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Rubber Cleaning Sheets

Deep cleaning and stain dissolving

AVAILABLE DIRECTLY AT CAPLINQ.COM
Melamine Cleaning CompoundsMold Release SpraysRubber Cleaning SheetsWax Conditioning Materials

Rubber Cleaning Sheets

Rubber cleaning sheets are the most popular, safe and flexible cleaning solution for semiconductor mold cleaning. Mold equipment accumulates stains and residues after a certain amount of production shots. If these are left alone the final molded products will slowly become problematic, defective and unsuitable for production. That's why all mold equipment users and manufacturers implement a cleaning schedule between production runs to ensure a smooth, clean and waste free process.

Rubber cleaning sheets are very easy to introduce between production runs with minimal downtime that ensures a speedy, deep cleaning that doesn't slowdown production cycles. Cleaning sheets are suitable for compression cleaning, don't require dummy leadframes and preheating and can reach down and clean the deepest gate areas.

Product Selector Guide

Rubber Cleaning Sheets for Semiconductor Molds
Product
Name		 Technical Specifications Comments
Package Application method Formaldehyde Mold Temperature (°C) Curing Time (min)
RCS 320 Rubber Sheets Compression N/A 160 - 190 4 - 6 Excellent cleaning performance
RCS 520 Rubber Sheets Compression N/A 160-190 4 - 6 Great dissolving capabilities. Complimentary cleaning solution
RCS 400 Rubber Sheets Compression N/A 165 - 200 5 - 10 Carcinogen free. Slower process.

*Compression cleaning products are suitable for transfer molding equipment. Do not confuse the application method with the epoxy molding equipment.

Learn More

Mold Cleaning Rubber Sheet - CHEMLINQ ™

Because Melamine takes a lot of shots to be effective, is hard to remove from the mold cavity, and gives of formalin vapors that cause cancer, and because manually rubbing at stains with a copper brush is impractical, a new trend within the semiconductor industry is to use unvulcanized rubber compounds .

The unvulcanized rubber compound is then vulcanized in the mold in a process which captures and integrates most mold stains residues. When the now vulcanized rubber compound is removed from the mold cavities it then takes the mold stain with it, leaving a very effectively cleaned mold die surface.

Procedure for Cleaning with Rubber Sheets
  1. Use your standard molding conditions
  2. Place rubber sheets over the cavities and runners
  3. Close the mold and cure for 5 minutes
  4. When press opens, remove the cured sheets
  5. Check sheets and mold cavities for stain
  6. Repeat the above steps until the mold is completely clean & stains are no longer transferred to the rubber sheet
  7. Remove the residual rubber film with a shot of compression or transfer melamine

By adding additional cleaning agents such as an imidazole and an imidazoline to the unvulcanized rubber the stains and residue from even the toughest epoxy compounds like biphenyl or dicyclopentadiene epoxy resin can be completely removed. Rubber cleaning sheets can be used with fewer shots, are easier to remove, and are super effective at the right temperature.

However, effective as it is, even rubber has drawbacks. It leaves a very fine layer of residue after the cleaning process. Each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages, but, when used correctly they all are capable of cleaning your molds. When used in combination, they may be even more efficient than one method alone.

Melamine Cleaning Compound is relatively cheap, but requires more shots to be effective and is harder to remove so has overall poorer workability. The fact that it has formaldehyde in its contents makes it more difficult to ship and more dangerous to use. CAPLINQ will continue to research and develop more effective and formaldehyde-free Melamine Cleaning Compounds in the future.

Rubber Cleaning Sheets, on the other hand, gives off fewer vapors, are formaldehyde-free, carcinogen-free, and are more effective with fewer shots, and being easy to removes has excellent workability. However, it does leave a thin rubber residue after use. So, in both cases, the cleaning process is achieved by a combination of chemical and mechanical scrubbing.