmed with Amtech that there were indeed not original products.
Here’s a couple of photos of mine.
Notice the mis-spelt Colifomia.
While RMA-223 is just a type name, rosin mildly activated, EN 29454-1 type 2.2.3. I don’t like the fact that they are trying to use Amtech’s name to get it to sell.
It’s bloody cheap on Ebay and DX too, like $2 for 1 tube, while the real stuff is usually 10x pricier, so I guess you get what you pay for.
As for the flux performance, I actually find it surprisingly good, better then the rest of the stuff I have on hand at the moment, very little moisture content (low bubbling when heated), adequate tackiness for my reballing applications and good wettability, I haven’t got the real stuff to compare against, so I can’t tell you if it performs the same. It’s not a no-clean formulation so you have to clean it off, I have found that it leaves a whitish residue that may screw up your high frequency stuff, but my cleaning solvents (IPA and/or limonene based cleaner) works real good on this.
The problem though is consistency, there is no date stamped on the tube and I don’t suppose the QC is even existent, so no idea if the next tube will perform the same as this one. If I ever get another tube just to find out. I’ll post more information.
I ordered it too, heard its good !
ReplyDeleteI have a new tube, and it doesn't seem as sticky as the previous tube I had, which sucks for BGA reballing but works well for everything else.
Deletejust got 2 from ebay, yes its fake, and bloody hell its good stuff. i have a little of genuine amtech and its just as good, i really mean that, 1 of them is in the fridge resting as are all of my solder pastes and fluxes. keeping them in fridge can extend the shelf life by a year on average.
ReplyDeleteGoose: if its lost it tacky propetys then put the tube in fridge for a day, it will relax and become more tacky again, if it does not then that tubes a bit old, even if you did buy it new.
ReplyDelete"No Clean" doesn't mean that it doesn't leave gunk behind. It just means that it's not conductive so you don't need to clean it before applying power. You still should clean off "no clean" flux for presentation purposes.
ReplyDelete