Indium Corporation is quickly becoming known as one of the highest quality, full-line suppliers of flux-cored wire solder.

Indium Corporation uses only “conflict-free” and grade A (per ASTM B32) metals, as well as other high-purity metals for its flux-cored wire. Our materials have been tested and certified to meet IPC J-STD-004B and other relevant industry specifications, including the legacy military specification QQ-S-571f. Indium Corporation’s flux-cored wire is well known for its:

• Void-free
• Evenly layer winding
• Low oxide shiny appearance over time
• Non-offensive odor for the 800 series and 200 series fluxes

CW-807

CW-807 is Indium Corporation’s best-selling flux-cored wire, primarily because it is compatible with all Indium Corporation no-clean solder pastes, wave fluxes, and all common soft solder alloys. It also solders very well while still meeting the most recent requirements of J-STD-004B type ROL0. CW-807 contains less than 500ppm total halogen, so it can be considered halogen-free by both J-STD-004B and JEITA ET-7304. CW-807 passes the more stringent Surface Insulation Resistance (SIR) and Electromigration (ECM) requirements of J-STD-004 revision B; therefore, the no-clean residue will be electronically safe for virtually all applications. Also when properly configured, cored wire with CW-807 yields superior results in automated soldering operations, including laser soldering.

• Halogen-free per J-STD-004B To be halogen-free per J-STD-004B, the formula must contain less than 500ppm of any kind of halogen, ionic or non-ionically bonded chlorine, bromine, or fluorine. This is new to J-STD-004B since fluxes that conform to the original J-STD-004 or J-STD-004A may still contain halogens that only disassociate at soldering temperatures, but leave a residue that contains ionic halogen.
• Light-colored, low-smoking, rosin-containing flux Rosin, modified rosins, and resins contribute to enhanced heat stability and reliability; however, in some cases, rosins and resins may interfere with probe-testability.
• Tested compatibility with Hot Air Solder Leveled (HASL), Immersion Silver, Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG), and Organically Solder Preserved (OSP) Copper surfaces.
• Tested for use with all common lead-free, low- or no-silver lead-free, tin-lead alloys, and many others.

Physical Properties

In the core, CW-807 has a clear, colorless appearance. Upon soldering, CW-807 smokes very little and has a mild, sweet odor. CW-807 contains no added volatile solvents or water-absorbent materials to limit spattering. The flux residue is clear and slightly shiny. It typically blends in well with epoxy glass circuit boards and does not detract from the board’s appearance.

Application Recommendations

Choosing the correct soldering tip temperature is a balancing act between optimizing the speed of heating up the solder joint, melting the solder, charring the flux, and degradation of the soldering iron tip. At lower temperatures, soldering occurs more slowly, but there is less of a chance of damaging circuit boards, fluxes will not char, and soldering iron tips last longer. The recommendations above are for a middle path between performance and safety.

Shelf Life

Always store cored wire in a cool, dry environment. The main causes of degraded cored wire reflow performance are the buildup of a thick oxide layer on the surface of the wire, caused by prolonged exposure to higher-than-normal temperature and humidity conditions, or the buildup of lead carbonate on high-lead (>85%) alloy cored wire shipped or stored under very high humidity conditions.

Residue Removal Recommendations

All of Indium Corporation’s no-clean fluxes, including this formula, are designed to be electrically safe under normal consumer electronic and telecommunication operating conditions. Unless otherwise specified, electrically safe means that the post-soldering residues pass J-STD-004B SIR and ECM testing. However, it is understood that some customers desire to remove residues for cosmetic reasons, improved in-circuit testing, improved compatibility with specific conformal coatings, or where the operating parameters of the circuit board may be in extreme conditions for a prolonged period.

If the removal of no-clean flux residues is desired, the most commercially available cleaning agents will be effective. Indium Corporation’s Technical Support Engineers work closely with cleaning agent vendors and have confirmed flux residue removal capabilities from several vendors using their recommended products and parameters. It is unlikely that users of Indium Corporation’s no-clean products will need to change their current residue removal materials and parameters from those currently used. However, when establishing a new process or desiring confirmation of process recommendations, please contact Indium Corporation’s Technical Support Staff for assistance.

Indium Corporation Compatible Products

• Solder Paste: Indium8.9HF
• Wave Flux: WF-9945 (rosin-containing) or WF-9955 (low or no rosin)
• Flux Pen: FP-500 (rosin-containing)

Indium Corporation’s cored wire has been designed to be fully compatible with our solder paste, wave fluxes, and rework fluxes, and is also expected to be compatible with many of our Competitive Products. For example, CW-807 cored wire flux is not only compatible with Indium8.9HF Solder Paste, but also with our 5.2LS, 8.9 series, 92 series, and 10 series products. Indium Corporation determines compatibility primarily by matching flux chemistry. However, a select number of the wave, reflow, and rework product combinations have been thoroughly tested to ensure that the combined flux residues meet the electrical and reliability requirements of IPC J-STD-004B. Please contact Indium Corporation Technical Support if you are interested in knowing about these fully-tested combinations.