The coronavirus pandemic is also causing prices to rise in the production of alcohol-based fluxes for electronics manufacturing and in some cases is leading to stocks being sold out. Water-based or hybrid fluxes with low alcohol additives are therefore coming into focus as an alternative for use in electronics production.
"We are currently facing extreme conditions on the global market. From March 10 to 11 alone, the prices for alcohols, which are necessary for the production of alcohol-based fluxes, have increased by 400% in some cases," reports Markus Geßner, Head of Marketing and Sales at Emil Otto. "Our customers are aware of this development. This has led to a significant increase in demand from customers, which basically means that we will no longer be able to supply alcohol-based fluxes within days if this trend continues," continues Geßner. ", continues Geßner.
The flux manufacturer offers alternatives that safeguard production on the customer side. These include water-, alcohol- and water-based fluxes. Water-based fluxes are alcohol-free and therefore completely independent in terms of material purchase prices and possible production quantities. The soldering results are very good and in some cases are qualitatively superior to alcohol-based flux products.
flux products. As it must be assumed that transport capacities will continue to be scarce in the future, care must be taken to ensure easy and simple transportation.
However, if customers are processing components that react sensitively to temperature, Geßner recommends using hybrid fluxes with a lower alcohol content. "As we have to use less alcohol for these fluxes, we will be able to produce larger quantities."
The company is currently unable to predict how the market for alcohols will develop. As there are independent alternatives in stock, bottlenecks could be avoided.
www.emilotto.de
