Manufacturing & Production
Managing fume extraction in automated electronics manufacturing
By Arran Morgan, product and engineering director at Donaldson BOFA, which designs, develops and manufactures portable fume and dust extraction solutions for a wide range of industrial sectors and applications across the world
E
ffective fume and particulate extraction help electronics manufacturers protect their equipment, support product quality, and maintain a clean workplace environment. As even the most microscopic contamination can cause solder joint failures, short circuits, or diminished performance, managing emissions has always been vital. Increased manufacturing automation requires fume and dust extraction systems that deliver an airflow management and filtration architecture that can capture emissions effectively, while stretching the periods between filter exchanges. This will help electronics manufacturers to minimise downtime while increasing operations efficiency and controlling costs. In wave soldering, PCB components are placed on the board and passed over a continuous wave of molten solder. Areas not to be soldered are covered with a protective ‘mask’. While this process doesn’t usually involve any potentially harmful resin/ colophony, it can require the use of an alcohol-based solvent and a small amount of organic acid. Before soldering, the boards are ‘spray fluxed’, which can generate airborne dispersions of flux particulates and vapours, or a targeted jet from a robotic nozzle. With reflow soldering, solder paste is applied to the PCB and components are ‘picked and placed’. The board moves through various heating, stabilising and cooling zones, during which the solder metal ‘reflows’ or melts and solidifies around the component connection. During this process, the solvent that makes the paste liquify will evaporate. All these airborne emissions need to be filtered through a fume extraction system. Air filtration engineers should therefore undertake a detailed assessment which includes the volume and composition of the fume or particles being emitted. This should cover detailed mapping of the airflow
22 May 2026
management parameters, to set the correct capture velocity (the speed of suction) that is required to satisfy local emissions regulations. These desktop analytics should then be proven through a process of application testing.
The resulting fume and particulate extraction systems should be tailored to specific workplace exposure limits set under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations. One filter media to consider is HEPA filters as they provide a very high level of filtration for both the smallest and largest particulate contaminants.
Increased automation
Portable fume and dust extraction systems are increasingly being used to support automated production processes, as electronics manufacturers adapt to the agile demands of Industry 4.0. Portable filtration supports a ‘make anything anywhere’ production culture. It is simple for production teams to set up with minimal disruption, and it can be scaled to meet demand. This is especially relevant to wave and reflow soldering in factories producing high-volume, high-quality PCBs. The quick and flexible deployment of portable
Components in Electronics
fume extraction systems also means that installation and maintenance costs tend to be lower.
In contrast, a fixed vent-to-air system requires a greater initial investment because of its larger-scale, centralised infrastructure involving complex ducting and pipework. Beyond the initial cost, it can also make future factory floor layout changes more expensive and time- consuming.
Traditional vent-to-air systems expel both air and fumes outside, which can increase energy consumption as heated or cooled air must be continuously removed from the workplace. However, portable systems recirculate filtered air back into the workplace, which helps to retain heated air within the building and reduces the need for it to be replaced with cold outside air. Consequently, energy consumption for space heating can be lower for portable fume extraction systems.
While portable systems offer significant flexibility, a fixed or centralised vent-to- air system may be better suited to certain applications. For example, they are central to the prevention of line contamination, as
a centralised vent-to-air system removes potentially harmful airborne contaminants, reducing the risk of particles settling on production equipment, which could potentially damage product quality. However, portable and fixed fume extraction solutions can be combined effectively to optimise production. For example, portable systems can be used to augment an existing fixed vent-to-air (VTA) system, addressing specific processes or workstations that may not be a good fit for the main centralised exhaust. This dual functionality is particularly useful in agile manufacturing environments where a business might use a fixed VTA system as a base but also needs the flexibility of portable units.
Effective fume and particulate extraction play an important part in helping electronics manufacturers create a clean environment for their teams while maintaining high levels of quality and productivity. An effective fume and particulate extraction system will contribute to optimal automated electronics manufacturing performance through effective air management and multi-stage filtration technology. This now increasingly includes Industry 4.0 considerations, where portable fume extraction solutions are proving to deliver enhanced support through greater flexibility.
However, as portable solutions can also be deployed to effectively support more traditional fixed fume extraction systems, this will enable manufacturers to optimise previous investments, while taking advantage of new smart factory approaches.
*This information is provided for general guidance only and should not be considered legal, regulatory, or technical advice.
https://www.donaldsonbofa.com/
www.cieonline.co.uk
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