Brady Teams Up with Zestron on Chemical Compatibility Testing of Polyimide Labels

Brady Worldwide Inc has teamed up with Zestron to conduct extensive chemical compatibility testing on Brady’s line of polyimide labels, which are commonly used as printed circuit board (PCB) identification labels. According to the test results, Brady polyimide labels can withstand Zestron’s latest cleaning chemicals – enabling electronics customers to apply Brady polyimide labels pre-process during the manufacturing of circuit boards.

Polyimide labels are designed to endure the high heat and intense chemicals of the circuit board assembly process. However, many of the existing circuit board labels have not consistently performed in the industry; at times, labels delaminate from the circuit board, or chemicals will strip the print off of the labels’ legends. To prove the reliability and performance of Brady’s circuit board labels, Brady submitted their line of polyimide labels for a series of performance testing conducted by Zestron.

Zestron tested Brady label materials at one of its technical centers in the US and Europe. Ten Brady label materials were tested: nine polyimide labels for pre-process identification (B-426, B-457, B-476, B-477, B-478, B-479, B-487, B-496 and B-497 materials) and one polyester label (B-423) for post process identification. Brady printed all of the labels using a standard Brady thermal transfer printer, and Zestron conducted the testing with its latest cleaning equipment. The tests were completed either in inline or batch (spray-in-air or ultrasonic agitation) cleaning processes; each label was submitted for compatibility tests with up to 3 cleaning cycles under the standard process parameters specific for each product.

According to test results, all of the Brady polyimide labels were proven to successfully withstand Zestron’s cleaning chemicals and processes, the companies declared. They added that these test results are critically important to circuit board manufacturers, as they ensure that Brady polyimide labels will stay adhered and legible throughout the whole circuit board production process.

www.bradyid.com/electronics
www.zestron.com