Compatibility testing procedures and results for plastics and elastomers used with alternative cleaning agents

Low-ozone-depleting cleaning agents are being developed to replace chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based solvents for electronics cleaning. In general, the alternative cleaning agents are chemically more aggressive than the conventional CFC-113 blends. Manufacturers of electronic components should therefore be concerned about the compatibility of the polymeric construction materials they choose to use in their parts. The author presents the compatibility testing procedures used by a cleaning-agent supplier to screen alternative candidates, and the effects of different types of alternative cleaning agents on various classes of plastics and elastomers. It is noted that the alternative cleaning agents are less forgiving toward various plastics and elastomers, especially the optical plastics (polycarbonate and acrylic) and the traditional sealing elastomers (Buna N, polychloroprene, and Viton A). Compatibility testing is easy to perform, and component manufacturers are encouraged to carry out similar tests to evaluate the potential impact of alternative cleaning agents on their particular products