RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA — Aqueous Technologies Corp. announces that it has been awarded a NPI Award in the category of Cleaning Equipment for Trident, its fourth-generation automatic defluxing system. The award was presented to the company during a Monday, March 31, 2008 ceremony that took place in the Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center in Las Vegas before the start of APEX 2008. The Trident Series represents the next generation of lead-free compatible, fully automatic post-reflow defluxing systems.

Michael Konrad, Aqueous Technologies’ president and CEO, said, “Trident represents a culmination of more than 20 years of batch-format defluxing equipment experience.”

Trident automatic defluxing system is reportedly the fastest batch-format defluxing system available. Trident’s specific throughput rate is determined by board size. The system is capable of defluxing and cleanliness testing up to 200 4 x 6" (101 x 152 mm) boards and up to 28 18 x 20" (457 x 508 mm) boards per hour.

Konrad states, “Trident is the most flexible defluxing system available today.” The system offers several defluxing configurations designed to provide complete compatibility with all defluxing requirements. Trident’s defluxing process consists of up to five cycles including prewash, wash, rinse, cleanliness testing and drying. Prewash, if selected, may consist of a steam soak, high-pressure DI water spray, or chemical spray and soak. The wash cycle uses environmentally responsible defluxing solutions, neutralizing and solublizing flux and other residues. The rinse cycle is controlled by the built-in cleanliness tester in which rinse cycles are added or subtracted from the process automatically, based on the user’s selected cleanliness requirements. The dry cycle uses a unique combination of radiant and convection heat for rapid, thorough drying.

Trident is equipped with an automatic chemical management system that automatically measures and doses concentrated defluxing chemicals into the wash-solution recirculation system. The wash solution is captured and reused, eliminating routine chemical discharge. Level gauges indicate the available levels of wash solution and concentrated chemical.

Trident is equipped with a unique inverse-mounted vertically oriented spray pump that virtually eliminates pump-caused dragout, lowering the volume of defluxing chemistry consumption and associated costs. Built-in statistical process control (SPC) data capturing technology allows users to view historical SPC data, including actual cleanliness results, both at the machine and remotely from other network-connected PCs.

Trident’s stainless steel plumbing and EPDM pump seals provide full compatibility with a variety of environmentally responsible, operator-safe defluxing chemicals.

Premiering in 2008, the NPI Awards program is an annual celebration of product excellence in electronics surface mount assembly. Premier products based on the finest examples of creative advancement in technology are chosen by a distinguished panel of industry experts.